Patagonia: more beautiful scenery

Two Horns Mountain

Our cruise ended in Punta Arenas and we had a long drive to the national park of Torre del Paine.  Think Montana - rugged mountains and blue-green lakes.

Mirror lake of a glacier

We stayed for two nights at the lodge in the park, and explored on horseback the second day.

The next day we had a six hour drive to El Calafate and the reason that I chose this particular tour.  I wanted to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is supposed to be one of the biggest and most spectacular of all the glaciers.  And it is.  

Unlike the stunning scenery at Torre del Paine on the Chilean side of Patagonia, the drive to El Calafate is mostly through bare scrubland.  We stopped on the way at sheep estancia (ranch) where we were served lamb asada and given a demonstration of the sheep dogs and shearing.

After a night in El Calafate, we drove to the Perito Moreno Glacier.  Words cannot do this one justice.  It is HUGE.  It stretches more than fifteen miles from the ice fields to the lake in front of it.  We observed it from the opposite shore.

Unlike the slow moving glaciers in Antarctica, Perito Moreno grows up to six feet per day.  It is up to 200 feet tall.  We watched it calve many times and it seemed like small pieces falling into the lake, our guide said the chunks were the size of a house.  Also, like thunder and lightning, you have to be looking at it when it calves because the sound reaches you two seconds later.  By the time you hear the loud crash and turn your head, it is too late.

A few last photos of beautiful scenery: