We are back in El Calafate for our last full day of adventure in Argentina (well, besides the day+ of travel back to the states, that was an adventure in itself). We stayed at Esplendor Hotel Boutique again and woke up early to catch the ride out to Perito Moreno Glacier with Hielo y Aventura. We highly recommend their operation, the tour was, yet again, an experience of a lifetime!
A little fun at the edge of the glacier before our trek
The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz province, Argentina. It was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century and played a major role in defending the territory of Argentina in the conflict surrounding the international border dispute with Chile.It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentine Patagonia.
The 97 sq mi ice formation, and 19 mi in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.
The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier (above) is 3 mi wide, with an average height of 240 ft above the surface of the water of Lake Argentino, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 558 ft.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing.
After viewing the terminus we hopped on a boat and road across to the trailhead that would lead us up to our trek out onto the glacier. We hiked for about an hour or so, then strapped on crampons and harnesses and explored the amazing ice features.
The photos will speak for themselves.
The ride back on the boat included whisky over glacier ice and views/sounds of the glacier calving off of the South side into Lago Argentino.
Back in town, we enjoyed one last huge Argentinian dinner of lamb, steak and wine at the Don Pichon restaurant overlooking the town.
Our final dinner at Don Pichon
The next morning we had a few hours to explore the town a bit more and enjoyed an authentic mate form the yerba maté plant. The waiter at Borges y Alvarez Libro-Bar was kind enough to explain the social ritual drinking procedures and we ended up buying some mate and a traditional gourd cup to enjoy back at home.
Enjoying an authentic mate
Then it was off to the airport (Be sure to bring tax money to pay before you can enter security. They never mentioned this to us and we had a horrible time trying to get it paid since that day Visa was "not working" for them and there is no ATM at the airport!) to begin 18 hours of travel back to Colorado via Trelew, Buenos Aires (with a mad dash through baggage, security and customs to barley catch our plane), and Houston.
As you can see, it was most definitely a trip of a lifetime. We would be glad to give anyone that is traveling to the are more details, so reach out to us if your planning a visit to Argentina/Chile.
Salud!!
To view photos from
EcoCamp Perito Moreno Glacier,
click HERE
EcoCamp Perito Moreno Glacier,
click HERE
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