Today's Lesson (1/23): The Southern Patagonian Glacier is the third largest in the world, after Antarctica and Greenland.
We spent yesterday transporting to and visiting a little in El Calafate on a drizzly, chilly day, mostly for today's visit to Los Glacieres National Park, the main attraction for the small but expensive tourist town of El Calafate. We took an early bus ride with our tour company then a boat to a refugio where we picked up crampons and helmets for a glacier "trek." It was totally fun and the only way to access the glacier, but wasn't physically demanding in any way and there were DOZENS of people doing the same 1-2km stretch at the same time. However, our guide was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot about glaciers. The rain continued for most of the day but we had a fortunate break while on the hike. Afterwards, we were given free time to walk along the various balconies at the National Park for more views of the Perito Moreno Glacier. We realize that we're leaving for Antarctica in three days and this will be nothing in comparison, but we already had it scheduled and wanted to fit it in.
In OMG news, we met a couple from Costa Rica today with Quark Expedition jackets (our cruise company) and we enthusiastically asked how it was! They laughed a little bitterly and told us the weather ended up being so bad the flight was postponed 3 days in a row and they eventually cancelled the whole thing (with refunds of course)! Now we're a little worried, though they said the company said that rarely ever happens. Fingers crossed!!
#argentina #losglacieres #peritomoreno #SouthAmerica #backpacking @ Glaciar Perito Moreno, Argentina
