Perito Moreno Glacier

We are still in Patagonia and the internet is still slow. Just to loadup my yahoo page and hotmail account took me 10 minutes! so i guess nopictures till later still.

We visited Perito Moreno Glacier the day after we arrived. It is what most people are here (El Calafate)for. In the morning, we took a short bus ride there, then a boat ride across Lago Argentino (Lake Argentina) to see the glacier up close. The boat stayed there long enough for passengers to appreciate the beauty of it and to take pictures. Just when the boat was about to turn back,we heard a huge sound. And this is what everyone has been waiting for -the sight of icebergs breaking off the shelve. We all rushed to the deck only to see a big splash of water. But then more and more are happening, small or big chunks of ice fell off the shelve every few minutes accompanied by people´s shouting and screaming in excitement(including myself!).

In the afternoon, the sun came out and hit the glacier. More and more chunks of ice broke off from the shelve and collapsed into the lake in front of it with lightening sound. The iceberg first submerge into water because of the weight and velocity,then after a few seconds when all the sound subsides, it slowly and quietly rose above water. The color has changed from white to pure blue because of the light transmission. It has risen so gracefully that i thought it was a huge whale coming above water. Then all of a sudden the big chunk is shattered into thousands of pieces and then slowlysank into the water and made another big splash. It was a stunning sight. I could stare at it the whole day and watch its action. The glacier is alive, you have to see it to believe.

The following few days we just took it easy, reading a book at ¨home¨,strolling in downtown, or making simple dinner for ourselves. We also visited some other glaciers further away by boat. The boat ride took us across the lake, passed numerous icebergs to access various glaciers inthe national park. They are all beautiful and breathtaking but none of them can hold a candle to Perito Merino.

It turned out that the nice weather we had the first two days was pure luck. On the day when we had the boat ride, the rain was pouring and wind blowing. I could hardly walk straight. But I guess it´s part of the whole package.You can´t come to Patagonia without experiencing its capricious weather.

Advise? I would say come in summer, but some argue that in winter weather is more predictable. (I interpret that as always cold and snowing :P). use sun screen even when it´s cold, and stay at America del sur. :)

Pascal and I in front of Perito Moreno Glacier

the boat ride that took us up close to appreciate the glacier from bottom up.

a huge chunk of ice had just broken off and you can see the blue iceberg just about to rise above water. It seems small on the picture but I assure you it´s really really big.

another boat ride to see other glaciers.

along the way we see many icebergs floating around. they are so beautiful especially when sun hits it, it illuminates with a whimsical blue color.

imagine your guide took u there and told you this is where you picnic! The unpredictable weather in Patagonia it is

Escape from the heat

Leaving the burning hot Iguazu falls and the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires, we arrived at the picturesque, quiet and peaceful Patagonia, where snow capped mountains, glaciers and lakes await. It´s very refreshing to be here. Not having to look out for reckless drivers, pickpockets, dog poops in the city, mosquitos and the brutal sun in subtropical Iguazu makes walking around in this small town El Cafalate specially pleasant.

We made another excellent choice of the hostel (go hostelworld.com!). When the airport shuttle dropped us off, we were greeted by the super friendly staff, music was flowing in their high-ceiling ¨living room¨with huge windows, nice sofa and tables where a few people are chilling out, reading or just staring at the mountains outside the window. Above us is a loft area where there is couches with throwing pillows, ottomen, travel books, chess, card games and a guitar. I feel like I´ve just walked into a page in Traveller´s magazine. I already loved Patagonia.

Later we just spent the afternoon strolling in the town. Dainty little shops, bookstores, restaurants and travel agencies fills this not very big but really charming downtown. People are just strolling at an easy pace and enjoying the very gentle sun. As for me, not having to apply sun screen or smell like eucalyptus to repell mosquitos already make this the most enjoyable walk of the trip, not to mention the hot chocolate and calzone (italian stuffed pizza) we had at a corner bar. it was delicioso.

There´s just one thing. All the internet here is still via satellite. (they can definitely use some cisco equipment here!). I guess all the people around me at the internet cafe are competing for that very limited bandwidth at this very moment, so pictures will just have to wait…. but I promise some mind-blowing pictures of the glacier will come very soon…

the ¨living room of our hostel. this is where we hang out, read a book, or having simple meals.