Glaciers, tourists, and more trekking

I´m back in Argentina now, staying for a couple nights in El Calafate, a five hour bus ride to the Northeast of Puerto Natales. El Calafate is one of those towns that is so ultra turisty, you almost immediately want to move on from the minute you arrive. Everything is overpriced, about double what I have found in most other Patagonian cities so far. The main reason for the ultra-touristy feel is the Glacier Perito Moreno http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_glacier , located 50 miles west in the southern sector of Los Glaciares National Park. I visited the glacier this morning and it is very very very impressive. Jagged ice walls rise for 55 meters straight out of the water. Because the ice is forced forward at quite an advanced rate (the park info claims 2 meters per day!) there are constantly chuks both baseball and small house size plunging into the water. These drops produce stupendously loud splashes, making the visit just as much an auditory experience as a visual one. I tried to take photos but of course, like so many other places I have already visited on this trip, the whole scene was just to vast for my 35mm lens to take it all in.

My next adventure will be hiking for 4-5 days in the extreme nothern sector of the same Los Glaciares National Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Glaciares_National_Park The hikes here will be shorter than in Torres Del Paine, but the mountains are bigger and supposedly even more impressive. Here´s hoping for a few clear days to properly take it all in.