The point of going to El Calafate is to see glaciers. Don't get me wrong - the town is one that has many tourist facilities: restaurants, shops, and more. Without the glaciers in the nearby national park, though, the town would be a modest outpost for ranchers, perhaps.
But ah, the park. Los Glaciares National Park is larger than just the Perito Moreno Glacier that is most accessible, but it is that glacier, flowing into the largest lake in Argentina, that is the star of the show for so many.
We had a guide and shuttle
to take us out to the park. Not too far out of the city, it was a fine, scenic drive. I need to see if I can find the video of all the rheas running along the open landscape. That was a delightful scene.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is readily viewable from across a narrow channel of the lake. There is an extensive network of boardwalks that we tramped along happily,
taking photos wherever we could.
What a glorious time of it. Decent weather - mildly cool, not too sunny. It was a good couple of hours of listening to our guide and taking more photos.
And then we went out on a boat for an hour. Many of us on it, getting as close as a quarter of a mile from the glacier face. The glacier was calving icebergs even as we watched it, creating such noise, realizing deep blue chunks of ice in the lake. It was quite a sight, and we were glad of it.
If I need to compare, the scenery we saw in Chilean Patagonian was more stunning. Still, the glacier was incredible. Oh, I've seen glaciers before in BC and Alberta - they aren't new to me. But this was a good, close view of one that is - hooray! - not retreating, not yet. How terrific to get to see it.
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