After the Torres del Paine adventure, we travelled back to Argentina to town called El Calafate. This town is close to Glacier National Park. We spent last Friday at the glacier. First we took a one hour boat tour which drove up near the edge of the glacier. From here we could get an up close look at the glacier literally melting and falling into the lake.
After the boat tour, we walked along a kilometer long boardwalk. The views from the boardwalk offered a panoramic view of the glacier, while the views from the boat allowed us to appreciate the 60 meter height of the glacier.
There are lots of glaciers down here. They all lead to the Patagonian ice field which are the third largest ice field in the world. Over hundreds of thousands of years, as snowfalls and builds up, it is compressed and forms ice. The ice gets so large and heavy, it forms an ice river and literally crawls down through the mountains, carving giant U shaped valleys. This glacier advances about 3 meters per day. By sitting and watching the glacier for just 10 minutes you will most likely see huge chunks of it fall into the lake.
After El Calafate, we traveled to the remote town of El Chalten. Here we were going to hike around Fitz Roy mountain which was supposed to have some of the best Patagonian vistas. However, the weather was terrible. It was raining and snowing for the two days we were there and we could not see any mountains because the visibility was so poor. We left El Chalten and embarked on a 43 hour bus ride north to the town of Bariloche, Argentina.
We arrived in Bariloche today. The weather here is in the 60’s, which is much warmer than what we have experienced the past few weeks. The town has a strong Swiss history, as evidenced by the number of chocolate stores and Swiss style buildings. This is the Lake District section of Argentina. The lakes are a deep blue color and are surrounded by the Andes mountains. It is fall here and the foliage seems to be peaking. We plan on spending the next few days mountain biking, and possible rafting or fishing or trekking.
If you haven't found a place you like in Bariloche, there's a hostel that we stayed at which was pretty nice. It's in the tallest building in town, an apartment building. It takes up the 10th floor of the building, hence its name 1004 Hostel. It's got great views of the lake, decent kitchens and rooms. http://www.lamoradahostel.com/hostel_1004.htm