Solares Del Sur - El Calafate

... We have had 2 days of good walking in mountainous lake district- sometimes in snow, blizzards, sunshine, rain, hail, wind (so strong these southern Patagonian winds) I am so glad of my vest, thermal merino long sleeved second layer; followed by thick fleece and then a goose down outer layer-topped off with a waterproof windjammer. Thermal leggings under trousers topped off with waterproof trousers- and two hats. It is amazing ...

... Italiano 3) hike along Cuernos, camp Refugio Cuernos 4) hike through Valle Asencion, camp Campamento Chileno 5) early dawn ascent up to Mirador Las Torres, camp at eastern Refugio Torres 6) easy stroll down to Laguna Amarga to get our bus back to El Calafate. However, the weather conspired to make sure our plan worked out nothing like the above, but our alternative itinerary allowed us to essentially walk every inch of the ...

... will be deleted as these were nothing compared to up close. The glacier was absolutely amazing and we saw it from a boat in front of the glacier and above the glacier to see the scale of it. It was so nice we went back one other morning to see it for sunrise...we just can´t get enough of these early mornings and Emily is a blast first thing in the morning... and Ash is always so supportive!

Nous revenons à notre hostel à El Calafate pour la nuit. Nous allons manger à "La tablita", un bon petit resto du coin où les grillades sont délicieuses. Ca fait du bien de manger autre chose que des conserves ou des aliments lyophilisés! Notre avion pour El Calafate décolle le lendemain à 11 heures.<br>

... 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 ...

... of tourists that populate the walkways overlooking the glacier with people jostling for the best photo opportunities. You got very close to the glacier face and saw the amazing blue colour of the ice and huge chunks of the glacier falling into the river below with an enormous crack which was really impressive. Quite an expensive little trip overall and loads of tourists which spoiled it a bit but it was still something good to see.

... on these journeys". Long, exhausting bus journeys will do weird things to a man.... Once Dan and I ended up getting a little emotional watching the Adam Sandler ´modern classic´ - Click - the comedic yet harrowing story of a man and his remote control. The reward for these long and often tedious journeys around Patagonia is that there is a good chance that you will finally see something truly wonderful at the other end. And when we finally got to El ...

... to the glacier on the Catamaran in hope of seeing ice breaking off and crashing into the lake causing massive swells of water to rock to the boat - alas this didn't happen but we did see a few crumbles. For me the glacier was so impressive with such incredible hues of blue, I've never experienced anything quite like it, it doesn't get old. This is the third largest reserve of fresh water and more interesting it's not retreating ...

... coastline to get to the foot of the glacier. It was a cool trail through the woods and towards the glacier, we got more excited the closer we got.<br><br>We were given a couple of talks about the glacier before we reached the start of the glacier hike and our guide was passionate and knowledgeable, which is always an excellent combination for the interested tourist.<br><br>Once we reached the base of the glacier were fitted for krampons (which were less ...