Day 11: Los Glaciares National Park-Perito Merino Glacier

We woke this morning to a beautiful sunrise.  Dave caught it in the east while our west-facing windows gave us a great view of the Andes lit up in pink and orange.

After breakfast, 

we were picked up by our guide and driver, Nadia and Sebastian, for the one-hour trip to the Glaciares National Park. 

The park was designated a national park in 1936 in part due to the efforts of Francisco Merino,  an early explorer of Patagonia in the 1800’s.  Because of his expertise in environmentalism he was given the title “Perito”  which means expert.  Though he never actually saw the glacier here, the glacier was named in his honor.  There are numerous glaciers in the area that are associated with the huge Southern Patagonian Ice Field (3^rd largest in the world).  The Perito Merino Glacier  is not receding, but it is shrinking in height.  The larger Upsala Glacier several kilometers to the north is receding fairly rapidly.

The weather at the glacier was fantastic, sunny, blue skies and not too much wind.  

Where's Molly?  Too cold for the Floridian

Molly, Dave, Jeri, and I were dropped off at the dock for the 20 minute ride across the lake to the base of the glacier.  

Rhonda and Milt were unable to join us due to a very strict age restriction by the Argentinian government.  Individuals over 50 could not participate in the long (6 hour) ice trek, and those over 65 couldn’t due the mini trek (1 ½ hr on the ice).  Nadia was going to stay with Milt and Rhonda and go birding, check out the northern side of the glacier from some viewing platforms, and take a cruise around the glacier by boat.

When we boarded our boat, we were happy to find our Australian friends, Roy and Hilary on board.  

Roy and Hilary

They were staying at an estancia (ranch) a little closer to the park than ours.  From the boat dock at the foot of the glacier, we walked about ¼ mile to the glacier itself 

and here were fitted with crampons. 

                          

We had two guides, Natalia and Silvio, and they briefed us on proper crampon usage.  Then off we went along with Roy and Hilary, and a group of 8 nuns gone wild that Dave befriended on the boat ride over (they weren’t actually nuns, though that was their initial response when asked what they did).

Walking on the ice was, for the most part, like walking in snow shoes (which didn’t help Dave and Molly, though they both looked like pros within minutes).  

Crevasses, some filled with water and some not, had a deep blue color that almost looked photo-shopped.  

We climbed up and down steep ice hills, and when it was too steep, Natalia and Silvio cut steps in the ice for us.  Surprisingly, it was very warm on the ice and we all had to shed most of our garments (kept on our underwear, though).

The warmth was a combination of solar heating (direct and indirect from reflection in the ice), lack of wind,  and relatively warm temperature.  We drank water dripping off the ice, 

and at the end of the walk, had glacial water or whisky with glacial ice cubes.  This was a nice way to end the walk. 

After we got off the ice, we sat in the sun with the Aussies and had lunch provided to us from Eolo.  Very relaxing!  We said goodbye to Roy and Hilary, promising to keep in touch, and figuring we’d probably see each other again at the viewing boardwalks.

After lunch we took the boat back just in time to meet up with Rhonda and Milt who just returning from their boat trip.  From here, we drove to the viewing stands on the north side of the glacier to get up close and personal with the glacier. 

While we stood and watched the glacier face, there were multiple loud booms, like thunder or fireworks coming from the ice.  

Some of these were from calving and some were pieces of ice breaking off underwater that then bobbed up.   This blue ice bergy-bit  was an underwater piece of ice just earlier.  

Sure enough, we ran into the Aussies again and had one last farewell.  They are leaving for Antarctica with Lindblad on Sunday, so unless we change our plans dramatically, we probably won’t bump into them again.

He walked back up the boardwalk steps (about 500 of them) and then back into the small bus (that was ours until el Chalten), and back to Eolo.  We didn’t realize it, but it was after 5 by the time we made it back.

Before dinner I tried to get the previous few days blog posted.  I had taken Flexaril for my back and was falling asleep as I was moving photos around on the blog.  I can’t guarantee the result.

Another nice dinner  and off to bed.  Leaving tomorrow for El Chalten