One of the highlights of the Patagonia region is the Perito Moreno Glacier. This glacier crashes into Lago Argentina, sometimes severing the lake into two. It has been ebbing and flowing for the last 100 years or so in size, but has now started to recede due to climate change. The final glacier in the world to do so.
The morning had a bit of chaos. We needed to eat breakfast, as that’s a thing that humans do. For some reason, in El Calafate nothing, even the cafe’s, open until 10. Our bus to the glacier leaves at 9. We ended up picking up a bunch of snacks (cold empanadas) from some convenience store, before stumbling onto a sandwich joint right beside the bus station.
Loaded on food, we headed out on the hour and a half ride to the glacier.
I’m not quite sure what we were expecting from the glacier. Our experience with other Argentina National Parks have been very rugged and wild. Not here. A little restaurant was at the entrance. There was a shuttle to the glacier. And then a nice metal walking path to it as well. We took the walking path.
The first views are that of icebergs in Lago Argentina with mountains on either side. The glacier came slowly into view as we moved along the catwalks. Then we heard a large boom. A small splash in the distance. The glacier was calving today. We never thought that would happen, but here we were, a beautiful sunny day, perfect for melting.
As the glacier comes into full view, the sheer size of the glacier comes into effect. This thing is massive. 70m high on the front. 4km wide and stretched back into an ice field hundreds of 100km long. The beauty, power and fear is immense. Calving season still continued, as we watched two massive chunks fall off in front of us. The sounds shoot into the wild like cannonballs. It was impressive to see.
The glacier is very touristic. The wall of the glacier is very close to land, so it is very easy to get close. There is easy wheelchair infrastructure in place, so those who don’t like to walk can still easily see it. If you go away from the main lookout though, its gets a lot less busy quickly.
We spent maybe two hours just watching the glaciers and talking. Our conversations were frequently interrupted by the groaning sounds of the glacier. We overheard some conversations too, including some gals who did a 5 day plane trip over Antarctica. Sounded really intense.
All along the boardwalks there were infographics about the glacier. Sometimes, the glacier collides into the land on the other side, where the boardwalk is. This severs Lago Argentina in two, and the south arm’s water level can increase by 18m. Eventually the water breaks through the ice dam, creating a flood, and then an ice arch for a couple years, before eventually collapsing. We saw photo’s of this phenomenon, but with the glacier receding year after year, its unlikely that this event will ever occur again, at least within our lifetimes.
Please enjoy some photo’s of the glacier. They do not do the scale of the ice in person justice.
This is our last adventure in Patagonia. In El Calafate after, I had a nice conversation with an old local lady at the pharmacy, who was lamenting about her life. Lots of substance tragedies that have taken away her physical abilities to do what she wants.
We had dinner at a local steakhouse with our friends Adam and Colin. They were doing 7 weeks together throughout Patagonia and Bolivia, and seemed to have a lot of the same ideas we did. We shared stories over dinner, and then parted ways.
We’re off now! We have another flight to take, to the far opposite side of the country. From ice to rushing water. We will see you there!
The most beautiful blue I have ever seen was in Alaska from the calving glaciers. How wonderful that you were able to spend so much time in their glory.
70 m of vertical is a tall glacier, impressive to see. The sounds of a glacier calving must be loud and unique, not something you’ll hear again for awhile. Stay smilin, stay cool.