Argentina Travel

Wild Cows of the Patagonia and Upsala Glacier

Today began way before sunrise and since Argentina starts late, there was no breakfast for us. We slowly got up with the Palm Pilot playing reveille at just before 7am. The bus picked us up around 7:30 and off we went to catch a boat to see the Upsala glacier and Onelli Bay. Fortunately, Michaela was able to return to sleep for a while after the bus filled with people. Two of those people included Alan and Lilliana, the couple we had met before on the trip to Isla Victoria and whom we had seen shortly after we arrived in Calafate. Most of the route was the same as yesterday´s excursion towards Perito Moreno, but we only suffered a kilometer or two of unpaved road.

Once we arrived at the private dock at Punta Bandera, we were briefly informed that it was still closed and then quickly told that it was now open. We unloaded and once again paid the 18 pesos for all three of us to enter the national park. The boat was much larger than the number of people taking the trip, which numbered about 30-40. It was still dark out as we left the dock and headed west on Lake Argentina. The moon was full or nearly full and many people, including me, attempted to get a photograph showing the full moon lighting up the surrounding mountains. My photograph didn´t turn out and when I tried to to use the camera´s timer for a longer exposure time at the back of the boat, I was ushered in as the boat was about to leave. Of course, it didn´t leave for another 10 minutes. We also noticed that the other passengers included a Brazilian family with a 3-year old that had been on the previous day´s trip to the Perito Moreno glacier.

The first 30 minutes was uneventful. It was beautiful outside with the full moon reflecting off of the lake and lighting up the hills, but as the sun began to light up the eastern sky, the scenery began more spectacular with each passing minute. The increased illumination allowed us to see some of the icebergs that were floating in the distance. Then we began to see the snow-capped mountains and the sides of the mountains scarred by previous glaciers.

Our first stop was Boca del Diablo (Devil´s Mouth), a narrow portion of the lake and a gateway to the northern portion of the lake. When we first began stopping, I began examining the towering rock cliff for anything significant that might indicate why it would be of interest. At first, it appeared to be insignificant, but then I saw areas stained white where it appeared that birds had nested. Then I saw the fluffy juvenile andean condor standing on an edge of the rock cliff. This was the reason that the boat had stopped - and what a wonderful sight it was. Of course, a throng of people exited the boat with cameras in hand as I entered the boat to tell Margarita, who, of course, had already spotted it. The boat even backed up so that the passengers could get a good glimpse of the condor and we approached close enough to make the bird visibly nervous.

The sight I will surely always remember are the wild cows of the Patagonia, protected in the national park. The guide pointed out the grazing cows on the hillside, which I wouldn´t have given another thougt, except that these cows are on their own. Who would have thought that the cow could survive on its own in such a harsh environment? Not me. The cold relatively barren landscape and steep hillsides seem no impediment to the cows´ will to survive.

The next stop was a sizable iceberg which we circumnavigated. It was an impressive sight - larger than the boat and rich in blue colors as it wasn´t in direct sunlight. The middle portion of the glacier that was above water appeared to have been scooped away, creating a photographic opportunity that everybody wanted to take advantage of. We did. We repeated this pattern at least twice more with increasing larger icebergs as we approached the Upsala glacier. In two of the glaciers, the melting glacier had created a hole that allowed you to see through the glacier - another photographic opportunity. More impressive though were the rich colors of the icebergs and the interesting and artistic shapes that they took on.

The color of the lake was also interesting - a color that is described well by the term glacial milk. The water is slightly cloudy with minerals that the glacier erodes by friction and erosion. More on that later.

As we apprached the glacier, you could see that it continued on for many kilometers onward and upward. There were also many more icebergs in the water and we got closer. Upsala is a retreating glacier and we were unable to get as close to it as we had on the boat trip to the north face of the Perito Moreno glacier because of the glacial debris (basically lots of ice) left in its wake. Still, it was an impressive sight and we consumed plenty of film on this and the icebergs - most of which we will not want to see again. Also unlike Perito Moreno, there was no noticeable breaking off of chunks of ice falling off into the water. Even if there had been, we were too far away from the glacier´s face to see anything unless it was really large.

