El Calafate & Perito Moreno

Dear all
 Just 5 hours up the road and over the border in Argentina is the mammoth Glacier Perito Moreno.This is the most spectacular and unforgettable day out since our visit to Torres del Paine two days! No seriously I thought I had started to lose the ability to be wowed by spectacular views and then all at once two come along together! The day itself wasn't wonderful, but the mist in the air only added beautiful rainbows over the whole valley.

 Time for some stats! The glacier is 35km long and 5km wide and approximately 74m high above the lake, what makes it exceptional is that its one of three advancing glaciers out of the 48  fed by the Southern Pategonian ice field, located in the Andean system shared with neighbouring Chile.


Periodically the glacier advances over the L-shaped Lake forming a natural dam which separates the two halves of the lake when it reaches the opposite shore. With no escape route, the water-level on the Brazo Rico side of the lake can rise by up to 30 meters above the level of the main lake. The enormous pressure produced by the height of the dammed water finally breaks the ice barrier holding it back, in a spectacular rupture event. This last occured in July 2008, with distructive consequances flattening a huge ancient forest.

The reason this place is so popular is because of the ideally placed Peninsula de Magallanes is close enough to provide fantastic vistas, but far enough away to be safe.   We spent most of the day either taking a boat up to the face of the northern side or wondering around the boardwalks & platforms, of which there are over 8km criss crossing around the terminus. The glacier is never quiet, cracking and smashing its way down to the lake.Every so often you will see ice slicing off the face and roar down the face of the glacier crashing into the lake below.  On our way back to the bus we saw this magnificent Magellan woodpecker having his lunch.


Back in the tourist town of El Calefate there is not much to do apart from eat in fancy restaurants or upmarket souvenir shops, but I did manage to find a small but perfectly formed wetlands centre - Laguna Nimez, which took about 2 hours to walk around and had a huge number of birds including flamingos!

Tomorrow we head north along the infamous Ruta 40 to Bariloche.

Thanks for looking

Sara