 |
|
At Onelli |
Perito Moreno – Other glaciers – Calafate. (Map this!)
The Los Glaciares National Park has two sections, El Chalten, in the North, with the famous peak of Fitzroy and Calafate in the South. From here, you can access the famous Perito Moreno glacier, the arrow headed expanse of ice that tumbles into Lago Argentina. Seeing Perito Moreno is quite a sight, huge pieces of ice crash into the lake with a deafening CRACK!. The glacier creaks and groans almost continuously. Various companies offer “treks” on the glacier, presenting a rare opportunity to study glacial crevasses, moraines and lakes.
|
|
The Perito Moreno Glacier. |
For panorama click here
The other glaciers, Spegazzini, Upsala and Onelli can be visited by an overcrowded boat where you have to jostle into position to get any pictures. This does nothing to minimize the sheer splendor of floating among the giant glaciers and icebergs.
The town of Calafate has been overbuilt and this, in addition to the financial crisis, maybe the reason we didn’t face contention as badly as in El Chalten. Staying in the “Casa de Grillos” help mitigate some of the pressures of tourism; it is a wonderful B&B run by ex-schoolteachers. And Calafate has its own interesting “characters”, as anyone who has faced the redoubtable proprietress of the local bakery will know.
|
Los Glaciares National Park |
Click here for larger pictures.
You can also read Toxic Effects of the International Trekker – Los Glaciares National Park, (1/2) , part one of this series
The glaciers and mountains of blue ice are spectacular.
It must be quite an experience to be at the Tierra del fuego … the closest point to Antarctica…
The most surprising aspect of the Perito Moreno site is a huge parking lot full of buses and tour groups very close to where your picture is taken from. Tom and I were not prepared for the presence of this outpost of mass tourism during our visit. As a matter of fact, I felt a bit cheated.
There are more magnificent glaciers in Chilean Patagonia accessible only by water and, because of that, rather solitary. I hope you will have a chance to visit some of them.
The pictures are amazing. i want to be there.
A visit to the glacier is at the top of my wish list! But I have heard the stories of mass tourism and its negative effects on the Perito Moreno. In spite of this, do you think it is worth a visit? I am flying to Argentina tomorrow for a 2-week holiday!
When will your journey come to an end? Will you be heading back to SF?
Big hug, Abeline
Hello Abeline,
Yes, the Los Glaciares National Park is extremely touristy. But the Perito Moreno glacier IS magnificent, you can see massive pieces of ice, the size of Palazzi, breaking off and causing a deafening boom, followed by a huge wave. I would recommend the trekking on the Perito Moreno, you see fewer people and you are on the glacier.
Two weeks is a very short time – I don’t know if it is worth spending half of that time in El Calafate…
btw…We will probably be back in April sometime…
Hi Jerzy,
The panorama is taken from the “balcon media”, halfway between the high balcony and the lower ones. When we went the lower balconies were completely empty and there were five other people at our balcony. I didn’t really feel very crowded at that spot.
We had gone later in the day to catch the sunset (which we missed, due to a large bank of clouds) so maybe all the hordes had left.
Most of the pictures from the slideshow are from the boat trip we took to Spegazzini, Uppsala, and Onelli. The boat was VERY, VERY crowded, but we did manage to get some of our best pictures.
Hello Aniruddh,
We *are* going to Antarctica!!!
We sail on the 9th of March!!!
Were you able to get a deal on the Antarctica boat?
Hi Fred,
Yes, we got an 11 day cruise for $4,490 each for a cabin with a good sized window. The normal price for this boat $7,200 for the same type of cabin. Not a fantastic deal but good enough for us to bite.
There are more options available November, December, January, February when there are more departures.
Sweet! Makes sense to jump on it, after all how often do you get to go to Antarctica!
Wow!
Our cruise on a Scorpio boat through the Patagonian passages which felt very expensive at the time, now appears rather less so. Does your price also include unlimited free service of top shelf alcohol, served on chunks of icebergs?
Hi Jerzy,
No, we found out that for free alcohol you have to pay around $12,000!!! Anyway, at the rate we are losing money, why not spend it and enjoy?
😉
WOW
Welcome back, Vinay!
Shreesh and Neena,
Just read your reply to Aniruddh and found out that you will be going to Antartica on 9th. Wish you all the best for your trip. Your pictures of the Glaciers are out of this world!!
At present we are visiting Mandar in Chicago. Plan to be back home in couple of days.
Aai