Today we visited another glacier, Perito Moreno, one of the world's few remaining advancing glaciers. The glacier is in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park and is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field. Francisco Moreno, for whom the glacier was named, explored the area, arbitrated boundary disputes between Argentina and Chile, and advocated for the creation of Argentina's national parks. We stopped at a few view points along Lago Argentino before entering the park. Our visit to Perito Moreno glacier included another boat ride to the glacier's edge -- massive walls of ice, much larger than Glaciar Grey. The glacier seemed to be alive. Loud explosion-like noises signaled glacier movement either in its interior or pieces breaking off and falling into the water. It was very impressive. After the boat ride we drove to the north side of the glacier and walked along a series of walkways overlooking the glacier, giving us a better sense of its immense expanse. After our excursion to Perito Moreno we returned to El Calafate for a three hour bus ride to El Chalten, a small town that calls itself the trekking capital of the world. While other mountain areas may refute that distinction, the town is definitely a hiker's paradise. El Chalten is in the northern section of Los Glaciares National Park. A charming town, it has a population of 1,000, which increases to 2,000 during the summer climbing months, and drops to 500 during the winter months. It is surprisingly tourist-friendly for being in the middle of nowhere. It boasts a brew pub, a number of good restaurants, a wine bar with an impressive selection of Patagonian wines and beers, a chocolateria, and several great bakeries, one that specializes in alfajores, a traditional South American sandwich cookie treat. (see Day 7 photos)
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.