El Calafate _ Patagonia

This is the name of a the second destination we visited. It also refers to a berry, similar to a blueberry, that makes yummy jam. The reason we headed to El Calafate was to visit Argentina's second most famous site - the Perrito Moreno Glacier. This glacier is part of the Southern Glacial system that are high up in the Andes. It is one of the most impressive, because to arrive there all you need to do is drive and walk a very short distance. There are not many glaciers in the world that you can access so easily. Most require a flight, a boat ride, or a long hike. Therefore, lots of tourist hit up this spot.

Unfortunately the town of El Calafate only exists because of the glacier. Therefore, the downtown strip is one tshirt/tour shop/Internet place after another. Also the prices are much higher than in Buenos Aires. Regardless the journey is worth it. We flew from Buenos Aires after four days to arrive to El Calafate. It was a long flight, because the Argentina is the fifth largest country in the world and El Calafate is a very southern Patagonian city. Where as Buenos Aires is pretty far north.

This also means we were near Antartica where the Ozone layer has vanished. Therefore, lots of sunscreen was required. Since a glacier reflect tons of sunlight, even while wearing 45 SPF I got a slight burn. I guess I needed to re-apply. Luckily Laura who tends to burn did re-apply.

The glacier is spectacular. I shoots down a mountain side and ends in a large lake. The lake has turned turquoise due to the glacier. They call is glacial milk. What happens is when the glacier mass moves over the earth, it slowly churns up minerals from the rock which deposit into the lakes. When the sun reflects off of the glacial milk, gorgeous colors of light blue to dark green are reflected. We took lots of picks and will share them on Flickr upon our return.

We stayed in a chill spot called Blanco Patagonia. It was slightly removed from the touristy downtown and we had our own cabin for less than $50 a night. El Calafate was chill and gorgeous, but it was not until we reached Chile three days later that we were in for the real treat, National Park Torres del Paine. This place is fantastic and is up there with some of the best national parks I have ever visited. In an upcoming blog I will share more about our visit there. Hope all is well and people are getting excited about the holiday break coming up.