Moreno Glacier, El Calafate, Argentina

After our trek in El Chalten, we continued south on our way to Puerto Natales, the jumping off point for our next trek. A nice stopover in El Calafate would allow us to see one of Patagonia’s great glaciers (and continue to rest up for the next hike—did we mention how out of shape we are!?). 

On the way in to ‘Los Glaciers Natural Park’ our first look at the glacier was from a boat on Lake Argentino… fed by the massive Perito Moreno Glacier. 

Moreno Glacier is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still advancing (despite global climate change!).  We were lucky enough to catch one of the massive ice chunks plunge into the lake and the mini-tsunami that resulted. 

Panoramic of the glacier from lake level (3 pictures merged):

After viewing the glacier from the lake, we continued into the park where we could view the glacier from land.  The glacier extends into ‘L-shaped’ Lake Argentino in such a way that the glacier comes right up to the hillside:

No, we did not take this picture.  :o)   

Very fortunate for tourists that want to see something like this up close… the land inlet provides a unique viewing opportunity from some amazing vantage points:

A series of inter-winding catwalks along the hillside give us plenty of viewing space from different angles.  

As we stood and looked on, we could hear the glacier groan and crack… the only audible sounds.  Us and the other onlookers watched and waited for big pieces to fall off and splash into the lake.  We waited and waited with cameras ready. Although we caught an amazing ice fall from the boat, we wanted to catch “the big one” on camera from up-close. We had plenty of time to kill before our bus back to El Calafate, so we wandered around the different viewing platforms… but always ready to take that perfect picture (and video).

Chunks of ice floating beneath the glacier. 

The ice floating deeper into Lake Argentino

After a while, just standing there, we got cold and decided to go in to the park building to warm up.  We climbed the catwalks up to the main building, and just as we were out of sight of the glacier, we heard a HUGE rumbling, followed by everyone CHEERING and clapping!!  We scrambled to catch a view and saw only a huge wave moving across the lake.  Yup, we missed it. 

Oh well… at least we caught one big ice-fall while we were on the lake.  :o )  A few more pictures late in the day:

It took four pictures, merged together, to get this panoramic view of the glacier from above.  These pictures still don’t do a proper job conveying the enormity of this glacier! 

We bused back to town, tired and cold… but still in awe at this natural wonder!

 

Next stop:  Puerto Natales and the long-awaited Torres del Paine trek!!!

Fitz Roy Trek, Patagonia

From Bariloche, it would be another 2 straight days on a bus to get to the town of El Chalten, Argentina.  By now, we’ve grown accustomed to the long bus rides and pass the time by rotating the Kindle e-reader (don’t know how we would survive without it!  I’ve read more books in the past month than the previous 3 years!), the iPod and the computer. 

Fitz Roy is one of the more “classic” treks of Patagonia.  After all the time we spent reading and researching this place, we were captivated by the iconic peaks as they came in to view. 

Our first look at Mount Fitz Roy…

 

With one main paved road and no stop lights, tiny El Chalten is Argentina’s newest city… a loose collection of hostels, restaurants and shops selling trekking gear and provisions.  

The trailhead is a short walk from our hostel… we packed our bags, made a reservation for our return (leaving whatever we did not need for the next few days), and hit the trail.  On this trek, we would camp for two nights, hike for three….

  El Chalten fading away in the distance

At the end of day 1, we have great views of ‘El Torres’ (the towers).  After setting up camp, we enjoyed spending time along the shores of this glacier-fed lake… Lago Torre.  These mini icebergs lined the shore as chunks of Glacier Grande would flake off and make their way across the lake to the rocky shores on which we were sitting.

 

A 2-hour hike from camp would take us up close to Glacier Grande…

   

 

Our tent set up next to Roy’s… we met up with him again after initially meeting him in San Pedro (northern Chile) several weeks ago.

A falcon (??) wandering through camp

 

The next couple of days, we would circumnavigate Mount Fitz Roy… relatively easy, flat hiking in the valley… definitely our speed.

On the last day, we stopped along one of the several lakes to eat lunch.  A perfect time to kick back, relax and soak our weary feet in the cool water.

An actual  red-heading woodpecker… and we thought they only existed in cartoons!

  

Back in El Chalten… it was nice to be able to hike directly back to town (no bus rides or connections)

Llamas… we’re guessing they’re used as pack animals for day trips to the park… if we had only known… : –)

More wildlife throughout town… getting attacked by a Patagonian Bear (or maybe it’s a Golden Retriever… not quite sure)