The barbequed Patagonian lamb was a culinary delight for Steve. The lamb was hanging in the window of the restaurant over a fire. When someone ordered lamb, they would go cut off the meat and warm it on the grill. Steve enjoyed every bite and is still talking about the taste sensations that meal provided.
The sunrise was beautiful over the snow covered hills. We got a very early start in the morning as we needed to travel 80 km to get to the Perito Moreno glacier. It was a beautiful drive and the glacier was amazing.
Just outside the national park there was an overlook where we could get our first view of the glacier.
Spectacular views of the glacier were available from every possible angle. There were trails and catwalks along two sides of the glacier. Each viewpoint offered a different perspective and we could see the ice change in texture and in color as we looked from different angles.
It is difficult to get a sense of the enormity of this glacier by looking at the photos. The Perito Moreno glacier is 19 miles long with a total area of about 97 square miles. The leading edge is 3 miles wide and the average height is 240 feet above the surface of the water. That's as tall as a 20 story building!
The color of the ice appeared in every shade of blue and white imaginable. The texture was very jagged with lots of crevasses and small peaks. Parts of the ice were dirty where rocks or soil had been picked up as it moved.
The area surrounding the glacier was a beautiful Patagonian forest. As we hiked through the forest, we saw a red fox and a flock of black-hooded finch. There were also lots of calafate bushes. These bushes are so common that the town was named after them. The plant has protective spines on its branches. It has small yellow flowers in the spring and produces a small blue colored berry that makes a delicious jam.
There was an interesting plant, called Misodendron or Chinese lantern, living in the tree branches. It is a parasite that sucks the sap from the tree. In the wintertime, it has pretty yellow flowers.
Although we had walked along most of the 3 mile leading edge of the glacier, there were parts that were only accessible by water. Not wanting to miss out, we took a 45-minute boat cruise along the glacial lake on the south side of the glacier. It was warm inside, but all the windows fogged up, so we went out on deck to get the best view. It was spectacular.
At the end of the day, we began the 80 km drive back to Calafate. Along the way we saw several heard of guanaco grazing and just hanging out.
