El Calafate and the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares
We arrived in the tourist town of El Calafate late afternoon on New Year’s Eve – and there was definitely a ‘buzz’ on the high street. We parked in town and wandered off to pick a restaurant to celebrate the occasion. Normally, Argentinian restaurants open around 8pm, far too late for us, but, because it was NYE, the restaurants were open early and would close at 8pm! We spotted an inviting assado (grill) restaurant and queued to get in. We chose Patagonian lamb straight from the fire – it was lovely and there was enough to take home for lunch the next day.
At this point our dirty clothes bags were overflowing; it was time to find a campsite and exercise our washing machine. We spent four days at a very pleasant campsite on the outskirts of El Calafate. We did our washing (Francine lost count after the 10th load) and Dave fussed over Big Bertha.
Then it was time to drive into the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares to visit the Glacier Perito Moreno. This park was excellent. After a lovely 30km scenic drive from the main gate along the lake, a free shuttle bus took us from the parking to the glacier. The glacier, 4km wide and up to 70m high, flows down from the largest ice field in the southern hemisphere (bar Antarctica) and terminates at the juncture of two lakes. The parks authorities have done a really good job of constructing a network of boardwalk pathways on the hill overlooking the glacier’s face. One can observe the glacier from its base or from on high. And there is always something happening; the glacier creaks and groans, continually calving, causing blocks of ice to fall tens of meters into the lake below, accompanied by a loud rifle crack.
But after a week in El Calafate, it is time to move on towards El Chaltén…
How can ice be so beautiful!
Not sure about bits dropping off though.
Ten loads of washing ! I do hope you don’t have to iron it all (ha ha)
Take care.
Looking forward to your next adventure.
70m high – is that right – 70m high and [immeasurable width] of the awesome Glacier Perito Moreno! Now, there is a mesmeric sense of close encounters of the glacial kind! What an experience! How wonderfully you share that experience! The hunger and thirst for more such experiences deepens to unquenchable levels! But always with thousands of “natotela sanas”. Keep safe!