Patagonia 2017: Perito Moreno Glacier - Día Cinco

Patagonia 2017:  Glaciar Perito Moreno - Día Cinco – 2/12/17 – 5 km

Who visits Los Glaciares National Park without spending a day marveling at Perito Moreno Glacier?  Nobody, I hope.  It’s easy to get to, the infrastructure accommodates tons of visitors without feeling crowded, and why the heck did you come all the way to Patagonia anyway?  This wonder should not be missed.  Basic facts:

·        -  Patagonia’s most famous glacier and part of Los Glaciares National Park

·         - Part of the Southern Patagonian ice field from the last ice age

·         - 3^rd largest reserve of fresh water on the planet

·         - A UNESCO World Heritage Site (the entire Los Glaciares National Park)

·         - The glacier is 3 miles wide, 100-plus square miles of area

·         - The ice is 240 feet above water, 558 feet below water

·         - The glacier is advancing, not retreating – it grows several feet every day but loses about the same amount (calving) so it stays the same size

The majority of visitors travel to Perito Moreno Glacier by bus from El Calafate, either on a guided trip or by purchasing an all-day round trip ticket.  There are also boat trips and guided hikes on the glacier. For us, the least expensive and most time-flexible option was our rental car.  Less than 50 miles along one road following the shore of Lago Argentino and there you are. 

Lago Argentino

The only slow-down was multiple lines of vehicles to pay entrance fees.  I can’t remember exactly how much we paid, and web searches of fees are ambiguous, quoting between 330 ARS and 500 ARS ($20 to $30) for “foreigners”.  (Tour packages don’t enumerate their fees.)

Our itty bitty car up against the tour buses

The first look at Perito Moreno Glacier – the smaller left side - at the beautifully named

 Mirador de los Suspiros (“Lookout Point of the Sighs”).

Lago Argentino originates from the flow of Perito Moreno and other glaciers of the Southern Patagonia ice field.  At its beginning the narrow lake surrounds three sides of Península Magallanes and from there it flows to become the large body of water we’ve seen over the last few days as we drove across the steppes.  The visitor center sits at the tip of the peninsula, directly across from Perito Moreno.  (At times the glacier advances to touch the peninsula, bisecting that end of the lake.)  An impressive labyrinth of boardwalks takes visitors to multiple overlooks and viewpoints where you feel as though you can reach out and touch the ice – but don’t stray off the wooden pathways to the shoreline. A number of fatalities have occurred from dangerous backwash and flying ice chunks.

Blues, blues, blues of the Canal de los Témpanos (Iceberg Channel) where the icebergs drift from the glacier into Lago Argentino

The boardwalk took us on a teasing walk along the lakeshore, then rounded the corner to reveal the glacier.  Simply amazing.

For scale: a boat approaching the glacier

I found it difficult to keep moving along the boardwalks because, well, I might miss seeing something awesome.  I learned from the interpretive signs that icebergs break off of the glacier quite frequently, and most calving activity happens in the afternoons after a little sunbathing time has loosened things up. 

Time and time again, the thundercrack of ice chunks calving from the glacier reached our ears a couple of beats after the process began.  All viewers along the catwalk held their breath, scanning back and forth across the glacier face looking for the pieces that had broken free.  Most often we could only catch the splash as the massive ice splinters crumbled into the water.  We’d focus on sections that looked precarious – surely that section is going next! What to do, watch or take pictures?

There goes an iceberg!

A wave is forming

The wave reaches the shore

 

We wandered all over the boardwalks, experiencing the glacier from every which way, stopping often just to absorb and marvel at the intensity and variations of colors in the ice.  On this day we weren’t about making the miles, we were about standing still and witnessing an amazing Mother Nature doing Her work.

We left Perito Moreno where we found him and headed back to town for our last night in Argentina.  Along the way we stopped at the Glaciarium, a privately funded museum of wonder dedicated to all things glacier in the world and especially in Patagonia. The detailed exhibits encompass researchers and historical perspectives, details on individual glaciers, and shine a spotlight on climate change and its devastating effects (it will make you weep).  It is a wannabe-glaciologist’s dream but we did not have time to do it justice.  I recommend that you visit the Glaciarium before Perito Moreno, as it will exponentially increase your appreciation for the natural wonder.

Random photo of the day:  a roadside shrine.  We saw these touching expressions of love on many roads in Patagonia.   

How to round out the day?  In El Calafate we had a disappointing meal at Napolean Pizza, but we didn’t skip our evening toast with cheap beer!

 

Cathy and Rick, feeling an itch to walk some more miles, walked back to our place via the flamingos along the lakeshore, while Carol and I took the car.  Chores included cleaning up and repacking for tomorrow’s day-long bus ride across the border into Chile.  Before lights out we also caught up on Saturday Night Live’s skits with Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer – priceless! Went to bed with smiles on our faces.

“Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in.  They are going to ask what did you do about it, when you knew the glaciers were melting.” ~Martin Sheen