Perito Merino Glacier

Nov. 29 Puerto Natales to El Calafate

 The border was a bit busy as we arrived behind a tour bus, no worries it is still nothing like the lines and slow process in Central America. We chat with a couple from Los Angeles and we get the usual reaction when we tell them we are travelling by motorbike, and that Brenda rides her own bike. Once we got our passports stamped then it was across the room to the Aduana to process the bikes. This leads to us basically telling the official how to fill in the form and even then he handed Brenda paperwork for some William guy who was driving a motorhome. Once we clarified moto-cycle not moto-casa he finally got his act together and reprinted the form. Then he just put my name at the top of Brenda’s form and did not change the VIN number of the bike. Really dude, try a little harder, but insisted that the hand written changes would be acceptable. At this point another customer (a truck driver) stepped in and asked if we needed help, we explained the situation and the driver tied into the guy. A little firm language goes a long way because within a minute we had another new form with the correct info. And we are off like a heard of turtles.

This portion of Rte 40 is a mixture of pavement and gravel sections, the pavement has sweeping curves through rolling foothills. Shortly after turning onto the gravel section I notice that one of the extra fuel bottles is not as full as it once was, ah crap the pounding punched a hole in it and it has been leaking over the back of my luggage. A quick stop was made and the fuel bottle stripped from the bike, then the process of dumping the jerry can into the bike and the fuel bottle into the jerry can began. The fuel bottle could not be poured directly into the bike as the wind would blow the gas all over the place, experience gained knowledge.

Unusual cargo on this semi-trailer

Our destination of El Calafate was achieved and a nice hotel was easily found as this is a major tourist destination. The hotel had slab heating which was nice to walk on barefoot, but without a thermostat it became like a sauna, we slept with the window open and only used the sheet to cover with. The other four wool blankets on the bed were quickly kicked to the floor. The nicest thing about being in a tourist town in Argentina is that the restaurants stay open all day, typically they close from 4-8 for a break, then open up again for the supper crowd. This means either eating supper at 3:30pm or at 9pm, either way it is an awkward time. We comment how much the town feels like Banff with its’ shops, restaurants, bars, sidewalk coffee lounges, and most people dressed in hiking gear. El Calafate is also the base for excursion into the National Park to visit Perito Merino Glacier which is the only known glacier to still be advancing, they do not know why but it is.

Brenda's new buddy.

Wall of the restaurant where we ate supper

Our visit to the glacier includes a 1hour boat tour that approached the glacier to allow for viewing of calving. This is like birdwatching, focusing on an area of the glacier in hopes of seeing something, only to be caught looking the wrong direction when something does. Once you hear the splash the show is all over so it is hard to get a good picture from the boat. Once we are back on land and return to our bikes we find a note attached to my bike. It is from the young couple we met last winter in a little town along the Colca Canyon in Peru, they told us where they were staying but before I could finish reading the note the walked up. A short visit was had as they were on their way to catch the boat tour, so we agreed to meet back in town that evening for a proper visit. Artur remembered the bikes as they seemed more practical than the little 125cc bikes they bought for their travels.

On we went to get a better vantage point of the entire leading edge of glacier, this way it is a little easier to see the process but just as difficult to get a focused picture. In any case the glacier is amazing just to look at as the blue ice is truly amazing, there is a detailed explanation of how the blue effect is created I did not want to spoil it, sometimes it is better to just enjoy what it is and not analyze ‘why it is’.

The evening was spent visiting with Artur and Magda, sharing travel stories and comparing notes on the routes chosen along the way. Before we know it, the clock is striking 12 and we realize we have been talking for 4 hours and we all have big travel days ahead of us so we call it an evening. When we return to the sauna we can’t help but think of them camping, in this crazy wind, and 5C is not overly warm at night to sleep in a tent. After a nice breakfast we feel we should stop by the campground to say good-bye one more time, they are just getting going so we have a quick visit then hit the road.