South American Adventure - Day Ten, Saturday 1st March 2014

Paul compared the holiday today to boot camp.  The alarm went off at 6.00am – normal time to get up for me.  Boot camp would be more like 4.00am – it could be arranged……  We are being collected at 7.15am for our “All Glacier Navigation” tour.  I think by the end of today, I will be all glaciered out.  But as we are here..  As usual, the pick up came at 7.30am – the one day we are late the pick up will be on time!  We were again one of the last to be picked up, and the mini bus was full.  We met the same English couple as yesterday – these must be the two “to do” tours here.  “I read your blog last night”  she says.  “I will have to be careful what I say to you today!”  Oh my god – I definitely will have to think carefully what I say if people we meet on the way are reading it!  Ha ha.  I wonder how many people I have upset already over the last few years.

The journey to the port took around forty minutes.  When I first knew the size of the boat – it takes around 200 people – there was probably a look of horror on my face.  We were told that we could upgrade – and as one does – we did.  Business class on the boat.  If you have to go on a boat with 200 people, it is best if you don’t have to sit with them!  We didn’t get any special treatment at the start though – this was not the only boat going.  There were probably in the range of three to four hundred people queuing to get onto the jetty where the boat went from.  We had our national park tickets already paid for in advance with the tour.  If you don’t have them, you have to queue at a little hut to get them.  Not everyone was aware they had to do this, so they walked all the way down to the jetty, only to have to walk all the way to get the ticket.

Once we were on board we had the “Captain’s Club”.  We were shown upstairs to the front of the catamaran to a separate lounge area where the captain drives the boat.  There were sixteen lovely comfortable business class style seats.  If  I have to spend all day on a boat, this isn’t a bad way to do it.  All sixteen seats were full – they cost 300 pesos extra per person, but included all the tea, coffee, chocolate, wine, beer etc that you wanted.  That was Paul sorted out for the day!  Our steward was Juan, and he looked after us very well.

We set off, firstly heading to the Upsala Glacier.  This is one of the largest in the Los Glaciars National Park.  It took around an hour and a half to get there, and on  the way we were given croissants as well.  Very civilised.  We had to go through the narrowest part of Lake Argentina to get there, so I decided to go downstairs and out to the front of the boat.  I stood at the front, and remembered the last time I was on a boat I had decided that a fleece was fine and didn’t take my jacket, hat and gloves.  That was a mistake then, and here I was standing in the wind in only my fleece and thinking why have I done this again?  Plonker.  Down here, there were hoards of people – albeit rather more sensibly dressed!  As we approached the glacier, there were large and small icebergs.  Some huge.  Hope the captain is looking where he is going!  Most people then decided to do their Titanic impression and have their photograph taken at the front of the ship with their arms outstretched.  After the two hundredth person, I was getting a bit fed up of elbows in my face.  One chap had to have one taken with his camera, then his video camera, then his ipad.  Not sure how he had enough hands to carry them all.

This glacier may have been bigger than the Perito Mereno yesterday, but it hadn’t have the wall of ice that stands proud from the water.  It just comes down like a river to the lake.  Very impressive though – although no great big collapses like yesterday.  That is going to take some beating!  We then moved on to the next glacier – Spegazinni – which took around twenty minutes to get to.  This was similar to Perito Moreno, with a high wall of ice.  I went back upstairs – there were a couple of doors that opened to the outside from up there, so decided I wouldn’t brave the hoards again.  At least upstairs there will only be another fifteen pairs of elbows to contend with!  It was a really good view – and nowhere near as cold, as you could jump in and out very easily to warm up.  It was actually only when we were sailing that it was cold.  When we were at the glaciers or going slowly along the front of them it was beautiful.  The sun was shining again – we have been really lucky with the weather.

After we left this glacier, we have a two hour trip to get to Perito Moreno – the last glacier on the schedule.  Juan brought sandwiches round – went very well with the ham and cheese roll I had in my camera bag that I made at breakfast.  I haven’t done that before – it was a last minute thought that we were on the boat all day with nothing to eat!  Nobody seemed to mind – in actual fact I don’t know if they even noticed we were there.  As I said, backpackers can get a free breakfast!  The sun was beating down through the windows, and the lake was so calm – it all combined to make a half hours snooze unavoidable!  This is a very easy way to spend a day.

The last glacier was Perito Moreno again.  This one is the most famous not only because of its accessability, but because of the dramatic pieces that come away.  As we were approaching, we could see the walkways that we had been on yesterday.  We sailed up the within a couple of hundred yards at one point of the glacier wall.  I remember seeing a sign by one of the walkways yesterday saying that several people had been killed by the falling ice because they were too close to the edge.  I think the walkways had all been moved back to prevent this happening.  I am sure we have quite a quick reverse speed if needed!  But alas, even though we spent another half an hour or so sailing up and down the face of the glacier, there were only minor collapses.  There were several ooohs and aaaahs – it was spectacular to some.  But it all has to be put in perspective – we saw a massive collapse yesterday, and dribs and drabs like this are not going to cut the mustard anymore.

We left the glacier for the hour or so to get back to the port, and I feel that I am now glaciered out.  Yesterday was amazing, and if I had to choose between the two tours I would have chosen yesterdays every time.  This one was good, and if we hadn’t done yesterday I would have enjoyed it more I think.  But, for me, it was again a little too sedate.  I would definitely recommend paying the extra to get the better seats and all that comes with it.  It really was a bun fight trying to take pictures downstairs.  We were met by the minibus after disembarking, and taken back to the hotel for our last evening in El Calafate.

We tried the town again tonight for something to eat.  We chose a restaurant and decided to have lamb – it is apparently good here.  Even after a pint of campari (that is how it came, not how much I ordered!) it still tasted as if it had been cooking since last Christmas.  Paul’s dish wasn’t too bad.  We had passed an ice cream parlour – Tito’s - on the way, so decided to get pudding there.  Only about forty flavours to choose from!  At least I am managing to get some calories (ha ha, as if I need them!).