March & April, 2005
March 27 - 30, 2005 & April 2 - 4, 2005
After four wonderful days in Puerto Madryn, dving, kayaking and viewing amzaing wildlife and landscapes, we did not think Patagonia could get much better. Well, it did - El Calafate and Los Glaciares National Park were spectacular! Located in the province of Santa Cruz, way down in the Southern part of Argentina, near Tierra del Fuego and the Straits of Magellan, almost as at the end of the world (see www.enjoy-patagonia.org/images/mapacompleto-grande-ing.gif), these not-to-be-missed spots can be found in the foothills of the Andes, near the Chilean border and the famed Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.
To get there, we took a short and cheap Aerolineas Argentina flight from Trelew with Charlotte and Felix. One hour later, we arrived in the cute little town of El Calafate, founded around 1913 and located on the banks of Lago Argentina and at the foot of El Calafate Mountain, just outside of Los Glaciares National Park. The town - named after the Calafate Berry, which looks like a purple blueberry, tastes like a sweet blackberry, is common in Patagonia, and supposedly lures all who try it back to Patagonia - has 5,000 inhabitants and, although it is in the middle of nowhere, it has a wide variety of accomodations, restaurants, bars, cafes, book shops, outdoor stores, tourist agencies, and more, along with quite a bit of charm.
It is probably also worth mentioning here, that along with all of the above, the town of El Calafate - actually, all of Argentina to be precise - had delicious, borderline addictive ice cream, of which we took full advantage (that and the fresh homeade bread served aplenty with every meal). The ice cream makers call themselves artisans and they most certainly are, they make every single flavor you can imagine, most of which we sampled, incluing the calafate berry flavor. Not only was every flavor we tried excellent, but the ice cream was also really cheap, which inspired us to consume more of it than we might have otherwise.
During our sojourn in this corner of the world, we decided to stay at the Calafate Hostel. Although it was a bit more than we were used to spending, it was centrally located, aesthetically pleasing, and for about $25 a night we had our own bathroom, as well as breakfast, which consisted of medialunas, which are like sweet mini-croissants, toast, butter, jam, dulce de leche, orange juice, and tea or coffee. Our hostel also operated a travel agency, so upon our arrival, we signed up for an afternoon trip for that afternoon to the very famous Perito Moreno Glacier in the National Park, about one hour away.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is famous for several reasons. It is one of the only advancing glaciers in the world. Actually, we had read that the glacier has not avanced in quite a while because of increased water usage in the area, and global warming, but our guide said this was not the case). Regardless, the glacier is five kilometers (3.2 miles) wide and 80 meters (approximately 240 feet) high. And, it forms a famous bridge of ice and snow between a lake and a river on either side of the glacier. Huge chunks of this bridge periodically melt, crashing into the water below, sending huge waves of water everywhere and making deafening creaking and cracking sounds (like a huge tree falling in a forest). Seeing and hearing even small pieces break off and splash into the water below was pretty spectacular to watch, let alone watching the ice bridge come down. The National Geographic videos of this phenomenom are amazing if you get a chance to watch them. Sometimes, the huge chunks of ice and snow actually block the flow in the channel between the two bodies of water, causing the water in the lake to rise by more than 25 meters. On our trip to this glacier, we took a boat out onto the lake. It stopped 200 meters away from the glacier and drove up and down its full length of 5 kilometers, affording us some amazing views and photos. We also took a short walk on the shore of the lake alongside the glacier and did the 45 minute balcony and terrace walk above the glacier, which also provided spectacular vantage points of the glacier.
That night, we signed up for a tour with Charlotte and Felix at our hostel for the following morning. As an aside, it is a very good thing Charlotte and Felix came with us on this one day tour because we forgot our camera in our hostel that day, and had to rely on them for the excellent pictures you see on our website, which they so graciously sent to us upon their return to Germany - thank you! Anyway, back to our tour, it first took us by bus to Oneli Lake, and then to the Oneli, Spegazzini and Upsala Glaciers by boat (apparently, it is the only way to see these glaciers). Although it is a long day (12 hours), it is absolutely worth it! Not only does the boat serve snacks and hot coco, as well as drinks made with glacier ice, you get to see huge icebergs, bigger than the boat, floating around you in the lake. The Oneli and Spegazzini Glaicers are famous for being the largest and tallest glaciers in the world. Apparently, you can fit three of more cities of Buenos Aires size in the one and the other is as tall, if not taller, than a 30 story building. On this ride, we also got to see a huge condor up close and personal, as well as take a walk and have a picnic on the shores of the lake.
The colors of the ice, snow, and glaciers are an insane mix of white, blue, turquoise, gray, and silver. The blues are so brilliant. And the lake is a milky turquoise green due to the mineral deposits from the glacier and the rocks and dirt it carries with it. Adding to the beautfy, and in stark contrast to the glaciers and the lakes, are the granite and snow-capped Andes looming above and in the distance; the high desert-like, dry, windy, vast, open tundras, with tufts of grass and short cactuses; and the condors and other wild animals everywhere. It is so beautiful!
After several days in this region of Patagonia, our visits to the National Park , and after learning more about the area and all that it had to offer, we decided to stay for 9 days rather than 5, and check out El Chalten as well. Thankfully, Aerolineas Argentina let us change our flight for free (can you believe it) and the next day, we were on the bus to El Chalten!