Meanwhile, Michaela found a temporary boyfriend in a 3-year old Brazilian boy named Bernardo. He delighted in interacting with her and she reciprocated, trying to chase him around the boat and playing on the stairs to the helm together. He told his mother that he wanted a sister just like Michaela. How sweet! We had also periodically been taking Michaela onto the deck of the boat to look around, but she seemed to enjoy being inside and playing with Bernardo more than looking at the glacier or anything else.

We left the glacier and headed to Onelli Bay, where we would have lunch. On the way there, we saw three more glaciers (Agassiz, Bolados and Onelli), which all provided for more postcard scenery. This is the definitely the place for postcard snapshots. You can`t point a camera in a direction that isn´t scenic.

At lunch, we purposely chose a table close to Bernardo and his family so Michaela would be entertained and distracted. There were a bunch of flags hanging from the ceiling, including Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Argentina, but no US flag. I found it somewhat strange that there wouldn´t be a US flag and we speculated that perhaps it was a political reaction to the US invasion of Iraq. I told Margarita and she asked the waiter about the lack of a US flag. He paused, and then said that it was a good question, indicating that it was basically an oversight.

Lunch was just ok. The milanesa I had was tasteless except for the tomato sauce and Margarita´s beef was ok. But what I liked most was the water! Since the guide kept telling us about the water and that the whole lake was drinkable, I ordered tap water (which I knew would be lake water) to drink at lunch. The waiter thought it an odd request, but complied, and a small pitcher of tap water was brought to the table. It appeared somewhat cloudy in the glass, as expected, but was very cold and tasted great. I ended up asking for another pitcher.

After lunch, we hiked about 800m through a wonderful forest of trees covered with lichen and moss. It was gorgeous. But what came next was even more spectacular: the Cementerio de los Témpanos (Iceberg Cementery), the lake that gets chunks of ice from the Agassiz, Bolados and Onelli glaciers. This is exactly as it sounds. Icebergs and chunks of ice lining the shore and floating in the water....everywhere. Of course, there was also a nearby waterfall and snow-capped mountains and glaciers to provide an even more scenic backdrop for the nearby sights. We joined the others in taking pictures while standing near or sitting on the ice chunks. And just like everyone else, we got wet butts. We took Michaela out of the backpack after she woke up from her brief nap so she could touch the ice and play on the rocks. Unfortunately, because we had chosen to eat lunch at the restaurant instead of bringing our own lunch (most of which I ate for breakfast), we had too little time to relaxand enjoy the sights - especially Michaela, who really enjoyed touching the ice and picking up rocks.

Back to the boat, where we all had to wash the bottoms of our shoes as we got on the boat. One of the fellow passengers confirmed that I was not Michael Moore, which got us talking about TV Nation, The Awful Truth, and Bowling for Columbine. We also saw three more wild cows of the Patagonia just before we got back on the boat.

Back on the boat, Michaela once again earned the adoration of everyone, who knew her name by the time we left - either because they asked or because they heard us calling her as she crawled up the steps to the helm or to the outside deck. Nearly everyone waved at her, said ¨Hola¨ or otherwise engaged her. Best of all was Bernardo, whose parents were quite happy, I´m sure, for him to be playing and not getting in their hair as much.

As expected, many of the people slept on the trip back to from Onelli Bay. I would have stayed outside and looked around if I could, but I watched Michaela as Margarita had engaging conversations with two different groups of women. Near the end of the boat trip, it became clear that Michaela wanted more milk - and we didn´t have any. Margarita asked and was provided milk for no charge. Unfortunately, it was quite warm, and Michaela has never had her milk warmed. She did not like it at all. We tried to cool it by taking it outside, but that wasn´t enough. I cooled it in the bathroom sink with cold water. Still wouldn´t drink it. I tried again. Still wouldn´t drink it. Finally, just before we reached the dock, I sang her to sleep. I felt soooo bad for her.

She woke up as we picked up our things (hopefully all of them) and exited the boat. As we stepped off, the crew touched and said chau and adios to Michaela. We got onto the bus and I sang Michaela to sleep once again. She and I slept the rest of the way back to Calafate.

Tomorrow we´re off to Ushuaia.

Posted by mike at May 17, 2003 06:50 PM