Glacier hiking on Perito Moreno (near El Calafate)
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2008
1
7
35
Trip End
May 17, 2008
El Calafate,
Argentina
Monday, February 18, 2008
Finally, Steph let's me write the blog entry. This is a back dated blog, as the Internet in El Calafate was horribly slow. So we are going to try to catchup on a few entries in a row.
We had a great time in El Calafate, quite a tourist trap though, as the city pretty much sprung up as a tourist destination to launch trips to one of the most amazing attractions you can ever see. We arrived after a 2.5 hour flight from Bariloche, and entered into a small town, overflowing with people. Our plan was to secure accomodations and rent a car so we could drive down through lower Argentina and into Chile (through Patagonia). We quickly realized that we should have booked the car. We walked to 5 different rental agencies to find that you couldn't book a car for atleast another week
Derek at the look out point at Perito Moreno
. The only gas station had a lineup of atleast 3 hours to get gas.........we were quite discouraged. Although, we finally stumbled upon a local car rental agency that had 1 car left. We quickly rented it, and found the clerk incredibly helpfull. She gave us all the tricks of the area, including ensuring that we always had atleast one hand holding any door in the car when they are open........why you might ask? Well, we would findout tomorrow, but the winds blow about 30-40 MPH (Sorry Canadians) constantly..................and there isn't a single windsurfer or kite surfer to be found........(Dad - I've found your retirement business..........windsurfing in Argentina or Chile........soooooooo many great spots.......sooooo many!!!). Anyways, we were let down to find that our hostel, (Calafate Hostel) was pretty much a dormitory, not quite the cozy place we found in Bariloche. Too many stories to tell, so I'll quickly jump to the glacier hike, and show you some of the amazing photos we captured.
We woke up early the next day, drove the 1 hour to the glacier, Perito Moreno. We had signed up for "The BigTrek", which is a seven hour hike to, and on the Perito Moreno. We took some amazing pictures from across the shore, and went across the lake on a short 20 minute ferry
Derek having a scotch on the really old rocks
. (oh, I forgot to mention we went to the wrong place, and missed our original tour group......luckily this day the tour company ran two Trek's, so we caught up with the next group).........anyways, the views are absolutely out of this world. We hiked alongside the glacier for over an hour. They give you these shoe attachments called "crampons" that literally have giant metal spikes to stick into the ice (so you don't fall on your a$$). We hiked around for over 2 hours, learning about the history of the glacier, and in general the glaciers in Patagonia (the southern part of South America). We took about 50 pictures.............there really is something amazing about the glacier. The ice is packed so tightly over thousands of years that it forms in a way that reflects all light except blue in some parts......so there is this intense blue light that comes from the cracks and formations in the ice.............well see for yourself, but pictures don't really capture it.On the ferry, on the way back, they served us a bottle of scotch whiskey, that was "on the rocks"......actually, ice from the glacier. The ice was flawless.
Anyways, after another great Asado (Bar-be-que), and Parilla..........we were pretty exhausted.
Here are some of the pics.......
Look forward to the next installment from Steph.
