Picos Del Sur Hotel Calafate

... to hear bits of it crack-it was deafening but so cool as it was so peaceful there and then you would hear this deafing noise of glacier cracking and if lucky might see a bit on the side crash off down into the water. Luckily we did see one but it happened so quick- one second the roar came from the crack and the next it was like an avalanche of ice crashing down to the water with a roar. It was bubbling in the water for a few seconds and then there was quiet ...

... bestowed upon us fantastic views of the three major mountain sections of the park: Cerro Paine Grande Massif, Los Cuernos and the Torres (Towers) themsleves. We had no idea which mountain was which and did not appreciate at the time how magnificent a view it was to see all of the peaks that we would hike around. We boarded a ferry, as we were tackling the W Trail (so named because the trail looks like a W)from West to East ...

... you see it. M************ing sounds echo for miles, and huge slabs (calvings) sheer off the front of this amazingly blue white river of ice every few minutes, creating mini tidal waves in the glacial lake below. The colour of the ice has to be seen to be believed, more blue than you´d ever think possible, due to air trapped in the ice for over 100 years (the time it takes to get from the top of the glacier to the bottom). After watching the ...

... I pressed Record just in time to c*tch * huge chunk of the gl*cier f*ce bre*k off *nd cr*sh into the w*ter, exploding into thous*nds of sm*ller iceblocks *nd sending huge swells into the l*ke. It w*s one of the most *m*zing things I've ever seen. M*rie *nd I couldn't believe how lucky we were to witness th*t event so close to the gl*cier f*ce. After the hour long bo*t cruise, we m*de our w*y to the p*nor*mic b*lconies th*t overlook the entire gl*cier (it's ...

... very dull and very expensive as it´s a complete tourist location, set up for the nearby Los Glaciares national park. The main point of going there was to see the enormous Perito Moreno glacier, one of the few remaining in the world that is still moving forward (apparently 2m a day). It was a very impressive sight although not so different to the one I had seen a few days previous in Torres del Paine. The main difference was the huge ...

... about 2 hours and once we were within the confines of the National Park the dust and shrubs turned to beautiful snow capped mountains, huge lakes and greenery. We could see the glacier in the far distance but it didn't seem real. We first viewed the glacier by a short, inexpensive, boat ride. This really enabled us to feel the shear power of this almighty triumph of nature. The boats got pretty close the glacier. You could actually HEAR the ...

... aged couple were very friendly and helpful and their house is clean and the rooms and bathrooms stunning. We paid more than we normally budget however it was worth it. Food in town is very good but as with everything in Argentina expensive. We did however find a real gem in a place called Borges and Alvarez (Libro Bar) a very cool bar/ restaurant that looked like a library and served great food and beer!! See pics.The overall feel of the town was one ...

... we took a bus into town (shouldn't walk it... too far. and dangerous, they said... as it's dimly lit and no place to go for help) and ate at a pizza place. THe pizza was great, and we were given big bowls of ice cream-- chocolate and Calafate (a calafate is actually a berry-- similar to a blueberry, but more purpley-red in color, and a bit different in flavor) ice cream. To die for. So good. We went back to the hotel, which was by far the nicest ...

... I had brought a packed lunch with us, so it was wonderful to be able to find the perfect lunch spot on some rocks looking over the main glacier face.

It was so cool being able to sit there and watch small sections of the ice face crumble and fall into the lake, even if it was impossible to catch on camera or video!

We were able to sit and enjoy the view for an hour and then we were invited back on the boat and taken back to the other side, to ...