November 2006
From Puerto Madryn we flew to El Calafate en the far south west. We did not do too much hiking there but we took two tours of glaciers that were spectacular, we took a million pictures.
The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the few glaciers in the world which is not receding. About every 4 years or so it blocks the flow of water between two lakes. The water level builds on one side for a couple years and then the ice breaks in a huge explosion and flood. The lake behind me is the high side, the lower lake is to the right on the other side of that spit of land but you can't see it from here.
This is the other side, the lower lake. The blue color of the ice was really amazing. We were in a boat that takes you out in front of the glacier for this picture.
This is still the lower side but from where the glacier touches land, just off the picture to the left. The spot in the water off to the right is the boat were were in which gives you an idea how big this glacier really is (this is a large boat that holds 200 people). The glacier is 10 stories high at the face and 10 miles long. We saw and heard a piece fall off the face that was about three times as big as the boat.
The day after we went to the Perito Moreno glacier we took an all day boat trip to three other glaciers. This is an iceberg from one of the other glaciers. The part you can see is the size of a three story house.
This glacier has a central moraine, in other words two glaciers come together and scrape up dirt where they meet before flowing off to the lake.
These are two icebergs with a boat in between for scale.
The final glacier that the boat stopped at was a 20 min. walk from the boat. From the picture you'd say we were alone.
You'd be wrong, the boat held about 200 people ...
