(17 – 20 Feb)
Our flight from Bariloche landed in El Calafate in the afternoon. We had finally arrived at the southern most point of our trip (and also the furthest south either of us had ever been).
Despite us expecting a significant drop in temperature, we still found ourselves wondering why we had swapped the nice, sunny 30 degree weather in Bariloche for the wet and miserable 12 degrees we found ourselves in. But we knew it was only a short visit and that it would be worth it once we got to see the Perito Moreno glacier.
This was one of the few stops that was a definite in our list of things to see from the beginning of ou trip.
From the airport we arranged a transfer into town, which is about 30min away, and also arranged the return transfer back to the airport in 2 days’ time.
We only had two nights in El Calafate, so chose to stay in an AirBnB close to the main road. This was a home share, so we’d be sharing the house with the host.
This is not normally our first choice for accommodation, but we thought it would be fine considering we only had two nights and that our one full day would be spent away at the glacier. And also, by chance, this one included breakfast which would be useful for our early start the next day.
Our host was lovely! She has been living in the same house for 30 years, so she obviously knew the little town well. She gave us lots of helpful information, and gave us a map with some suggestions of what to see in our short time. And as it turned out, she was going to stay with her boyfriend for the 2 nights so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
The weather was a bit miserable on the day we landed, and there was a solid rain shower in the afternoon. We needed to buy lunch for the next day at the glacier so we headed into town to find a supermarket and to get some lunch.
We found a really cool burger and beer restaurant along the main road, so we enjoyed a decent burger, some drinks and and a few games of mini jenga.
Because of the rain there was a significant stream of water running down one of the side streets and crossing the main road just outside the bar we were at. So we had some fun watching people trying to cross the flooded road, with most of them misjudging the depth of the water.
While in Bariloche, we were tempted to go for fondue as the town looked like a typical ski/winter town, except that the weather was warm and not quite conducive for fondue. And the steak in Bariloche was too good to pass up. So we decided to rather try our luck in El Calafate.
So glad we did! Not only is it available, the restaurant with the best one is at the hotel where our host works! She helped us to make the booking and to get a taxi, instead of having to walk in the rain.
The fondue was paired with another great malbec from the Patagonia region and it was a great evening.
The day had finally arrived for our adventure to the Perito Moreno Glacier!!
And it had stopped raining!!
After a lovely breakfast of croissants, coffee and dulce de Leche (yes, Alika was pretty much in heaven) we walked down the road to meet the bus.
The Glacier is 80km from the town, and along the way the guide gave a lot of interesting information and history about the surrounding area.
Once we arrived in the national park, we made a quick photo stop at the first view of the glacier and then continued to the main viewing balconies. They have built a series of walkways and balconies which allow you to view the Glacier at a distance from various angles.
We picked a spot on the viewing deck closest to the face of the glacier that is known to be the most active for ice breaking off, and then waited to hopefully see some big, falling chunks.
The most notable point about the Perito Morena glacier is that it is one of very few glaciers in the world that are still in equilibrium. This means that while approx 2m worth of ice breaks off the face per day, it also gets replenished and pushes forward on average 2m per day, so it roughly stays the same. It does go through seasonal fluctuations, being a bit shorter in summer than in winter due to quicker melting.
As we arrived there was a piece that fell off, but we only managed to capture after it hit the water:
Once we got to our chosen spot we waited and waited and waited. We were determined to capture a piece of ice falling on video.
There were a few significant pieces that fell, but it was difficult to predict where would be next. Once you hear a piece fall into the water it’s already too late as the sound travels slower.
It is really cool to stand there watching this massive frozen river, which looks stationary, but you can clearly hear cracking sounds coming from inside the glacier, as the slight movements and forces cause different portions to crack.
We had identified an area that we thought would go as there were a few smaller pieces that consistently fell and also a lot of the cracking sounds were coming from that area.
Dylan had his phone set up using the tripod and, risking frostbite, kept filming the area that we were hoping would give way.
Finally, after an hour (literally) it did! The sound is almost more incredible that the actual splash. We were so happy to have seen it and stoked to have captured it on camera!
Once the viewing time was over, we headed to the boat which would take us across the lake to the starting point of our trek.
We fitted our crampons, had a quick lesson about how to use them and then started walking on the Glacier.
