Feeling awe inspired after the TDP trek, I hopped on an early morning bus for the 5 hour journey over the to Argentinian side of Patagonia, including a very painless border crossing in between. Luckily the evening before a couple of Aussie girls informed me that I needed to pay a $100USD 'recipriocracy fee' online before reaching the border, something that could have resulted in a considerable delay had I not made the payment.
Arriving in El Calafate and checking in to the America Del Sur hostel, with fantastic views across the lake and mountains, I was then introduced to the world of the black market Benjamins. Due to the country being locked out of international markets and an unhealthy inflation rate of 25%, the government has attempted to prevent capital flight by making it virtually impossible for Argentinians to exchange local pesos for the US dollar, unless its on the black market. This is where the international tourist with a pocket full of Benjamins is in a great position to almost double the official rate of 5.5:1, boy was I happy to have brought all my backup cash in USD. It was then off to a local bakery to try the countries pastry wrapped specially, Emponadas.
There was one thing which everybody recommended when visiting Argentinian Patagonia; the Perito Moreno Glacier. Having never even seen a glacier in my life, let alone actually trekked over ice, I was dead keen to check this out. You have a few options for visiting the impressive structure including taking a bus to the viewing platform, a boat trip along the front ice face or booking a tour through Hielo Y Aventura.
Quickly making my way down to the office to book a trek for the following day, I was presented with two options; 'mini trekking' which included around 1.5hrs of ice time towards the front of the glacier and 'big ice' which was a 4hr trek much deeper in to the glacier. I filled up the second last spot for the next day and was offered an irresistible exchange rate of 10:1, making the trek price $120USD.
Perito Moreno Glacier is famous for being one of only 3 glaciers in Patagonia that is actually growing, amongst only a handful in the world. The suggested growth rate is apparently 2m per day! This impressive structure located in the Los Glaciers National Park, covers an area of 250sqm and our guide suggested an ice depth of 400m to the rocky bottom and the tallest point. The national park was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1981.
Our early morning departure started at 7am when the bus first took us to a the viewpoint, consisting of wooden platforms at various heights that boasted an up close experience, with large cracking sounds and big chunks of ice smashing their way in to the water before floating downstream. We then took a ferry along the front of the glaciers magnificent blue wall, to a rocky beach where the real adventure would begin.
Those who had chosen the Big Ice trek were split in to two groups, English or Spanish speaking guides. We trekked an hour along the side of the glacier before strapping on our crampons, devices that improve mobility on the ice by adding metallic spikes to the bottom of ones shoes. We then had a small instructional session about how to incline, decline and transcend the ice, with stern warnings about watching out for snow covered crevasses which are difficult to spot on the bright white surface. Our guides carried rescue ropes which could be later attached to our harnesses should we happen to fall, the effectiveness is doubtful given the depth of some of these portals in to darkness.
As we progressed over this alien landscape, it wasn't difficult to imagine oneself being on another world. The ice itself is changing shape and texture so often that as you progress along the surface, your constantly rewarded with new and exciting outlooks. Our group had a main guide who led the single line formation (reducing ones risk of a quick end to the tour) and a spotter who used his wealth of experience to run around testing the path with his ice axe and positioning himself below the slopes incase we fell.
Adding to the absolute must do experience was the chance to have lunch in the middle of the glacier. I had prepared a huge meal of pasta, steak and veggies in a zip lock bag which made most of the group jealous while they munched down on packs of biscuits or chocolate bars. Once thing I would recommend is maybe bring a bag to sit on as my non waterproof pants literally left me with a frozen ass after chilling out for half an hour.
The highlight of the day (apart from the whole thing being probably the highlight of my entire travelling career) was when the guide located an ice cave. This thing boasted shades of electric blue that would usually only feature in ones most vivid dreams At first our group was a little apprehensive of exploring this ice cave, that literally went straight through the small glacier hill.. was it worth the risk of filling ones shoes with freezing cold water, of course! Unfortunately the guy behind me struggled to take a picture that could do the moment justice, it was mind blowing how surreal the experience was. Of course my shoes ended up full of an icy slush, maybe I was too excited to care or maybe they had just gone numb with cold, either way I hardly seemed to notice.
Our group consisted of a decent range of trekkers from early 20's to late 50's all of whom were grinning from ear to ear by the end. Without actually experiencing the Mini Trekking, I would have to recommend forking out for the Big Ice Trek. At one point we spotted the other group who looked like tiny ants scurrying across the ice in formation. By the end of the day we all had tired, sore legs and topped off the adventure with the ultimate gentleman's drink; A glace of scotch with a rock shaved fresh off the glacier.
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