After Bariloche we took a really long, twenty-seven hour bus ride to El Calafate, the gateway to Patagonia and glacier capital of the world. Before we arrived, Mareen had found Sebatian on CouchSurfing to host us for the 3 nights we planned to stay there. We stayed in a big bedroom on the second floor of his home. Sebastian who used to own a tour company was very helpful with information about what we should do in El Calafate. At night we all had dinner together and stayed up late drinking wine and talking about Argentina. It was nice to stay in his home.
The highlight of El Calafate is the Perito Moreno glacier, one of three glaciers in the world that is expanding (global warming doesn't exist here). The glacier is in the Los Glaciares National Park which is really well maintained with multiple balconies where you can get great views of the glacier. The visit to the glacier is a full day event with an option for a short boat ride get a closer view (120 Pesos). Something different about Argentina is that entrance fees vary based on where you are from. The entrance to the park is, I think 30 pesos for Argentinians, 90 for South Americans and 130 for everybody else. It turns out Canadians end up paying the maximum rate for everything here.
This is the first glacier we've seen and man is it nice. The colour is a soft blue and when you are quiet you can hear it cracking and breaking. We were also lucky enough to see a few chunks of the glacier fall off. We did a full day tour and did the boat ride as well. It takes a couple hours to walk around the balconies and see the park. You also have an option to go for a walk on the glacier for extra costs of course. We decided not to since we walk on ice in Canada all the time. The cafeteria also serves whiskey with glacier ice but it's Johnnie Walker Red, so I had to decline. They really should serve it with better whiskey! Overall it was a great day with beautiful views and interesting experiences.
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