Flying into El Calafate, we weren’t sure exactly what we were getting ourselves into. Outside the window, the river flowed into a large teal colored lake with a barren desert-like environment surrounding. However, after the 30 minute ride in the airport shuttle, it transformed into a city center surrounded by several pine and beech trees with a backdrop of snow covered mountains in the distance. Grant likened it to a “prettier” Palm Springs. As we couldn’t get into our Airbnb until 2pm, we stopped in for a drink and some food at Patagonia Brewery. We could tell with the prices we had entered a more touristy area than we had been in previously.

After dropping our things off in the Airbnb, we headed to a lavaderia to have our clothes washed before we head into Torres del Paine next week for our backpacking trek. As evidence in the picture, Grant proceeded to explore the city in a button down shirt, athletic shorts, and sandals in order to have most of his clothes washed. We explored the city, walking around seeing what it had to offer even ran into a group of people taking tango lessons in a plaza area. However, as we looked around for a decently priced meal we ran into the dinner rush hour and had to find a place that would easily seat us without a 20-30 minute wait. Even then, we realized here in Argentina to not expect quick service when it comes to eating at a restaurant.

Day 2 was an early morning wake up as we had to be at Hielo & Aventura at 7am for our bus ride to the Perito Moreno Glacier. Once we got through the national park entrance, we headed down to the port where it was a 10 minute boat ride to the south face of the glacier. I had looked up pictures of the glacier prior to the trip, however, nothing fully prepares you for the shear size of it. It was truly a magnificent site and pictures really don’t do it justice. After getting on shore, they split us into two groups: English guided tour and Spanish guided tour. They took us on a 30-minute hike explaining where we were at in terms of the glacier and allowing stops for people to take pictures. We even got to witness a small portion of the glacier crashing into the water. The splitting of the ice before it falls kind of sounds like a gunshot. Then they led us to a small hut where we put our helmets on and crampons. This was my first time ever wearing them and walking with them was tough on the gravel trail. Once we got onto the ice it was much easier.

The mini trek took about an hour to do as we traversed up and down various parts of the glacier. The guides pointed out and explained the different mechanisms that caused the crevices, sink holes, and fissure lines. We even got to take a look down one sink hole. The deep blue color of the ice was incredible and hard to capture through our lenses. At the end of our trek, they surprised us with some chocolate candy and a glass of whiskey. The whiskey was pretty stout and I’d say most people didn’t finish their glass (but we both did 💪🏼). Then it was off the glacier to take off the crampons and take a quick picture in the cave. Our guide told us that at the beginning of the season it was 10m wider but was melting pretty fast. They have to constantly keep an eye on it to ensure the safety of the guests coming in to trek. After hiking back to the refuge cabins, we grabbed lunch for an hour with a picturesque view. Getting back on the boat, they allowed us to stay on deck and take more pictures and videos of the glacier (you can never have too many!) as we headed back to the port.

Last portion of the trek was a short bus ride up to the balconies to get a view of the north face of the glacier. It was crazy to see that we only hiked a very small percentage of the glacier when viewing the whole thing. Getting back to the city we grabbed dinner and some gelato. Grant with the more sweet flavors of Dulce de Leche and Tramontana… while I chose the fruity flavors of Frutilla de la crema and Calafate, which is the berry the city is named after. It is a berry similar to a blueberry, however, I was slightly disappointed in the ice cream as it lacked flavor. At least the strawberry was delicious!

Day 3 was a rest day for us as this next week includes a lot of early morning travel days and backpacking for three of them. I had seen this place called “Waffles Como en Casa” on our ride back from the glacier and wanted to give them a try. I got a fruit with granola waffle while Grant got the Nutella, banana, and ice cream one. We both ordered the grande one not realizing how big they actually were going to be (don’t worry we definitely looked like American pigs compared to the rest of the guests). We ended up sitting next to a very nice Portuguese family who were traveling to El Chalten. We talked with them through the entirety of the breakfast going through various topics including sites to see in Brazil, Zion and Yellowstone along with Starlink and working during the pandemic. We told them we were headed to Torres del Paine and they described Chile as the “Germany of South America”. They also described Argentinians as nice and smiley just like their flag. They headed off to continue their travels as we began our walking adventure for the day. We walked to the bus station to get eyes on it for the next morning and then headed to the El Calafate sign to take some pictures. Grant got to pull out his drone to take some shots, although one of the dogs nearby wanted to knock it down when it was headed back to land.

Then it was off to try and find Laguna Nimez where there were wild flamingos to see. Getting to the reserve, we decided we didn’t want to pay the fee to go walk the trails and just took some pictures outside the fence. Thank goodness for that long zoom! Then it was another mile or so walk along the lake for a quiet place for Grant to use is drone once again. Again, our lens could not quite capture the bright color of Lago Argentina but was still a beautiful sight to see. Lago Argentina is the largest lake in the country and has a depth of over 700m in its deepest parts.

Now on to a couple bus rides to Torres del Paine to enjoy the nature of Patagonia on the Chilean side. And going off the grid for the next few days as we backpack the W Circuit.

Ciao til the end of the week!

Random tidbits:

• Learned about “blue money”- means better exchange rate to pay in cash over card
• Popular vacation spot for Germans (as well as some Australians)
• Police roam the streets constantly, but seem very friendly
• Total miles: 10,812 miles across 6 airplanes