Thursday, March 6, 2014
After some nice warm weather in Buenos Aires, it seems I was longing for some snow again. It is not that cold in El Calafate (although cold enough to notice the difference) but today I was heading to a snowy spot.
Looking nice and sunny again today, but noticeably colder.
My bag looks so lonely there but clearly ready for another adventure.
My destination today was Los Glaciers National Park and Glacier Perito Moreno. Now after all those days in Antarctica, I can't say I was expecting to be overwhelmed with what I saw, but it is what you visit in the area so I was going to check it out. Los Glaciers National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. The park was created back in 1937 but the current borders and zones were not established until 1971.
Looking at Perito Moreno from afar. You can see the area of dead trees along the shores. This was caused by flooding in the past. The glacier actually blocked the passage so the water level rose. In 1939, the air force actually tried to bomb the blockage, but the ice just absorbed the energy. A couple days later nature did what it does best, sort itself out. The passage opened up and the water level dropped.
Once we arrived at the park, we were loaded up on a boat. We actually had quite a lot of time to visit the site and would get two views of it. First we would travel along the front of the glacier by boat and then you could see it by land. I can't say I took a lot of pictures. I was slightly underwhelmed (as I expected) but I took a few and then spent some time talking to another couple who had also just been to Antarctica (on a different ship) and were thinking the same thing as me about the glacier it self.
A look at where the bridge used to be. If you look at older pictures of the glacier you will find that there use to be a bridge or arch here. It eventually melted and fell into the water. A few more facts about the glacier itself, the glacier sits about 60 metres (196 feet) up out of the water and the front is about 5 kilometres (3 miles) long.
A panorama view of the glacier. It is pretty amazing and you can get pretty close to it on the boat.
The boat ride was about an hour and then we headed to land. There is a bit of a hiking trail (and when I mean hiking, I mean a boardwalk), that runs opposite the glacier itself, so there are lots of places to sit and just watch.
Lots of rule if you want to visit. One of the big rules is that no garbage is to be left in the park. It must all be taken back to El Calafate.
This was my lunchtime view. I had brought a little picnic lunch so that I could just sit and watch (which is suggested). I tried to catch a calving (they happen all the time) but as in Antarctica, by the time you hear them, it's already over.
I shared my lunch with this little guy and a few of his friends. I'm sure that is actually against the rules but just couldn't help it.
Eventually it was time to head back to El Calafate. I had a nice dinner planned at a restaurant next to my hotel called Don Pichon. It is one of the top rated in the area so had to check it out. It did not disappoint and if you ever find yourself in El Calafate, you must check this place out.
Meat on the fire.
Just a little bit of lamb......and the best lamb ever.
Calafate ice cream. Just so you know, calafate is a type of berry. A very, very yummy berry.
It was a good thing my hotel was just across the street from the restaurant because after all the food I basically rolled myself back. Tomorrow, I did not have much planned at all....and as it turned out that was a good thing.
Julie
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