Day 9 – El Calafate
Ice fields and glaciers and whisky, oh my!
My pictures uploaded finally! Enjoy, friends! [Click on any picture for a larger view]
On paper, today looked like a day of rest. A short trip to sightsee around the small town of El Calafate, then a relaxing afternoon. It was not meant to be, however….
We started out on a typical local tour bus before 9 a.m. with our local guide, Jorge. He started out our tour by saying that when he walks around town, he is considered a wealthy man because of his “house.” Pointing to 2 areas of receding hair on his head, he noted that people say his house has 2 entrances, and then indicating a bald spot on the back of his head, he said he also has a swimming pool. Though I laughed apprehensively, Jorge turned out to be a very knowledgeable tour guide, and he was at our disposal to provide us with whatever information we required.
We followed quite a rough road to our day’s destination, the Perito Moreno glacier, the 3rd largest glacier in Argentina. Along the road we observed some native wildlife, including falcons, hares, sheep and horses. The real highlight of the day was found about 50 miles from the town where we stayed last night, as we came upon the South face of the glacier. The view was truly impressive, even from a distance of 8 km.
Our next vantage point came at a panoramic overlook of the glacier. As we descended the steps cut into the hillside, I was about 3 steps from the second observation platform, and we heard the beginning of what turned into a thundering crash. Words can’t adequately describe the way this sound surrounded us as we struggled to pull out cameras to catch the aftermath of the huge chunks of ice crashing into the lake. Unfortunately, I did not catch a good photo of this, but in total, we heard and saw five “ruptures” of chunks of the glacier crashing into the lake. In fact, just 2 days ago, a large section of the glacier that had previously separated 2 lakes broke free, causing water levels around Calafate to rise by about 8 feet.
The day just kept getting better, as we next boarded a two-level boat to get an up-close-and-personal view of the East face of the glacier. This view was impressive, and the crevices and fissures were clearly visible. The light reflected through the glacier owes its bluish hue to the presence of minerals and microorganisms captured within the ice, and these same factors give the lake water its bluish to greenish hue.
As we were taking pictures from the upper deck of the boat looking toward the very far end of the North face of the glacier, several people around me were observing one particularly large fissure in the face of the glacier. One gentleman even commented that this section of ice would probably “calv” (i.e. fall off) soon. Almost on command, we heard the beginnings of a thunderous crackling sound followed by a tremendous splash, and that precise section of the glacier had slipped not-so-quietly into the lake, soon to melt and continue on its journey through the ecosystem. The following 2 pictures show views of this exact section of the glacier before and after the calving occurred.
Before
After
As our boat left the face of the glacier and headed for shore, a friend and I decided to have a liberally poured glass of whisky, cooled with ice that ostensibly came directly from the Perito Moreno glacier itself. What a fitting way this was to end this part of the day, though from the looks of the bottom of my glass, I think they managed to scrape up some dirt and minerals along with the ice!
After some time spent wandering around town and meeting various other travelers, sharing stories, and an excellent dinner of pasta with Bolognese sauce with lamb meat, here I sit typing out tales of another day’s adventures in this pristine land that presents such amazing beauty, rivaled only by the enormity of its scale. All measurement of distances in terms of city blocks or minutes walking or subway stops are thrown out the window, and we must attempt to grasp days of travel over gravel roads, measured in hundreds of miles. As with the sights I have observed today, any written description is discordant with the reality of what one perceives here in the land of the gaucho, the estancia, and what truly is the end of the world.
Hasta mañana, mis amigos…
- Bob
My pictures uploaded finally! Enjoy, friends! [Click on any picture for a larger view]
On paper, today looked like a day of rest. A short trip to sightsee around the small town of El Calafate, then a relaxing afternoon. It was not meant to be, however….
We started out on a typical local tour bus before 9 a.m. with our local guide, Jorge. He started out our tour by saying that when he walks around town, he is considered a wealthy man because of his “house.” Pointing to 2 areas of receding hair on his head, he noted that people say his house has 2 entrances, and then indicating a bald spot on the back of his head, he said he also has a swimming pool. Though I laughed apprehensively, Jorge turned out to be a very knowledgeable tour guide, and he was at our disposal to provide us with whatever information we required.
We followed quite a rough road to our day’s destination, the Perito Moreno glacier, the 3rd largest glacier in Argentina. Along the road we observed some native wildlife, including falcons, hares, sheep and horses. The real highlight of the day was found about 50 miles from the town where we stayed last night, as we came upon the South face of the glacier. The view was truly impressive, even from a distance of 8 km.Our next vantage point came at a panoramic overlook of the glacier. As we descended the steps cut into the hillside, I was about 3 steps from the second observation platform, and we heard the beginning of what turned into a thundering crash. Words can’t adequately describe the way this sound surrounded us as we struggled to pull out cameras to catch the aftermath of the huge chunks of ice crashing into the lake. Unfortunately, I did not catch a good photo of this, but in total, we heard and saw five “ruptures” of chunks of the glacier crashing into the lake. In fact, just 2 days ago, a large section of the glacier that had previously separated 2 lakes broke free, causing water levels around Calafate to rise by about 8 feet.
The day just kept getting better, as we next boarded a two-level boat to get an up-close-and-personal view of the East face of the glacier. This view was impressive, and the crevices and fissures were clearly visible. The light reflected through the glacier owes its bluish hue to the presence of minerals and microorganisms captured within the ice, and these same factors give the lake water its bluish to greenish hue.As we were taking pictures from the upper deck of the boat looking toward the very far end of the North face of the glacier, several people around me were observing one particularly large fissure in the face of the glacier. One gentleman even commented that this section of ice would probably “calv” (i.e. fall off) soon. Almost on command, we heard the beginnings of a thunderous crackling sound followed by a tremendous splash, and that precise section of the glacier had slipped not-so-quietly into the lake, soon to melt and continue on its journey through the ecosystem. The following 2 pictures show views of this exact section of the glacier before and after the calving occurred.
Before
After
As our boat left the face of the glacier and headed for shore, a friend and I decided to have a liberally poured glass of whisky, cooled with ice that ostensibly came directly from the Perito Moreno glacier itself. What a fitting way this was to end this part of the day, though from the looks of the bottom of my glass, I think they managed to scrape up some dirt and minerals along with the ice!
After some time spent wandering around town and meeting various other travelers, sharing stories, and an excellent dinner of pasta with Bolognese sauce with lamb meat, here I sit typing out tales of another day’s adventures in this pristine land that presents such amazing beauty, rivaled only by the enormity of its scale. All measurement of distances in terms of city blocks or minutes walking or subway stops are thrown out the window, and we must attempt to grasp days of travel over gravel roads, measured in hundreds of miles. As with the sights I have observed today, any written description is discordant with the reality of what one perceives here in the land of the gaucho, the estancia, and what truly is the end of the world.
Hasta mañana, mis amigos…
- Bob
posted by Robert Sette at 10:57 PM
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