The Perito Moreno Glacier

Steph: We are one month behind with the blog now because, dare I say it, we are currently in Bolivia after three action packed weeks in Peru. Our days have been just as full as they used to be when we were travelling around Asia and blogging has suffered due to the incredibly colourful, cultured times we've been having.

However, I am determined to do a good job on this one as the Perito Moreno Glacier we visited in early June is one of the most spectacular things either of us have ever seen.

We crossed the Chilean border by bus and were once again in Argentina. I must admit that I hadn't been able to keep us as well as Chris had with which country we were in on any particular day in Southern Patagonia; I repeatedly confused things by thinking the Torres del Paine National Park was in Argentina, which it clearly is not! There wasn't much to differentiate between these southern towns as both countries are so European anyway. Admittedly, Argentinian Bariloche and now El Calafate did seem richer and perhaps more recently refurbished.

We had been warned by other travellers and also our guide book that El Calafate would be a boring town with not much going on; merely a jumping off point for trips to the Moreno Glacier and Parque National Los Glaciares. We were pleasantly surprised then to find a charming town - granted, completely set up for the tourist trade - with small chocolate shops, heladarias and cosy restaurants lining the main street. We were really quite impressed. (We recommend the Che Lagarto hostal here by the way - a great find).

Our Chilean bus from Puerte Natales hadn't gotten us across to El Calafate until around noon meaning we were too late to take one of the daily tours out to the glacier. Our flight back up to Argentina wasn't for another two days so normally we would simply wait until the day after to do a full day trip out to the glacier. There were a number of companies offering day trips, some even including a boat ride up to the glacier or even a walk along it - they were double the normal price however due to it being the peak of the low season. Yet we had learned a good lesson from Lisbeth during our trip to Iguazu Falls. The weather forecast (though somewhat untrustworthy since this area of the world can enjoy all four seasons in one day) told us that after today, we could expect only rain, storms and a lot of clouds. We made the decision then to dump our bags in the first hospedaje we found and run to Avis to rent a car. Instead of taking a full day tour, we benefitted from the few hours left in this sunny day and drove to the glacier ourselves down the rather scenic, paved road.

At $40 AR (around 10 British pounds) per ticket to enter the park and no student discount, we were hoping and praying that we had given oursleves enough time to see the glacier today and the sun would hold out for us. We needn't have worried; I honestly believe that the Moreno Glacier will take anyone's breath away whatever time of day you arrive and whatever the weather.

Travellers we'd met previously in Bariloche had told us that seeing this Patagonian glacier (the largest wet glacier in the world) makes the Franz Josef glacier in New Zealand look like an ice cube! They weren't far wrong.

Moreno´s front wall stretches for 5km across the lake created

by its meltwater. It towers up to 60 m above the lake.

What amazed us just as much as the sight of this ice monster were the incredible sounds coming from within it. It grumbled and groaned as huge chunks of ice fell into the inner depths of the glacier. Every time we heard such a rumbling, we looked over expectantly, hoping to see a piece of ice falling. However these chunks causing such a thuderous roar were falling within the galcier itself. Incredible.

There´s an impressive 2km of boardwalk surrounding the glacier
allowing tourists to take photos from every possible angle.

We were lucky enough to see (and hear the thunder each time) chunks falling off the front wall of this phenomenal feat of nature. Each time a chunk no bigger that two human heads fell, it caused a tremendous sound and lots of waves to splash against the ice wall.

We later found out that the glacier is at its most active during the late afternoon so our decision to visit so soon was, in the end, a good one. After a good hour watching these ice blocks fall, the cold got the better of us and we decided to make the hour and a half drive back to El Calafate before it got too dark.

The Perito Moreno glacier is the only one in the

Parque Nationale Los Glaciares to show no signs
of receding. A worker told us that it slides forward
around one metre per day but recedes back to its
original distance because around one metre of ice
falls from the front each day too.

The next day, the rain we were promised arrived but undeterred, we made the most of our 24hour car hire and spent the day driving out to a nearby lake where we ate our picnic in the warmth of the car.



On our final day before our flight back to Buenos Aires, we went on a horseriding trip for a couple of hours. This was chris's first time on a horse for many years but by the end of the three hours he was even trotting!

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Chris: Riding the Patagonian Plains on horseback...

Steph´s birthday was spent on a boat. I told her that because it was her day we could do whatever she wanted. Unfortunately a cargo ship doesn´t come with many options, especially since that night the rocking boat made almost everyone seasick. We had to postpone a few birthday activities until we were back in Patagonia.

Steph has long since wished for a horse riding journey in South America.

At 11 am we were picked up by a gaucho who was as rugged and rough as I could have hoped. Minutes later I found myself in the back of his van with seven girls from five countries.

One fellow rider was a Mexican girl who swore like a sailor, puffed cigarettes and looked like she knew her way around a tequila bottle. Not to be bitchy, but with a handbag clutched under one arm, she looked like she accidentally joined a horse ride instead of a trip to the mall.

Steph and I mounted our two horses that were in fact brothers - Luna and Corason. The trip was peaceful, relaxing and not what I expected at all. The sound of a powerfull horse galloping accross the planes is indeed a beautiful thing.

I don´t know anything about South American breeds of horses, but these were like no horse I had ever seen. They looked more well-built and rough around the edges in my crude observations. We were followed by an 8 dog escort. Steph was eager to pick up a bit of speed and copied the Gaucho´s style of trotting - by lifting their right arm straight up and making a strange noise through their teeth, the horses responded by breaking into a trot.

Our guides were true Patagonian gauchos who rode with such style.

El Calafate sits on Argentina´s largest lake: Lago Argentina

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Steph: The evening also held a real treat for me. Our Navimag friends Sara and Annie (Kiwi and Ozzy) were also in El Calafate that evening and we had arranged to meet them at a fancy restaurant to celebrate my birthday properly. It hadn't really been possible the week before, what with everyone feeling seasick and the ship rocking and rolling! We all devoured a juicy lomo after sharing a delicious Provoletta. What I hadn't expected was the amazing birthday rap they had written for me while out at the glacier that day! They sang the rap for the whole restaurant to hear and presented me with a birthday spud (cakes being unavailable!)

The Birthday Spud...

A local lady sitting behind us asked permission to sing happy birthday, we obliged and the whole restaurant erupted in felis compleanos! What a special moment! I was quite speechless! We took the birthdy spud with us to another bar where we all treated ourselves to a delicious brownie for desert: such a great birthday!