El Calafate-Perito Moreno Glacier
Trip Start
Jul 25, 2007
1
15
124
Trip End
Ongoing
El Calafate,
Argentina
Sunday, August 19, 2007
We were up at 7am layering up in the sexy long john´s etc! Headed off on bus at 8am. We drove for over an hour or so then got a boat across the lake right in front of the glacier. It´s just amazing & had a really distinctive tungsten bklue hue in the crevasses. apparently the bluer the ice the older it is. The ice looking blue has something to do with ice not being able to split llight into it´s seven colours, when the blue part tries to go through the ice its relected back into the ice. The colour was fab, don´t think the photos will do it justice on this.
The Three Stooges
Got off boat & met up with our ice trekking leader (who thankfully had fluent English). He gave us really informative lecture on the glacier, it´s history, importance etc, then took us to put on our crampons (the spiky clamps you get attached to your boots). Oh very important note here..our guide looked wild like Enrique Igleses (see photos!)So he put on our crampons then showed us techniques for walking on the ice, how to go uphill & downhill, balance etc. We had to all walk in single file & it was very professional in its conduct. We trekked on ice for about 2 hours in total. Its hard enough going because air is so cold but you´re really hot inside all the clothes, your sunglasses steam up with your breath, & you must wear big snow gloves as ice is very sharp & can cut your hands if you fall. So taking phots was a big job...gloves coming off etc etc!
We were only allowed take photos at certain points when the instructors stopped all our group. One awful funny Amerivan in our group called, wait for it, Corrie. Actually he deserves a page all to himself we´ll tell you more bout him later!
Anyway on way back down guides said they had surprise for us over the next hill of ice. When we got reached it, there were two wooden tables ( up in the middle of the glacier an hour from the base of glacier) & on it a load of glasses & bottle of Famous Grouse whiskey! So they welcomed us to their bar & used their ice picks to chip off 500year old ice, for our 5year old whiskey! Then then pulled out big box of chocolates too. It was such a nice treat. thats all on the glacier, we´ll let the phots do rest of the talking. xoxox
