Saturday, 28 January 2012

El Calafate & The Perito Moreno Glacier

Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th January

 
El Calafate is a pure tourist town based on trekking & the nearby National Parks with The Perito Moreno Glacier the star, as you can see well-travelled tourists from all over the World flock here.

 
Roger is back as he turns up outside our Hotel in the early evening, we take a stroll down to the shores of Lake Argentino & contemplate the remainder of our trip.

 
On Thursday we are off with Roger to the Glacier, at 9am the temperature in El Calafate must be about 25 degrees C with clear blue sky,  we all wear mesh jackets & take no wet weather gear (except Dave the smart ass), the first 50km are fine but as we enter the ‘Los Glaciers National Park’ it starts to rain & the visibility is poor, should we have come here yesterday?

 
Perhaps we should have?


Fortunately the weather does improve & the sun makes an enormous difference to the colours, this place is stunning!!

 
This short video may give you a better impression of this amazing sight.

 
The site is very well set up for visitors with miles of walkways providing different views, we all wondered how old the ice is before it falls into the lake, does anyone know?


Roger & I take the boat trip to get another view.

 
Glaciers make great pictures & they are amazing natural creations with different shapes & colours.


Some trekkers on the glacier give you an idea of the size, this glacier is BIG!! - Some Facts:

The glacier covers 97 sq miles.
It is 19 miles in length.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing.
The terminus of the glacier is 3 miles wide.
The average height is 74m above lake Argentino with a total depth of 170m

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