Hiking in the northern section of Parque Nacional de los Glaciares was a great experience as was Rancho Grande and El Chalten. Christi and I never did see the top of Cerro Torre though or make it to the base of Cerro Fitz Roy; maybe we’ll return one day and try again (and to eat another piece of the most exquisite home-made dulce de leche and nut pie)
There is little opportunity to rest after our exertions in the northern part of the park, though, as today we have signed up for a tour of the Perito Moreno Glacier in the southern part of the park. The weather again proves to be unpredictable and unsettled, alternating between snow and sun. The Perito Moreno Glacier is remarkable for being one of only a handful in the world to still be moving forward. Most glaciers are receding due to the ravages of global warming. Perito Moreno is also very active, such that calving is a daily occurrence. There are various terraces and platforms built amid a forest that give close up views of the glacier’s activity. We see one actual calving and hear groans and crashes as other sections disgorge icebergs into Laguna Argentino. Up close the glacier is very blue with spires or giant crystals of ice perched precariously at the front of the living, breathing monster. As the clouds lift and the sun peeps out the complete awe-inspiring spectacle of the ice field comes into view demanding to be photographed.
The boat ride is even more spectacular. The glacier dwarfs us and each time ice crashes into the lake huge ripples slam into the boat. We are so insignificant and powerless in the face of this force of nature. The weather remains unpredictable and during our 45-minute excursion we experience snow, rain, and sun. A typical day in southern Patagonia.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale
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