Consult any list and you’ll see that experiencing the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia is one of the top activities you should do when visiting Argentina. People come from all over the world to contemplate this incredible and magnificent glacier. Located in the Glacier National Park, two hours away from El Calafate, Perito Moreno is one of 48 glaciers in the southern Patagonia ice field. It’s also one of the most studied glaciers in the world.
Perito Moreno *Glacier Extraordinaire*
My first view of Perito Moreno from the bus window was incredible! Of course the closer we got the more awesome it became. The national park has a really impressive series of balcony walkways located across from the glacier that offer fantastic views. One can spend hours walking around or just staring at the massive ice formation, waiting for chunks to fall off and crash into the water below. I was so excited to hear the telltale sound of thunder! Immediately I saw a massive section of ice plummet into the water, causing something like a tidal wave to occur, sending all the nearby icebergs on a roller coaster ride. It was phenomenal! I applauded and cheered with the folks around me.
Glacier Trekking
What could possibly be better than just staring for hours at this beautiful glacier, you ask? Go trekking on it, of course! This was one activity I just couldn’t miss. After viewing the glacier from the balconies for two hours we switched gears and jumped onto a boat. I love boat rides and this one was fantastic. Speeding across the water directly towards the massive glacier was so exciting!
Ice Exploration
After a brief geography lesson in the coolest classroom ever, we laced on crampons and headed up the glacier. We only had ninety minutes to explore and play on the ice and the time just flew by. I could have spent all day trekking around!
Cheers!
We had the best surprise waiting for us when we came down off the glacier. Our guide filled up a bowl with glacial ice and dumped it into glasses. Then he poured whiskey on top of the ice, and wheee! Many of you know how much I enjoy my whiskey, so imagine how stoked I was to be drinking a full glass of it, on a glacier, wearing crampons! I was on such a high. What a phenomenal day!
What a cool day you had! get it? cool….. day….. The pictures were amazing I am sure it was even more magical in person! So the most important ? what kind of whiskey did you drink?
David, you ask a very important question indeed. I wish I could tell you that we enjoyed a bottle from the top shelf, but that would be a cold, hard lie (cold, get it?). Our guide was quick to point out that the glacial ice was much, much older than the whiskey was. A little burn never hurt anyone, right?
Oh my gosh, what an amazing adventure! Sooooo excited for you getting to experience this.
Incredible photos and experience. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us and keep the blog post coming!
Your pictures are amazing, they look like post cards. You both look so healthy and terrific!!! The trip seems so incredible. What a unbelievable experience. So glad it has worked out. Miss you guys!! xoxoxo