ICE, ICE BABY!

On the Argentine side, 13 glaciers stem from the Patagonian ice cap and flow into the Argentino and Viedma lakes, including Perito Moreno, Upsala and Spegazzini (more about the latter 2 in the next post!).

Glacier formation occurs by compression of snow layers which are accumulated, crushed, and the air forced out – turning the snow layers into a compact mass of ice. Under gravity force, a glacier moves slowly along its slope, between mountain walls and reaches a gigantic size.  The more compact the ice is, the less white light can be filtered, only rays of short wave can be filtered, causing glacial ice to appear blue.  

I have wanting to see the Perito Moreno glacier for decades….now finally!!!! Only an hour by car from El Calafate to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. I spent 3 hours walking to get various viewpoints of the glacier – all absolutely beautiful.   

Freddy Mercury and David Bowie (who wrote the lyrics and song for Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”), must have been thinking about this glacier!

It originates from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field . In its descent, it reaches the southern branch of  Lake Argentino, with a front of 5 km in length, 4 kms in width and surfacing on the water with a height of 60 metres. It advances 2 metres a day, moving over a rock bed and forms an ice dam at the edge of the Magallanes Peninsula, cutting off the flow of water from the Brazo Rico to Canal de Los Tempanos. The accumulated water exerts enormous pressure on the ice wall, finally bursting through the ‘natural dam’.

When you stand in front of the glacier, you can hear a loud cracking and sometimes booming sound….the ice is ‘calving’ due to glacial expansion, blocks breaking loose and crashing into the water, sending large tidal waves to the shoreline. Magic.

Perito Moreno Glacier, was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century and played a major role in defending the territory of Argentina in the conflict surrounding the international border dispute with Chile.   

I did overdose on the vista, both through walking a few kilometres and seeing the southern face of the glacier by boat. Then, on the way home, I saw a fox ….a Crested Caracara vulture and a lovely perennial shrub, Hamelia patens, Firebush.  WHAT A GREAT DAY !!

El Calafate is having a festival over 14 – 20 Feb and there’s a concert with Ricky Martin!!!! Bugger that’s its on the 20th!! I’ll be in Antartica. Would have been great to see him in concert….”Livin’ la vida loca’ will resonate strongly in this neck of the woods ….some examples….

1. there’s a petrol strike on in Rio Gallegos. El Calafate is 2 towns away. Despite modern day telecommunication systems, there is no advance knowledge of when petrol will arrive. When someone sees a tanker pull into a station, the car queue begins….people spend hours waiting patiently….lucky me this morning…only and hour and a half. That means I can travel to El Chalten tomorrow – yay!  
2. Aerolineas Argentina airline had no booking systems operating for hours yesterday (connectivity issue), so I couldn’t confirm flight timing for 16th – will have to go again today.
3. most businesses deal in cash, the infrastructure re credit cards is sparse – hence people have been queueing in long lines at all the banks in the main street – apparently it was a long weekend last weekend and ATM’s “ran dry”. Banks have been struggling to load sufficient cash to keep pace with withdrawals. I went at 6am this morning and the ATM would only let me draw out $100 at a time with a fee each time! SERIOUSLY!
4. hygiene continues to be a major issue in both Chile and Argentina. Sewerage plants can’t process toilet paper, so you have to place used paper in a separate bin in the facility you are in (including hotels), and they are mostly open bins. And out of hotels, usually paper is not supplied, nor soap. BYO. Ugh.   WE ARE SO LUCKY IN OZ!!!!