Here I am still thinking about Argentina and wanting to share some details with my readers who have never been to Patagonia (or Buenos Aires for that matter). You hear the word Patagonia and everyone thinks of the clothing line (they have done a good job of advertising their brand!). But the real Patagonia is an arid and very windy wasteland at the southern tip of South America. It is comprised of both Argentina and Chile and both share some spectacular scenery. I have been lucky enough to visit both and it is a real toss up as to which I would rather visit.
On the Argentine side, you fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, about a 3 and 1/2 hour flight. Everyone always thinks that air service in the rest of the world is like our airlines in the USA. They are stunned when they find that in South America and elsewhere in the world that there are not flights every hour and connections out of every city to every other city. In Argentina...there are about 2 flights per day to El Calafate and they fill quickly. That is they fill quickly in summer (from November to February when temps reach a balmy 50 degrees). In the winter months the population of El Calafate decreases substantially as there are no tourists to serve as winter winds blow over the glaciers and snows get very deep. Only the hardy farmers and sheep herders stick around in the cold months.
So...with a short season and lots of hotel rooms to fill with hikers, adventurers and mostly people who want to see some of the most spectacular glacier fields in the world...this little town which used to be only a spec on the map...has grown a whole lot.
The most amazing thing for Argentines as well as foreign tourists are the wildness and the Glaciers. There are any number of them...the Perito Moreno Glacier is the most spectacular and one of the few glaciers in the world that is not melting or growing. Then there is the fabulous Upsala Glacier with its channel of icebergs where 2/3rds of the chunks of ice are below the surface of the water.
It's quite an experience to take a boat trip out through the channel with the patrol boat leading the way to warn of hidden ice that could crack the hull of any ship. You can hear the "clunk" "clunk" of the smaller pieces hitting the boat as you journey closer to this amazing glacier.
Then there is the Spegazzini and Onelli glaciers and the huge Viedma Glacier a little farther north. These are just some of the 48 glaciers that can be found within the Glacier National Park which stretches across Argentina and Chile. It is the worlds 3rd largest source of fresh water.
There are now tourist excursions to all of these complete with boat rides and commentary...but for my money the best experience is the mini ice trekking tour that allows you to walk on tome of the Perito Moreno Glcier. It is the most amazing thing to be walking along the crevasses with your guide and to hear the tremendous crack noises coming from within. It is also hard to believe that you are standing on top of approximate 240 ft of ice (from the lake up to where you traverse). If you don't feel so adventurous.....you can walk around the metal "balconies" that Argentina has built. Make sure you work on your "stairmaster" before you go as none of these excursions are made for handicapped. The balconies are a series of steps up and down and all around the glacier. Here too you can hear the noises coming from this huge mountain of ice that stretches some 30 miles from where you will see it. These glaciers make our Alaskan glaciers look small in comparison.
Best of all if you really don't want to get out in the wild winds of Patagonia is the wonderful Los Notros. This Argentine hostelry fetches a pretty price for the honor of being the only accommodations within the National Park and best of all...every room faces Perito Moreno Glacier....a spectacular site at dawn and at sunset!
So strap on your crampons (to help you walk on the ice for those of you who are uninitiated into climbing and hiking ) and get yourselves down to Patagonia before there are too many people there to make it a true adventure.
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