Glaciers and Icebergs – Happy New Year!

It seems rather crazy that I am typing this at the end of September, and only now writing about the New Year – I could have gone through a whole pregnancy by now – thank goodness that isn’t the case!  Life has gotten in the way of my writing about our experiences, but I can’t leave out one of the most amazing spectacles of nature we were able to witness before we left our expat lives behind.  As I have repeated numerous times throughout this journal, one of the best gifts of embracing the opportunity to live in Brazil was definitely the rewards we gained through our travels and vacations.  Living in South America opened up a whole new world to us and allowed us to visit a few of the most fascinating places on earth (at least in my opinion!).  One of our favorite trips, by far, was our visit to the Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate, in the Patagonian region of Argentina. 
 

We arrived in El Calafate on the evening of December 29, 2013 – we were please to find that it was much warmer than it had been in Ushuaia, with temperatures in the mid-sixties.  Because it was a Saturday before a major holiday, the town was packed with tourists.  The boys were tired from our day of traveling, and wanted to stay and relax at the hotel, but Matt and I set out in search of cash.  Traveling in Argentina is becoming more of a challenge when it comes to money.  Credit cards are not accepted in many circumstances, leaving cash as your only option.  The government also has tightened restrictions on the buying and selling of U.S. dollars, so to get the most “bang for your buck” – quite literally – people end up trading the money on the black market.  Unfortunately, we were racing against the clock – the banks and exchange offices were closing just as we got to town and would not reopen until January 2^nd – 4 days later!  Another problem with traveling over the holidays is that ATMs usually run out of money and are not replenished until the next business day.  We had depleted our stash of cash during our days in Ushuaia, so our goal was to find a working-ATM that accepted our U.S. bank card – this proved a difficult task.   Ready to give up, we returned to the hotel, where the sweet desk clerk told us of a bank at the end of town whose ATM machines accepted international cards.  This time, with the boys in tow, we set out to find money and dinner – after walking about a mile, we finally had some luck – with our wallets and bellies full, we headed back to the hotel and had a good night’s sleep before our next adventure. 

     

The next morning, we had an early start – the bus picked us up (right on time!) and we relaxed on the ride through the Patagonian Steppe on our way to get our first glimpse of the Perito Moreno Glacier.  Also known as the Patagonia Desert, it is the largest desert in Argentina, covering over 260,000 square miles.  The expansive cold weather desert is bordered by the Andes, providing a contrasting scenery of arid farmland with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.  Aside from tourism, the only industry here is farming – primarily cattle and sheep – of which we saw plenty on our drive through the desert. 

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most important tourist attractions in Argentina.  It covers an area of about 97 square miles and is continuing to grow.  Situated on Lake Argentino, the average height of the glacier is about 240 feet above the surface of the water, with a total ice depth of about 560 feet.  It is impossible to wrap your mind around the enormity of this mass of ice unless you see it with your own eyes – and that is exactly what we got to do next!

After a short stop at an overlook for our first glimpse of the glacier, we boarded a boat that took us for an up-close view of the south wall of the glacier.  Despite the cold temperatures and wind from being on the water, we gathered on the deck to see and hear the ice.  Because the glacier is constantly in motion, loud rumbles (like thunder) can be heard as the ice cracks and eventually breaks off, sending huge chunks of ice into the water, creating even louder booms and enormous splashes.  Amazed by the beautiful blue mountain of ice before us, we were captivated and mesmerized by this spectacle of nature. 

But the fun was only beginning – after our boat ride, we continued on the bus to the top of the glacier.  Here, at the “pasarelas”, or boardwalks, we were able to get an even closer look at the glacier and really appreciate the sheer magnitude of its size and beauty.  There really aren’t words to describe the excitement and emotion we felt over a mass of ice, but it was a surreal experience.  We explored as much of the glacier (from the boardwalks only – we opted not to go trekking on the ice) as we could in the time we were given.  Alex found a viewing spot and did not want to leave for fear of missing any chunks of ice falling into the water, but we convinced him to move on.  He seemed to have become quite the expert in detecting an upcoming break in the ice and we were soon rewarded by witnessing two massive pieces (each of them about 200 feet high – the size of a 20-story building!) fall into the lake. 

The canon-like booms echoed off the glacier’s walls and the sight of the ice hitting the water and creating an enormous splash brought tears to my eyes – it was a breathtaking experience, and certainly one I will never forget.  Both boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves; Alex gave the glaciers two thumbs up, and it warmed my heart when he took my hand and said, “When I’m a dad, I want to bring my kids here so they can see this!”  That’s all a parent needs to hear – this trip was definitely worth every penny!

The following day was New Year’s Eve and we had another full agenda.  The day’s adventures would take us on a day-long tour on Lake Argentino.  The lake, which lies within Los Glaciares National Park and is the largest freshwater lake in Argentina, is fed by glacier water, giving it a milky turquoise hue.  Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the lake is also home to numerous glaciers and icebergs as big as buildings.  We spent the day lounging on the boat, occasionally stepping outside to get better glimpses or photos of the many icebergs we passed (one of which looked like a penguin lying on its back). 

The crew broke chunks of ice off of the icebergs and served cocktails prepared with “glacier ice” and the boys enjoyed posing with the ice for pictures.  Along our journey, we visited the Upsala Glacier, which is the largest on Lago Argentino, though not as accessible as Perito Moreno.  We also saw Peineta Glacier, Spegazzini Glacier (the tallest on the lake), and the north face of Perito Moreno.  While what we saw was beautiful, there was no comparison to the previous day’s experience.  We finished off our holiday travels with a New Year’s Eve dinner in the town of El Calafate, making it back to the hotel in time to ring in the New Year with a champagne toast and phone calls to our family back in the States.  Without a doubt, despite the long distance from family and home, this was a holiday we will never forget!