(t) After finishing the challenging Torres del Paine trek we headed back to Argentina overland. We were surprised by the heavy security at the border crossing. We arrived early in the morning and had to wait at the padlocked gate until the immigration office opened. We were told Chile and Argentina are pretty friendly neighbors.
El Calafate is the major gateway to Southern Patagonia and the town has set itself up for tourism. We did two excursions while we were there. The first was a four wheel drive tour over a large cattle ranch. We climbed a very large hill. At the top we could see Torres del Paine on one side and Fitz Roy on the other. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera.
The second excursion was to the Puerto Moreno Glacier on Lago Argentina. The glacier is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, which is huge. It is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water. The part we saw is only a small finger of the Ice Field.
The glacier pushes up against a large hill and divides the lake. Eventually, the water level rises on the smaller side of the lake and the pressure breaks the glacier. It is suppose to happen about every four years. We saw a few breaks over the course of the day but nothing on that scale.
Part of the excursion was hiking on the glacier. The little ant-like-dots on the ice is another group of trekkers.
We were fitted with crampons and given some basic instructions and off we went. There were many pools of water on the ice. We filled our water bottles with actual glacier water.
A guide demonstrating ice climbing.
The Argentinean flag on the boat ride back from the glacier trek.
We had great weather in El Calafate. On our last morning, we took advantage of the sunshine and wrote some long overdue postcards. At the outdoor cafe, they were playing Jack Johnson. We always appreciate the little pieces of home when they come our way.
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