El Calafate & Perito Moreno Glacier, 110 miles

Rain in the morning is a good excuse to sleep in. Everything was great until about noon, when it was still raining and didn’t show signs of stopping. We tried to wait it out, but decided we had to push on to the glacier today if we wanted to see it. We have our ferry tickets booked for the 25th, so its now or never.

On the way to the glacier we passed a couple more lakes that were so blue you would think they were the Caribbean. The blue is a milky blue, not a clear blue however. I wonder what makes them that color…

To get into the park it cost us $10 a person. Once in, it was 10 more miles of paved, and then 6 of mud. The mud was a bit dicey, but we made it ok. Once we got close we were amazed at what lay before us. Like a wall of ice, the glacier flowed down out of the mountains and into the lake. A bit closer and we could see the detail, tons of vertical icebergs, like enormous forest of inverted stalagmites of ice. Closer still and we realized just how large this thing is. Its insanely big. 13,000km or so.

Once we were parked we followed the wooden catwalk down to a series of look out points, each ever closer. Boats looked like ants at first from the road, but as we descended we realized they were tour boats with at least 50 people on them. The wall of ice must stand hundreds of feet tall. As we were walking towards the second viewing platform we thought we heard thunder, it was the cracking of an iceberg—seconds later a huge splash. Soon I would learn that what I heard was only a tiny piece. I was so excited I practically skipped to the next balcony.

Unfortunately for Amie, she had to turn around and use the bathroom at the end of the trail. Moments after she left, a whole sheet of ice came down with a tremendous crash creating a tidal wave that would have capsized any boat in the vicinity. It was truly incredible. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen bar none.

The sun was shinning on us as we watched more and more ice break loose and bob around in the water. I could have stayed for hours, days maybe. It was enchanting. Corny I know, but like nothing I’ve ever seen, or heard. This is somewhere everyone should see before they die.

Approaching the glacier

Hi friends!

To give you some perspective

closer
Truly incredible
wow
detail


Another view
Crash!
Crash Chain is shot, o-rings are coming out