February 12
We had a long drive into El Calafate - two hours on a gravel road then another hour and a half into town. A quick potty break and another 90 minute drive to a massive glacier called the Perito Moreno. It is 20 miles long, 5 miles wide and 650 feet deep at its front edge with 200 feet above the lake’s waterline. We were standing 1/2 mile away from its front and could see part of the back edge near a mountain that was 10 miles away, then it turned left and continues on for another 10 miles.
This glacier is neither growing nor shrinking, it’s staying the same from year to year even though it moves 6 feet every day. It’s static because it gets 30 feet of snow each winter which is what compresses the glacier into ice and pushes it forward. We witnessed several episodes of calving in the 2 hours we were watching it.
The “small” boat in the far back holds about a hundred people.
We are spending one night in El Calafate before heading to Chile.
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