We had a 7:30 wake-up call, an 8:00 breakfast, and a 9:00 departure.
Once again the incredible flatness of the Patagonian steppes impressed
everyone. We drove for more than 3 hours before reaching the edge
of the Río Santa Cruz valley. The day was crystal clear.
From the crest we could see the broad river 300m lower, and the jagged
peaks of the Andes off to the west. The most impressive peak was
Cerro Fitzroy. Lago Argentino looked a greenish-blue.
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This view looks northwestward across the Río Santa
Cruz valley toward the Andes on the horizon. Barely visible
in the haze at the foot of the mountains is Lago Argentino,
one of many moraine-dammed finger lakes on
the east side of the mountains. |
We descended into the valley and headed west for the final 30 km into
El Calafate. We drove to the Apart-Hotel Libertador on the main street
and unloaded. It is a nice place with a friendly staff.
Immediately afterward, we got on the bus and drove a block to wait for
20 minutes for a milanesa sandwich lunch. It was good but was twice
as much food as we needed. We then drove 70 km westward to the front
of the Perito Moreno Glacier. Our guide, Soledad, told me of a new
boat excursion that, for $20 per person, sails out to the glacier and stands
just off of the 50-70 m wall of ice. Almost everyone went for it.
It was fun to get that close to the ice. We saw one good calving.
The boat ride lasted an hour. Just as impressive as the ice were all of
the structures exposed on the shoreline of the lake. After returning
to the dock, we went up to the overlooks on the east side of the glacier.
I was focused in on a pretty blue ice block when it broke free and fell
50m into the water. I got it all on video.
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| The first view of the Perito Moreno glacier is always
impressive. |
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The boat excursion took us close to the ice. We hoped
for a large calving
but only saw a small one. |
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The overlook in front of the glacier provides the best
views of the ice and
the glacially scoured landscape. |
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The Perito Moreno Glacier is a finger coming off of the
Patagonian Ice Sheet, the
third largest ice sheet, after Antarctica and Greenland. |
I was surprised how different the glacier is now from 1989. It
has ceased surging so it no longer blocks the channel between the north
and south arms of the lake. For that reason, there have been no jokelhlaups
since 1988. Because the south side of the lake’s level no longer fluctuates,
there is significant exposure on the shoreline between the present lake
level and the old high water level from the jokelhlaup days.
Everyone was very happy with the day. We returned to the hotel
at 8:00 and had dinner at an all-you-can-eat restaurant called “El Chino.”
During dinner word came that Presidente Saá had resigned.
All of the Argentines in the restaurant broke into applause. The comedy
continues…
After dinner, I stopped by a restaurant and bought a bottle of wine
which Greg, Sally and I drank to help us prepare for the big day tomorrow.
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