Perito Moreno Glacier and Ice Trekking

  El calafate, Argentina
Sunday, November 25, 2007

We are NOT morning people, so our hotel's spectacular breakfast  before our big trip saved the day. As in many other countries around the world, its hard to get a substantial breakfast in Argentina.  Not the case here (probably because so many people are off on all day trips).

homemade pastries

Our first adventure was to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier and then ice trek on it!  Perito Moreno is the most famous of the glaciers in the national park (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) and the main destination for those who go to El Calafate.  It feeds into Lago Argentina and is massive at over 19 miles long and 3 miles wide.  We got on a bus for the 1 hour ride to the front of the glacier for a couple of hours. It just didn't seem real.  So incredible. A million different shades of white and blue.

ice ice baby

What was really crazy was the sound of the glaciers "calving" or pieces of the ice breaking off and falling into the water.  The glacier made a loud creaking sound, followed by a strange sort of crackling noise, then loud crashes as the ice hit the water, or ice below.  This happened every 5 to 10 minutes.  It was so loud it made you realize how massive the pieces of ice actually are. 

loud creaking sounds were eerie

We spent a few hours here before getting back on the bus to the nearby port (10 minutes). From there we got on a boat for a 30 minute ride to the other side of the glacier.  We then docked at a large red rock beach, and rallied with our group of 12 or so, to learn about glaciers from our English-speaking guide.   Then we were off! 

enough watching. lets get on that beeatch

We hiked through a lush, green forest for about 20 minutes, till we got to the base of the glacier, where we were fitted with crampons - spikey shoes that fit to the bottom of our hiking boots. 

lisa gets crampons on.

We were briefed on how to hike in our crampons, then we set off, single file, up a narrow trail of ice.  It was absolutely surreal. 

we had to eat 2 of these people

The ice is actually layers upon layers of compressed snow, which absorbs all colors, except for blue, which it reflects.  This is what makes the glacier these shades of blue.  We had never seen anything like it.  It was absolutely beautiful. 

bluetiful

a river ran through it

We hiked for a while, stopping along the way to appreciate our surroundings.  At one point our guide asked us all to participate in a moment of silence, without snapping photos or moving.  It was almost overwhelming being surrounded by these glacier peaks, valleys and streams.  There was a slight, cool breeze and the sun was shining intermittently.  What an amazing experience.  We were in total awe.

the colors were unbelievable

At the end of our trek, our guide rewarded us with whiskey and chocolate treats.  We enjoyed our whiskey on the rocks - of course - with frosty glacier ice!

we made it

Whisky on Glacier ice

about the author

As we began to wind down from our incredible little trek, our guide happened to mention an ice cave that was just around the corner.  The whole group was up for checking it out, so we took a short side trip to check out the cave.  What a trip to go under/inside of the glacier we had been hiking on!  At the entrance, it was about 6' high, but as you walked into it, the ceiling became lower and lower until you had to actully crawl.  The ice was solid and electric blue, and dripping everywhere.

now we're under the glacier

ice cave