Viviendo en un Sueño Sudamericano: Chapter Five: El Calafate

El Calafate is, without a doubt, a tourist town. An adorable main street is lined with cute shops, the aroma of chocolate, and small cafes where people are sitting and drinking mate. I am lucky to be leaving this town with money still in my pocket--the artisan crafts in this town are impeccable. The colors of the fabric are so bright, the silver well made, and each gourd was better then the next. Oh, and the chocolate--best I have ever eaten. Right now I am eating a lamb shaped, vanilla-chocolate, Dulce de Leche filled, piece of heaven. All over Patagonia they sell lamb products. I know they have a big wool industry here, but these people are obsessed with lambs. And gnomes. Every town I have been in has gnome statues all over the place.

When we first arrived in El Calafate, a festival was occurring. It was honoring Fransico Moreno, the founder of the famous Perito Moreno glacier. The town was alive, and bustling with people at 1am. There was a huge, free concert happening-- a really fun way to be welcomed into this charming place.

I spent three full days in El Calafate. The main attraction here is Parque Nacional de Los Glaciares. In my last post, I said I had never seen glaciers so huge. I take that back. The glaciers I have been lucky enough to see in this park seem to stretch into infinity. All along Lago Argentina are glaciers that shoot up to sixty meters in the air. And only 10-15% of the glacier is situated outside of the water. These chunks of ice are incredible. Saying that these glaciers are BIG is a huge understatement.

On the first day, I did an "All Glaciers" tour. I took a nice bus ride into the national park, where I then got onto a "boat"--more like a cruise ship. I was on the boat all day, and saw some amazing things. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel worn out. I have been hoping from place to place constantly for three weeks. Don't get me wrong- I am in LOVE with traveling, but all the go go go action finally caught up with me. I left the boat feeling nauseous and tired--went back to the hostel and crashed. Here are some pictures of the All Glaciers tour. I wish I had more information to provide, but I was a bit out of it. However, even in my daze I still appreciated the beauty I was surrounded by.

My second day in El Calafate was spent in town, wandering the streets. Oh, and spending money like a good American is trained to do. I couldn't help myself! I splurged and got a couple of shirts, and a silver (of course) ring. Deciding to take the day off was a good choice. Laughing, sun bathing, and drinking mate --I couldn't have been any happier.

The happiness poured over onto the third day I spent in El Calafate. Feeling rejuvenated, I was ready to take on the day. I returned to El Parque Nacional de Los Glaciares, but this time to trek on Perito Moreno. That's right--I walked on glaciers! Strapped on some crampons, grabbed an ice pick and took on the world! Not actually, but being atop of a glacier sent a weird feeling through my body. Before I actually stepped onto the ice, I sat for a couple of hours just watching the ice. That probably sounds boring to some, like watching grass grow, but I could not have been more enthralled. The noise of the glacier was so eerie, I was hooked. It sounded like gun shots firing, thunder clouds banging together, and Niagara falls. All at once. Yet, there was zero movement. Until, if you were lucky, (which I was), you would see a huge chunk of glacier separate itself, and fall into the lake.

I felt so utterly insignificant. Standing across from something so foreign to me was a scary feeling. Mother Nature is so powerful. I couldn't stop thinking about how we, as humans, continuously try to fight her, disarm her, and lay her to rest. But it won't happen. We will never reign power over her. This has always been obvious to me, but after seen how immense these glaciers were, it became solidified in my mind.

Here are some of my pictures that tried to capture the essence of what I observed today.