A Chilean Adventure

Friday - So, it seems like the desert is always really windy and today was no exception. We drove about 300 miles today, but almost all of it was on unpaved roads. I don’t know if I can really describe what it’s like to drive on an unpaved highway for 300 miles. It’s insane!

When we finally got to the highway we had to turn on, it was a huge sigh of relief to find that it was paved! This was also the place where we left our hitchhikers. They were heading a different direction to see the famous Fitz Roy peak, which is world-famous among the climbing circles. We literally just stopped and let them out on the side of the road with all of their things. The wind was incredibly strong, but they insisted that that was exactly where they wanted to be. We bid them good luck and good travels and were on our way to El Calafate.

The closer we got to Calafate, the better the landscape became because we were getting closer to the Andes again. When we got there, we realized that it was a pretty hot tourist spot, especially on a Friday afternoon. We found a campsite and got settled in pretty quickly. We had a long day of driving and wanted to rest up for the next day.

Saturday - We woke up very well-rested! So far, it was the best night of sleeping in our car! It wasn’t too cold because there was a big bus along one side that blocked the wind. We also tried not putting the seats all the way down and it was quite comfortable. It seems like a silly thing to rejoice over, but I think it’s justified.

Today’s activity was to visit the Perito Moreno (the same name as the town we were in a few days ago) Glacier. It’s probably the easiest glacier in the world to visit because you can practically drive right up to it. The drive there is all winding roads with a lot of hills that’s next to lakes with mountains all around. Pretty impossible to explain, but use your imagination. Then you get to the parking lot and take a free minibus up to the viewpoint. There are balconies to see the glacier from with just a little channel of water between.

It was really hard to fathom the size of the ice chunk because it took up the whole horizon. We actually witnessed a chunk of it fall off, which is always one of the highlights of the visit and you never know when it’ll happen. The ice that falls off into the lake has a lot of particles in it, known as “glacial milk,” and it give the lake a really bright turquoise color.

The rest of the afternoon had some simple pleasures: we ate well (ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, a cucumber, and more) and we spent a lot of time using the local gas station’s free wireless without having to purchase anything. We also wandered upon a large celebration for the town anniversary, complete with food stands, artisan stands, and live music. We strolled around, listened to the band a bit, and bought our first alcoholic drinks in
South America…sangria out of a five-gallon pail.

Calafate is nice, but we’re ready to head further south.