After almost a full 24 hours of buses and border crossings from Ushuaia, I arrived in the small town of El Calafate, the home base for travelers looking to catch a glimpse of the Perito Moreno glacier, which, as you can see in the photos, is a sight to behold.
Walkways allow for fairly close views, keeping a safe enough distance to not be struck by the gigantic ice sheets that regularly fall from the face of the glacier. The shear size is difficult to capture, and not just in photographs. Realizing that the ice chunk falling in slow motion down into the water could actually be the size of a car is hard to fathom.
After listening to the glacier creak, crack, and splash for an hour or so, I headed to catch my boat for the real adventure: trekking on the glacier. Equipped with crampons, I explored (with a guide) the top of the glacier, walking along crevasses filled with the bluest water I’d ever seen and staring in awe at the landscape that I was completely engulfed in. The trek ended with a surprise whiskey on ice, freshly hacked off the glacier - my new favorite cocktail. Although I may have trouble ordering glacier whiskey next time I’m at the bar…
The same feelings of being humbled and floored by grandiose surroundings that I felt at Iguazu Falls returned once more at Perito Moreno. Who knew water could be so mesmerizing?