So the saying always goes that Ireland has greens that not even Crayola has invented! I think that's good for them... why waste time on green... what is green... envy, money, witches... and I think right there are 3 of 7 deadly sins! So I say down with Green!... Plus I can't see the color green since I'm colorblind, and I'm pretty sure it's not that cool! (Red/Green- however this trip being colorblind was a benefit, I'll explain later)
So hurray for BLUE!
Now let's talk here folks... we've all seen blue, all through out our lives... its actually kind of normal, but Sarah and I are not talking about blue... We are talking about BLUE
I mean sky to ocean blue, crazy ice cream color to depression blue, from Carolina to Picasso blue... a blue that you stare into and become mesmerized by the sheer chill it sets in your veins, a blue that fades to and almost onyx black... blues god hide from us so that when we first see them, they take you breath away.
So this is how it was...we began this journey back in Bariloche, where we trekked 14 hours to Comodoro Rividavia, then dove south further past the barren wastelands... the vast emptiness; hours of watching the clouds so far off in the distance that they curved around the earth in a distant horizon. Every 300 Km there was a gas station... that may have gas, it depended, and they were happy to sell you week old food at next years inflation price, and so we continued further.
After missing our connecting bus in Rio Gallegos, we partnered up with some wandering travelers, one of them Pablo, who ended up staying with us for a couple days and we hope he made it back to Bariloche okay... poor guy had to pick up a car and drive the 22 hours back on his own.
Really to waste your time with El Calafate (it's a tiny little town that survives by glacier tourism... wonderful life... very chill...very hippy!)
Perito Moreno Glacier
The Glacier occupies the same amount of space as the entire city of Buenos Aires and more, and this endless mass of shifting ice is the only glacier that is in complete equilibrium... meaning it is making as much ice as it is loosing
Our last minute change of heart that ended up being the best decision ever, was to change our plans from an hours trek on the ice to a 4 hours trek on the ice... GREATEST move ever!
The hike set out over land for about and hour moving towards the center of the glacier... honestly to find more stable ground... this is a tour group it's not Man vs. Wild or anything. Half way there the entire group stripped off half of our clothes due to shear body heat build-up... you think glacier... you think freezing... apparently that's only in the center of the glacier and if you are a piece of ice, the rest of the time is like being on land and trekking... Even Sarah was hot!
Now I want to address the idea of crampons... this ice picks for your feet idea... they are a god send, once you learn how to use them... your foot sticks and does not move... its pretty much a plant and go philosophy; no slipping, sliding, or second guessing... you just walk!
We started walking and I can only express my thoughts through the pictures, and really the picture doesn't do it justice... as some would say...that's why we went there... so enjoy!
The trip ended with a very special twist to a wonderful day... as we left the glacier and waved to it behind us... we toasted, we toasted 12 year old whisky on 1000 year old ice to an experience that was truly remarkable!
On a note: This actually was Man vs. Wild! Why you may ask, well Bear Grill my fearless hero that his is, was actually stuck on the same Glacier I was, alone trying to fend for his life and teach the good people of the world how to eat glacier bugs that live in the ice and how to stay warm within the crevasses. He did this with our tour group in his camera frame and 30 over people there helping him around... and ya know what drove me nuts...he didn't even sleep on the ice... nor did he what to take the same boat back to our WARM, COZY, and definitely not on glacier... hostels.
Second note... I never new the taste of water before we drank millennia old melted water for the purest source ever...
EL Chalten
Well this was a spur of the moment decision as well... possibly provoked by the whisky and a wonderful walk... we jumped on a bus, well not jumped... it was 6:00 am... it was more a stumble onto a bus and we wandered off into the wilderness... about 4 hours worth of wilderness, but I doubt either of us really remember it was so early and wait did I say tiered ... well we were tired!
We arrived at el Chalten at 11:00am dropped our bags off at the hostel and ran off into the trekking capital of Argentina. This area is the home to the famous Cerro Fitz Roy and hundreds of breath taking views, lakes, and trails.
So we planned our trek to walk out as far as possible and then just turn around and head back to make it home before we run out of daylight.
Little did it occur to us that if the sun set at 8pm we would walk out 4 hours out and 4 hours back... that made for 8 hours of walking after 8 hours of walking the day before and a 6 am wake up. Nonetheless we set off and trekked into the most picturesque parts of Patagonia... crossed unbelievable rivers... and reached views of Fitz Roy that you can not imagine... only till you turn around...and peer down form 1500 meters and everything just...............
Then... there was the walk back... where I discovered that being color blind was the best thing in the world... so we were walking through these forests that were filled with what I call red and Sarah calls brown trees... you can discover for yourself through the pics but this rusty red trees pouring over colors of oranges, yellows, and reds were some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen. What a wonderful gift of colorblindness!!!!
After our walk back we had a wonderful dinner, watched Riquelime score 2 goals against Chile, we fought with some really rude French ladies for the kitchen, and got ready for our 5:30 AM bus back to El Calafate...
Enjoy... a picture is worth a thousand words... and sometimes the experience takes your breath away!
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