Roca Zone of Glacier National Park, Argentina
Calafati is the tourist town that supplies the visitors to the glaciers. The lake that is close is fed by the glacier, so it is green and ice burgs float on the surface. Our visit was made more interesting because we were there on a Sunday which was Argentina’s National Election. We were parked close to the main street in town and at 10PM when the winner was declared, there was a big celebration with drums, and horns and such. The town reminds one of the ski resorts of our west. There are lots of shops and young folk with their hiking gear. Most places were closed because of the election. I guess we saved a few pesos but we did have an excellent lunch.
The next morning we headed toward the glacier about 50 miles away. The area is beautiful with snow capped mountains and emerald lakes.
We stopped at a viewing platform and there was the blue ice of the glacier.
A huge tall glacier going back as far as you could see. The wind blowing off the ice was
COLD!!!
Adding to the moment was a Condor sailing the sky overhead. This is the Andean Condor with a wingspan of 9 ft. What a thrill!!
We went on to the main viewing platforms. Argentina has done a wonderful job of making this accessible to all.
There is also an elevator. We took our time going down to levels that took you eye to eye with the blue ice. But what goes down must come back up and we made it fine. This glacier is one of the last remaining glaciers that is advancing, not receding. People were hoping to see “calfing” when the ice breaks off with a boom.
We spent the night in the park. We had a fire to ward off the chill and the mountains kept us company. I went for a long walk among the geese and felt how blessed I am.
Bill and Gerry
No comments:
Post a Comment