It was at this point that Alika considered the logistics of actually walking on ice and needless to say felt a bit nervous about slipping and then sliding at a fast pace and plummeting into the freezing water below. And probably not resurfacing (for both shame and more obvious death).
Luckily you can get the hang of it fairly quickly and no plummeting happened, although Dylan managed to step on a thin layer of ice and his foot sank a few centimeters.
It was an awesome, strange experience, especially for us as we’re not very familiar with frozen landscapes.
At the end of the walk we had a whiskey with Glacier ice. Initially Alika didn’t want one but then Dylan pointed out that if she took her whiskey he could have both.
And then, and it must have been the ice, Alika finished the whole thing! Not without one or two grimaces, but it tasted pretty good.
The total time spent on the Glacier was about an hour. There is another option, the “big trek”, which according to the website requires more experience, but the guides said its roughly the same, just longer on the ice – 3hrs vs 1 hr. We weren’t sure how we’d feel walking in the crampons so it probably is better that we chose the mini trek.
It was then back to the boat, then the bus back to El Calafate town.
The sun was still up when we got back and no sign of rain, so we decided to walk to the nature reserve in hopes of spotting flamingos.
The walk was quite long, but gave us a great opportunity to see the town.
At this point, having been to a few other small towns relying on tourism, we were quite impressed at how established this one is. While it’s small, the houses are nice and there were a few decent restaurants and shops. Unfortunately we didn’t see any flamingos up close, just some horses along the way – it wasn’t clear if they were wild or not.
We decided to go for an early dinner and walked to a little restaurant run by a group of friends. The food was good and service cheerful and laid back.
Our bus was picking us up at 5:30am the next morning so we made sure to pack up to avoid a rush in the morning. We were even able to prepare a packed breakfast as our host dropped off fresh croissants just in time!
We got to the airport with a bit of time to spare and then landed back in Buenos Aires around 11am.
Going from 10 degrees to 32 dressed in winter trekking clothes is not really advisable, so we were super keen for a shower!
Alas, we were too early to check into our apartment and the host was not flexible. On top of this, we’d decided to squeeze in a food tour to try and make the most of our time. We changed into lighter clothes and then went out to have a look around the neighborhood in the time before the tour started.
The food tour was a disappointment unfortunately. We had read all the reviews which were positive, but it was not guided by the creators of the tour (a chef and a food journalist) and while the guide we had was friendly and knowledgeable about the history of the city and country, he didn’t seem very into food. The stops that the creators had chosen were nothing special and the order in which we visited them was strange.
We’ve done quite a few food tours and usually they’re a great way to learn about the city/country and visit good places that tourists may not find themselves with limited time. We decided not to write a review, but rather sent a private (polite) message to the creators highlighting these points. Luckily they responded positively and so hopefully they will adjust accordingly.
A week or so before our arrival to Argentina, Dylan found out that a very good family friend was visiting BA at the same time as us, visiting her son who lives there!
We didn’t even realize ahead of time that he was in Buenos Aires so hadn’t thought to make contact.
Fortunately it worked out well and we were able to at least join them for dinner and a lekker catch up! We stayed until 2am thoroughly enjoying their company and wishing we could stay longer. But we definitely have somewhere to stay when we visit again!
On our last day, we had a few hours before we needed to head to the airport. Following advice we’d received the night before, we decided to check out a theater that was converted into a bookshop and then the graveyard where the richest of Argentina lie, including the famous Evita Paron.
The bookstore was one of the coolest ones we’ve ever visited. The old features and details of the theater remain and the stage is now a café. We walked around for a while, admiring the conversion and then enjoyed some coffee on the ‘stage’.
Afterwards we walked to the cemetery. If we hadn’t been told that it was in fact a cemetery we probably wouldn’t have guessed. It’s more like a miniature city, with pathways filled with shrines/vaults dedicated to those who passed away. Expensive shrines that is – it’s still possible to buy one and some sell for up to 150 000 USD!
We managed to find Evita’s burial site, the line of tourists made it quite easy. It would be quite funny if it has actually been sold, but the purchaser would most likely publicize that sort of information, a further claim to fame in the after life. It was fascinating (or sickening?) to think that people want to spend that much money on an experience they will never get to enjoy.
We found a cool bar across the road where we could enjoy a nice cold beverage before collecting our bags and heading to the airport. Hard to believe that we were heading to our final destination, Rio de Janeiro!
Wandering Watsons 