After a painless 1-hour flight from Ushuaia, I landed in El Calafateā¦ it was that or a 20-24 hour bus trip!! The town is located near the edge of the Andes Mountains and is most famous for trekking and the Perito Moreno glacier. I spent my first day exploring the town and doing a long walk down to and alongside Lago Argentino ā a huge glacial lake, with stunning blue- green waters. The town, though touristy, is pleasant and filled with cosy cottages. The next day I went to the main attraction: Perito Moreno by bus, as it is 80km west of the town, towards the Chilean border. The drive there is really very scenic, with snow covered mountains and sheep Estancias. The road follows the shores of Lago Argentino. It was also exciting as there was a large group of condors feeding on a sheep close to the road. These birds are spectacular- and so large- with wingspans of 3m!
The glacier is located in southern portion of Los Glaciares National Park. There are a series of walks in front of the glacier- on the opposite side of the lake and ablation area. All of these are stainless steel boardwalks, with lots of stairs interconnecting the levels and viewing platforms. You can actually thus get pretty close to the glacier- and she is a beauty to observe as she calves often and if the tourists are not noisy, you can hear the popping and exploding of the ice inside the glacier. It actually sounds like an approaching thunderstorm. The ice is released off the face (calving) with explosions rather than it just falling off. The face of the glacier is 40-70m high and it is 5km wide! It also contains many ice peaks and crevasses- which makes it a very aesthetically pleasing glacier to see!
As I was satisfied with my glaciology for the day I decided that it was nearly time to go and catch the bus, so I made my way up to the waiting area at the end of the trails ā the top car park. I asked four people whether my bus company picked up people from top and bottom car parks and they all said yes. So I waitedā¦and waited and no bus showed up. This is now a problem, as I saidā¦80km is a bit far to walk!! So I took the shuttle bus to the lower car park and decided to try and hitchhike for 45min with no takers L ! So I changed my strategy and stalked an English couple that were making their way to the car park. I excused myself and plead my case to see if they would take pity on me- and the great Paul and Claire Weeks did!! So grateful that they didā¦best English couple ever!! We also had a very entertaining trip, I told them about my trip to Antarctica and gave them some tips about their southern travels and they shared stories of their travels and rubbing shoulders with Kit Harington.
The funniest was when Claire nearly grabbed the steering wheel every time Paul took a corner- which was all the time on the windy road!! The usual conversation of trusting your partner driving came upā¦I just said that thatās what wives are for. Just before we entered El Calafate again, Paul wasnāt slowing down for a speed bump ahead. So I said āHey Paul, speed bump aheadā¦ oh and sorry, now you have two wivesā; we laughed so hard we cried. Not a few minutes later and Paul confesses that they havenāt quite figured out how the right of way principles work in Argentina. I was likeā¦ā This is not making me feel safe or confidentā and again we burst into tears. So happy that I missed that bus in the endā¦all is well that ends well and makes you laugh!!
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Podobnie sie jezdzilo z Francuzami – dziadkiem i babcia.