El Calafate

El Calafate was my last stop in Argentina, before I had to head back to Chile and then fly back home. I felt that after nearly two weeks of intense hiking and camping, I could treat myself to a soft bed and cooked meals, which didn’t include oats or couscous.

El Calafate turned out to be brilliant for relaxing, doing a bit of shopping and trying some delicious food. However, I stopped in this town not just for all this, I also wanted to visit Perito Moreno Glacier.

Perito Moreno glacier is one of the few in the world that are still growing. It is named after Francisco Moreno, the 19th century explorer from Argentina. In order to visit this beautiful glacier, you can book a return bus leaving from El Calafate (I did it through busbud), travel by car if you have one, hitchhike or get a private tour.

The weather that day was dreary, so I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of spending an afternoon in the rain. However, once I got to Perito Moreno, I didn’t care about the weather nor the people (it was quite busy even in the afternoon), the sense of awe took over and I was truly grateful to be out there, admiring the glacier. The glacier looked huge and the photos I took will never do this place justice.

I sat under a tree admiring the glacier, when a huge chunk of it broke off and caused a huge rumble and the roar of the crowd around me. When I arrived, I had three hours to spend here, thinking it was way too much time to look at a glacier. However, it felt like the time melted and when I sat in the bus heading back to El Calafate I could not tell where the time had gone. The glacier was mesmerizing and I just let my mind wander over it.

I hope you get to visit this magic place one day too.