What a day we spent, exploring Perito Moreno glacier! The days was grey but the rain was finished. One drives about 1 1/2 hours from El Calafate into a national park, and the first view of the glacier is arresting. It is 20 mi long to its mountain source and 7 mi wide at its narrowest, and unlike most of the world's glaciers this one is growing! Unfortunately, I only brought my Canon so can't email a picture, but it is massive and living, advancing 3-10 ft a day across the glacial lake toward the system of catwalks on land which you first view it from. Of course, we explored all the viewpoints for about two hours. The glacier constantly groans and cracks like thunder, and now and then huge sections of ice break off with an explosive crack, sending icebergs and waves across the lake. The glacier looks like Superman's home on Krypton (did you see the movie?), all jagged points and crevasses and startling colors of blue, from refracted light. The temperature had dropped, and I was glad to have lugged the cold- weather gear all this way--just right with a shirt, vest, down jacket, rain jacket with hood, scarf, fleece hat and gloves.
Our group of 20 English-speakers then took a boat to the other end of the glacier--affording additional mesmerizing views--and hiked to a comfort hut. There we got fitted for crampons, and very carefully hiked the glacier for an hour and a half. Very tricky--lots of ice holes to fall into. The glacial surface was like crushed ice, and we had to press our crampons hard into the ice to get traction. Going down was especially challenging.
Our fabulous young and agile guides kept us in order and were also well-informed. The mountain that feeds the glacier is about 10,000 ft high and gets snow 300 days of the year, some 20 feet a day. The simple story is that the snow compacts over time, creating the ice. Two-thirds of the glacier is below the surface of Lake Argentino!
A lovely surprise waited at the end of our glacier trek--Irish whiskey poured over glacial ice. Richard,who gave up scotch for Lent, was given a papal dispensation to partake. After the return hike, boat ride and bus, we were home about 6. This was a super trip, organized by Hielo y Aventura.
From home Richard had reserved a table at La Tablita, the best restaurant for parilladas, or mixed grill, in town, and we devoured the Patagonian lamb, beef and chorizo with a salad of tomatoes and local mozarella cheese.
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