After Buenos Aires we flew to El Calafate, about 3 hours flight south of Buenos Aires. The main attraction here is the Glaciers national park. There are many large glaciers in the area and there are some of the few glaciers in the world that are actually advancing.
El Calafate is a small town in the steppe, on the shores of Lake Argentina with the mountains in the background. It is very spread out and there are many wide streets with nothing on them, in anticipation of future development. The core of the town is one street with restaurants, souvenir shops, and outdoor gear shops.
We went on a tour to the Morena glacier which drops very fast down to the lake forming a massive wall of ice. We first went on a boat trip that took us within a couple of hundred metres of the glacier, which was so close you could see not only the details of crevaces but the fine horizontal layering of the ice. The height above water is 60 m, but total height here is 180 m. Further up the mountain it is 1 km thick.
After the boat trip we went to a set of walkways with views of the glacier. The enviroment here is beautiful with lichen covered forest and brilliant red fire flower bushes. The interesting thing about the glacier is that the ice comes all the way down to this forested environment. It must move very fast.
The next day we just hung around town and relaxed. There is a lagoon near the town with, of all things, pink flamingoes. Go figure.
El Calafate is a small town in the steppe, on the shores of Lake Argentina with the mountains in the background. It is very spread out and there are many wide streets with nothing on them, in anticipation of future development. The core of the town is one street with restaurants, souvenir shops, and outdoor gear shops.
We went on a tour to the Morena glacier which drops very fast down to the lake forming a massive wall of ice. We first went on a boat trip that took us within a couple of hundred metres of the glacier, which was so close you could see not only the details of crevaces but the fine horizontal layering of the ice. The height above water is 60 m, but total height here is 180 m. Further up the mountain it is 1 km thick.
After the boat trip we went to a set of walkways with views of the glacier. The enviroment here is beautiful with lichen covered forest and brilliant red fire flower bushes. The interesting thing about the glacier is that the ice comes all the way down to this forested environment. It must move very fast.
The next day we just hung around town and relaxed. There is a lagoon near the town with, of all things, pink flamingoes. Go figure.
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