El Calafate: Iceberg, Front!

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Day 160 – Sunday 26th February 2006

Either I got really pissed or I needed a decent kip because I was dead to the world until midday. That wasn’t a problem as it didn’t stop me doing what I had planned for the day, which was going to visit one of the “must see’s” in South America.

Glacier Perito Moreno is one of only two advancing glaciers in South America, and every day it moves forward by two metres. Dont be alarmed folks, we are not entering another ice age, as to counteract this advancement, every day the same amount breaks off and crashes into Lago Argentina.

I took an afternoon trip to the glacier, arriving just at a good time apparently as the ice was cracking and breaking and the booms that rung through the glacial valley were a good sign. After watching the ice for about ten minutes a sheer face of ice broke off and crashed down into the icy blue waters below. It was hard to get a scale on the size of the ice until a tour boat sailed to within a few hundred metres of the face. The glacier was actually a lot bigger than it looked as it totally dwarfed the tour vessel.

When the ice sheared off and fell into the water it created a huge wave which fanned out until it hit the shoreline. I watched the ice with anticipation for the three hours that I was at the glacier, and three times huge chunks broke off & slid down into the water creating those huge splashes and waves. There were chunks of ice floating in the water, gradually melting and becoming part of the lake.

I also found out why the water is the turquiose colour. It is to do with particles that remain suspensed in the water, similar to silt but obviously a different colour!

After the three big break offs the sun began to set and the ice stoppoed cracking and booming as much, which just gave me a chance to look out and appreciate the surroundings rather than continually watching the ice face hoping for another bit to fall off. Set in a valley with Lago Argentina in front and the glacier stretching 15kms away into the distance it definately deserved the reputation as one of South America’s “must see’s”.