ice | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 80 (1 OF 3) – ICEBERGS, LAGO ARGENTINA, PARQUE NACIONAL LOS GLACIARES (SOUTH), EL CALAFATE, ARGENTINA

With the rain and cold temperature, today was certainly not favorable to do a full-day lake cruise. Originally we planned to go ice-trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier. Unfortunately a few days ago we discovered that all ice-trekking at Perito Moreno was fully booked up in the next few days. We opted for the alternative of doing a lake cruise to visit the several famous glaciers along the west side of Lago Argentina. At 7am the tour organizer picked us up from our hostel. By 8:30am we were among the few hundred of tourists lining up at the dock to pay for the national park entrance admission. It was the most touristy event we experienced in Argentina similar to the Iguazu Falls. One after another, about five catamaran left the pier at Puerto Bandera, bringing hundreds of tourists westward to the first glacier, Upsala Glacier. When our boat entered Brazo Upsala, icebergs of different forms and sizes began to appear. The translucent blue of the icebergs was absolute captivating that even in today’s poor weather and lighting, the colour seemed to glow in the various shades of grey. A close encounter of the icebergs was certainly something we couldn’t achieve without a boat. The icebergs were so beautiful that many passengers, including us, were willing to brave the rain and cold winds to stand out at the boat deck as long as we could endure.

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South America 2013 – Our Destinations
Buenos Aires (Argentina), Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Pantanal (Brazil), Brasilia (Brazil), Belo Horizonte & Inhotim (Brazil), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Paraty (Brazil), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Samaipata & Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Sucre (Bolivia), Potosi (Bolivia), Southwest Circuit (Bolivia), Tilcara, Purmamarca, Salta (Argentina), Cafayate (Argentina), San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Antofagasta & Paranal Observatory (Chile), Chiloe (Chile), Puerto Varas (Chile), Torres del Paine (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), El Chalten (Argentina), El Calafate (Argentina), Isla Magdalena (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Valparaiso (Chile), Afterthought

December 31, 2013 | Categories: Argentina, Day 71 to 80, El Calafate, Patagonia | Tags: Argentina, blue, brazo, cruise, destination, El Calafate, Glacier, ice, iceberg, journal, Lago, Onelli, Parque Nacional los Glaciares, Patagonia, Perito Moreno, photo, South America, Spegazzini, things-to-do, Travel, Upsala | 1 Comment

DAY 79 (2 OF 2) – PERITO MORENO GLACIER, PARQUE NACIONAL LOS GLACIARES (SOUTH), EL CALAFATE, ARGENTINA

We left El Chalten in a rainy morning. Three hours of bus ride took us to El Calafate, a small town by the lakefront of Lago Argentina with facilities catered for all types of travellers who come for only one reason – Perito Moreno Glacier. Almost no visitor would leave Southern Patagonia without seeing Perito Moreno Glacier, the most famous glacier in South America. We arrived in El Calafate at about 1pm, just in time to catch the last bus (2pm) to the glacier. Rainy weather persisted well into the afternoon. We knew it would be a wet day for us, but some said a grey day was actually better for photographing the blue tones of the glacier. The visitor centre at Perito Moreno was full of tourists. Everyone was wet and cold from the rain. After having some snacks at the café, we then descended down to the viewing walkways. Nothing could quite prepare us for the first view to Perito Moreno. The gigantic ice wall was full of shades of blue with occasional thunder-like roars of carved ice falling into the lake. There wasn’t enough time for us to fully explore the extensive walkway system. We chose a platform closest to the rupture area of the glacier, set up our tripod and took some timelapse videos in the rain. We stayed for about two hours until it was time for us to catch the bus at 7pm.

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Previous Destination – El Chalten, reading from post Day 74

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December 31, 2013 | Categories: Argentina, Day 71 to 80, El Calafate, Patagonia | Tags: Argentina, destination, El Calafate, Glacier, ice, journal, Parque Nacional los Glaciares, Patagonia, Perito Moreno, photo, South America, things-to-do, Travel | Leave a comment

DAY 63 (3 OF 3) – GLACIER GREY, TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE

After dinner at about 8:30pm, there was still plenty of light outside. We went out to the nearby lookout (15 minute walk from the refugio) for a closer look of Glacier Grey. As part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Glacier Grey is regarded as one of the biggest highlight of Torres del Paine. No one was around at the lookout. We were glad to be alone for at least a moment to be embraced by the Patagonian wilderness. We stopped at a beach where carved icebergs gathered. Angela spent the time observing the moving clouds, distant mountains and wild flowers, while Calvin climbed up onto the ridge of a rock peninsula to get an unobstructed view of the glacier. The wind was very strong and cold, but the majestic beauty of Glacier Grey was just irresistible. From the other side of the peninsula, we were excited to discover an ice arch just off from the main glacier. On our way back, we made a detour down to another beach by Lago Grey to have a last look of the glacier and the ice arch from another angle. What a fruitful evening!