The Glaciers Are Coming!

W-route complete, it was time to head back into Argentina for more hiking and natural wonders.  Our first stop was El Calafate, about a six hour bus ride from Puerto Natales.  El Calafate (named after the berry unique to this region) seems to exist for one reason; it is the gateway to the Glacier Perito Moreno in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares about 80 km away.  We stayed in El Calafate two nights; just long enough to make a day trip out to Perito Moreno to see what the fuss was about.

Lovely panoramas on the bus ride to El Calafate.

In the courtyard of our lovely little inn - Hostal Amancay comes McFrothy-recommended.

Our first afternoon in town we went out for a local craft beer on a patio, since it was such a gorgeous day.  Our server accidentally brought us two beers, instead of the one we had intended to share.  Oh well, we said.  It's beer - how bad can it be?  Um, it can be pretty sour and unpleasant, as it turns out.  When will we learn?! Ask for a sample!

I'm smiling, but not because this porter tastes good.

The next day we left bright and early to head out to the glacier.  Glacier Perito Moreno is 30 km long, 5 km wide, and 60 metres high, but what makes it worth the visit is that it is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still growing.  It moves forward up to 2 metres a day, which causes huge pieces of ice to calve from its face creating thunderous sounds and huge splashes in the lake below.

You can explore the glacier in various ways - ice trekking, a boat ride, or just wandering the many boardwalks set up across from it.  After the expense of Torres Del Paine, we chose the third (cheapest!) option.  It was stunning, and well worth the day trip.

First views of the glacier.

Your park fees pay for four kilometres of boardwalk that line the terrain opposite the glacier.  You can get somewhat up close and personal with the glacier, as well as wander down along the lake for a bit.

Fancy boardwalks.

Looking across the lake at the glacier.

The sounds that result when pieces of the ice fall from the glacier are truly thunderous and were one of my favourite parts of the visit.

Check out the still lake.  We were lucky to have a relatively windless day - like most of Patagonia, the wind usually howls through here.

Yes, I will conquer these stairs momentarily.

Construction for this building started in 2005, but they haven't quite finished yet.  It's supposed to be the park headquarters, but looks like they have a way to go.  The stone work, clearly made of stones collected from around the area, is the best part.

Trying to get too close to the glacier resulted in 32 deaths over a twenty year period from falling and flying ice.   I think we'll stay on the boardwalk, thanks very much.

After a full day at Glacier Perito Moreno [note from Chad: the bus schedules mean you'll be there for at least 6 hours, so bring a book], we headed back to town where Chad tried the highly recommended calafate berry ice cream (eating the calafate berry apparently means you will come back to the area one day).

[Note from Chad: We also had a truly great dinner at Pura Vida (something of a rarity on this trip); same prices as the tourist traps in the center of town but vastly better and with ridiculous portion sizes. (My stew came in an edible bowl - 1/2 a roasted pumpkin!)  I think the successful recipe for El Calafate is: get in, see the glacier, eat at Pura Vida, then get out.]

And that was it - the next day we headed out again for more hiking in El Chalten!