May 16, 2003
After a very quick standard breakfast at the hotel, the small tour bus
picked us up for the trip to the Perito Moreno glacier. The tour guide
was knowledgeable, funny, and spoke in English and Spanish. As with other
official tour guides, he had to complete two years of studies and is
restricted to working in the area in which he studied. Our first stop was
at the edge of Lago Argentina, the largest lake in Argentina, and the
third-largest in South America. For Michaela, it was an opportunity to
stretch her legs and arms and get a blast of cold Patagonian air. She
loved it.
As usual, the paved road ended, and we continued on the dirt road towards
the national park. The next stop allowed us to pay the driver for the
national park entrance fee (12 pesos for foreigners, 6 for locals, and 0
for Michaela) so he could hasten his stop at the park entrance. It seems
he has to pay 5 pesos each time he enters the park as well. This stop
featured some trees, a view of an estancia (ranch), and another chance for
Michaela to play in the dirt.
After proceeding through the entrance gate, Michaela fell asleep for a
while and we got our first view of the glacier from 8km away. We could
see the south face of the glacier and the rest of it stretched as far as
the eye could see. Meanwhile, we were treated to the sight of trees and
bushes covered with Ļold manīs beardĻ as it called here - which is
basically a form of lichen.
As we got closer to the glacier, we could see icebergs in the lake that
had broken off from the face of the glacier. The driver informed us of
two optional excursions on boats to see the glacier. One boat trip was to
see the south face of the glacier and cost 25 pesos. The other trip was
to see the north face and cost 20 pesos. He recommended that we take the
first boat trip to the north face, and, not knowing any better, all of us
on the bus, except for two French girls, agreed. They decided not to take
a boat trip (sometimes, you should follow the French, as we would later
learn.)
As we arrived just in time for the 11:30 departure, the tour guide
arranged with the boat operator for us to pay after the trip. The boat
seats about 50-75, I estimate, with a smaller area outside from which to
view the glacier. It lasted about an hour and ran alongside the face of
the glacier. We all hoped to get a look at a big chunk of the glacier
crashing down into the water, but of course, that didnīt happen. I saw a
smaller chunk fall into the water after most of the people had returned to
the inside of the boat. We took lots of pictures which Iīm sure weīll
look at and wonder why when we get them back.
After the boat trip, some of the group stopped at the confiteria to eat
while others went to the lookout. We ended up with a Spanish couple on
their honeymoon and a Canadian woman who had come to Argentina mainly to
learn and dance tango. The lunch was not too bad at 23.5 pesos, including
a drink. Michaela of course, was unable to remain seated for long and was
soon crawling all over the place. It was nice to see a 3-year old boy,
who took an interest in her, and they kind of played with each other for a
while. Mostly Michaela chased him while he walked around and then she
would point at him and babble loudly.
Once we were finished with lunch, the driver took us to the lookout and we
made our way to the various lookout points that are well marked and
maintained.
Words cannot describe how fantastic a sight the Perito Moreno glacier is.
The deep blue colors of the glacier and just its immense size. According
to the tour guide and signs, the glacier is about 45-55 meters tall, a few
km across, anywhere from 14-40 km long, and bigger than the city of Buenos
Aires. As we stopped at the various viewpoints, we marveled at the
glacier - and hoped that we would see a big chunk fall off.
We made our way to the lowest and closet point to the glacier. At the
topmost viewpoint, you look down at the glacier and can see the top of it.
From the lowest point, you are much closer and cannot see the top of the
glacier. At the lowest viewpoint, we found a couple relaxing in the
serenity of the quiet and intensity of the glacier - at least until we
arrived with Michaela babbling very loudly in the backpack. At this
point, she started to complain, so we took her out of the backpack and fed
her, which quieted her, but the couple had already left. At this point, I
had seen a small (small for this glacier is something approaching the size
of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer) chunk fall off, but Margarita had missed
it. On occasion, we heard the glacier cracking, which caused a thundering
sound. Sometimes, this was accompanied by a loud splash, which we
couldnīt see.
With Michaela back in the backpack, we headed back up to some of the other
viewpoints. Itīs a small hike - maybe 1 - 1.5km, up and down stairs. At
one point when our view was completely obscured by trees, we heard what
sounded like a big chunk falling off. It figures. We reached the next
viewpoint and patiently waited for chunks of ice to fall. In fact, we
pointed out areas where we thought it was likely to happen. At some
point, I noted how funny it was that we had paid a lot of time and
expended a lot of effort to some see a huge chunk of ice and wait and hope
that chunks would fall of it. And we were not alone in this exercise.
That said, itīs still worth it.
When we were leaving this viewpoint, I heard a loud thundering sound as
Margarita called out ĻMikeĻ and we both witnessed an incredibly large part
of the glacier fall off and crash into the water. I was ready with the
video camera on pause, but the lens cap was on, so I have sound, but no
video. This was exactly what we had hoped for. We felt that now our trip
to the glacier was complete. Of course, as we made our way to the bus,
two even louder crashes occured and we were unable to see them.
If I could do this again, I would just go the viewpoint (by bus or rent a
car) and stay there most of the day. The boat trip was ok, but not
spectacular. It would be nice to be there and just be able to watch it
for a long time - longer certainly than the time we had after lunch and
hiking to the various viewpoints.
During the bus trip back, Michaela ended up playing with the French girls
who were on a 4-month trip and then finally falling asleep on me. Most of
the people on the bus fell asleep as well until we hit the speed bump
(literally) on the outskirts of Calafate.
We found that we needed to exchange money so once the bus dropped us off
at the hotel (thanks to the driver for finding Michaelaīs gloves), we
headed down the street only to find the exchanges closed. Fortunately, we
found an ATM that looked like it would accept my ATM card, so we withdrew
money and were relieved. Then we walked down the street, looking at the
various tourist stores. We learned that Michaela now adores stuffed
animals. She pointed at and made clear her desire to have the stuffed
sheep, penguins, and husky dogs. Even while she held one, sheīd be
clamoring for others. When we finally left a store and stripped her of
these stuffed animals, it took a few minutes before she stopped crying.
Later, we looked for a parilla for dinner. The hotel was ok for dinner
the night before, but I wanted good asado. The parilla across the street
from the hotel seems to be closed for the tourist season so it was off to
the main street. We passed a cafe/confiteria and a restaurant that was
closed for the private celebration of a girlīs 15th birthday (the
equivalent of sweet 16 in the US). Next door was a tenedor libre (sp?)
which is basically a buffet. However, unlike nearly every buffet Iīve
been to in the US, the ones in Argentina have been quite tasty and this
was no exception. We were first served lamb, which was so tender and
delicious. Then on to the lomo, chicken, and chorizo, followed by more
lamb, lomo, and chorizo. All of it was good and we had our fill at 15
pesos each plus drinks.
We headed to the supermarket to get food for the trip to the Upsala and
Onelli glaciers, since food wonīt be available, so we have heard.
Chau....
Posted by mike at May 17, 2003 02:49 PM