Mike and I are about to leave El Calafate, known for the famous Perito Moreno glacier. Sunday we took a boat trip through the national park and saw multiple glaciers -- the Upsala glacier is the biggest in the park, the Spegazzini glacier is the tallest, and the Perito Moreno is the most famous.
Before we arrived, I wasn´t quite sure how excited I´d be about seeing a glacier. I mean, I knew I wanted to see one so that I could say that I´d done it, but I didn´t think I´d be that impressed. I mean, come on, I´m from Michigan. I´ve seen cold.
But these were truly amazing. All of my expectations were blown away. Of course, they were big. But the colors were also amazing, a range of blues that I´d never seen in nature before. Some parts were deep, dark blue, like the sky just before it really turns black. And some spots were this bright, brilliant blue, like an aquamarine. It was shockingly beautiful.
Yesterday, after exploring around them from a distance, we spent the day trekking on el Perito Moreno. We were in a group of 13 people, plus two guides. We started with a trek through the woods to get to the glacier. Then we put on our cramp-ons, the greatest invention ever. They consist of a metal plate that you tie right onto your boots (picture the old-fashioned tie-on roller skates) with big metal spikes coming out of the bottom. They dig right into the ice and provide the best traction I´ve ever felt. I don´t know how I made it through all those Michigan winters without owning a pair.
We spent a couple hours exploring, walking in careful lines so that no one fell into a massive crevice or glacial lake or lagoon. On the edges of the glacier, we fought against the strongest wind I´ve ever felt, so strong I could literally lean into it. We climbed over the natural peaks created by the movement of ice. We looked down holes that went down hundreds of meters, shining blue and radiating cold. Closer to the center of the glacier the wind calmed, and we ate a picnic lunch surrounded by nothing but ice as far as we could see in every direction. We drank directly from glacial streams - the purest, cleanest water on the face of the earth.
It was nothing like winter. It was like nothing I´ve ever seen. I am still a little bit in awe.
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