Perito Moreno Glacier

Trip Start Apr 05, 2008
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Trip End Mar 20, 2009


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Where I stayed
Hostel del Glaciar Pioneros
(El Calafate hotels)

Flag of Argentina  , Patagonia,
Saturday, December 6, 2008

Leaving Chile behind was unexpectedly hard. For such a small sliver of South America it's been one of our favourite countries to visit. Reputedly the most expensive we would argue you still get excellent value for money, there's no siesta time to royally screw up your day and the wines are fair superior to their Argentinean neighbours, that and their Patagonian lamb is hard to beat (we're still looking). That aside we continued into Argentina to the tourist mecca of El Calafate. This town has been purpose built to support nothing more than us eager tourists wanting to part with our cash (and they know how to do this well) to see some of the world's most famous glaciers, the most renowned being Perito Moreno. This glacier is the most visited glacier, not due to it's size, it's not the largest at only 250sq km, nor any special wow factor that sets it apart from the others but purely due to it's accessibility, it's easy. Roughly only 70km from El Calafate on good roads it's a no brainer and hence our purpose visit. Also spending time in El Calafate is atheistically pleasing as it's all beautifully put together and an easy place to chill out provided the wallet is fully flexi! Having had the 'Alternative Tour' recommended to us and with the added incentive of a 25% discount we booked ourselves on this experience as they vow to be ahead of the game and take you on the road less traveled. Traveling on a different route to all the other tour companies, aka a gravel road, we passed through flat sparse farmland. Perito Moreno
Perito Moreno
 We stopped at an Estancia and chuckled to ourselves as the non Kiwis and Aussies on the tour raced off to snap photos of goats. Looking around we had to ask ourselves where in the world we were, it could have as easily been home. Except for the fact that in this part of Patagonia for every one sheep you own you need 4 acres of land - I'm not great at math but it's a wonder that you can get bbq lamb on any menu round these parts. The trekking on the tour amounted to a short stroll up a hill that afforded a fabulous view point for photos of the glacier but that was fine by us, we're still on a high from the 'W'. The highlight of the tour was getting up close 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, it's actually advancing over the Argentine Lake. All facts aside it was just an impressive WOW factor of snice (snow and ice). We finished up the tour on the terraces, a view point close to the glacier where we sat and enjoyed lunch in the sun, rushing up every time we heard a large rumble, thinking this would be 'the' shot. Natural wonders and scenery ticked on the list it was time to move onto Argentina's party central, Buenos Aires.
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