Up Close to an Iceberg

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning it was cloudy with a light rain. Our ship put down anchor quite close to the Amalia  Glacier. It is a tidewater glacier located in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, Chile, on the edge of the Sarmiento Channel. The glacier originates in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. I thought our ship was quite close to the glacier but we boarded a small Zodiac boat to get even closer. I have to admit that I didn't feel very comfortable when our small boat went through the ice that came off of the glacier. It banged against the sides to the boat. The driver told me the boat was fine because it was made in Chile. I guess Chilean boats can't be damaged by ice! 

My water proof rain jacket keep the top of my body dry but my old gortex backpacking pants didn't do as well and I was cold and wet on the lower half of my body when we returned to the ship. 

 

 

 

 

By the time we returned to the boat there was some sunshine which was a welcome sight. 

Skorpios III Ship

 

 

This morning we drove by Lago Toro (Bull Lake) on our way to Puerto Natales to board the ship Scorpios III that we will spend 4 nights on in order to see the fjords of Southern Chile. 

It was cloudy but not raining when we left the port and there were some mountains in view.

Soon after we got settled on the ship we had lunch. Too much food! It was four courses - appetizer, salad, main and dessert. Everything was served very elegantly with excellent service. 

 

 Our first outing was a transfer to a Zodiac boat to go see elephant seals. It wasn't windy which was a surprise since this area is notorious for strong winds. My rain pants and jacket kept me dry. I was able to get a picture a Zodiac boat that left before the boat I was on and also a picture of our ship that was anchored in the channel.

 

The elephant seals were all in a a large group except for one that our guide said was off by herself because she was about to give birth. How he knows this is a mystery to me 

 

A Day for Hiking

Today's activities were two hikes. The morning hike was about 4 and a half miles past a waterfall, a lake and to a view point of the peaks that are called the horns. The color of the water such a distinctive blue that continues to dazzle me. 

 

The snow capped mountains in the background of the picture below are not part of the Torre del Paine mountains but are the Alps of Southern Chile.

It was a good decision not to do the afternoon hikes because it rained on those hikers. The morning hike was perfect conditions for a hike - no wind, no rain, cloud cover and not hot. 

The picture below is for my grandson Micah. Our trip leader graduated from Dickenson College where Micah attends. She wore her Dickenson shirt to dinner tonight.

One last picture is of the amazing blue water. 

Torres Del Paine Nacional Parque

Windy, soaring mountains, startling blue water and many vistas of great beauty is my description of this park. We did one hike of about 3 miles and the wind was a steady 25 miles per hour with gusts to 45 miles per hour. I'll just post some of my many pictures and so you can appreciate what I experienced.  

 

You can listen to the wind to give you an idea of my experience.

Crossing the Border into Chile

Breakfast at our hotel included Valentine Day cookies. This morning our bus left at 7 am. We drove through the the area of Patagonia to the cross the border by land. this are is mainly arid and flat with lots of sheep. We had another good weather.

Crossing the border by land was much less formal than at an airport. First we checked out int Argentinian immigration, got on our bus and drove across the border and checked in at Chilean immigration. This all took time but according to our tour guide it was smother than usual

 

 

 

 

 

The white building is Chilean immigration and the in the other picture you can see that the area is quite small. 

While we were waiting we did see a gray fox in the field. Our next stop was Torre de Paine National Park. On our way there we saw several groups of guanacoas.  Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Guanacos are herbivores, grazing on grasses, shrubs, herbs, lichens, fungi, cacti, and flowers.

We also saw rhea birds which are also known as the South American ostrich. They are flightless birds with grey-brown plumage, long legs, and long necks.

  

Visiting a Patagonian Ranch

A unique activity that Overseas Adventure Travel plans for tour groups is called A Day in the Life. The group goes to a location and learns more in depth about what life is like if you live there. Today we went to a sheep and cattle ranch only a 20 minute ride from the town of El Calafate where we are staying. The owner Gerardo was our host. First we were given gorro (hat) de (of) gaucho (skilled horseman) and the typical neck scarf (pañuelo) worn by gauchos.  Our lunch was lamb and we watched as the lamb was put onto a iron roasting spit to be cooked for 3 hours. 

 

 

The land is barren and dry. There is only about 6 to 8 inches of annual precipitation by rain or snow.  Gerardo does have some irrigation to provide water for the animals and to grow some alfalfa.

Jo Ellen and I, being two farm girls from Iowa didn't think the land looked too productive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We watched Gerardo's sheep dog herd the sheep into his barn. Then he sheared a bit of one sheep. 

Predators are a big problem and lambs are killed by stray dogs, pumas, and fox. There were a puma and a fox pelt in the barn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we went to lunch Gerardo demonstrated how to throw a boleadora. A  boleadora is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Gerardo demonstrated and the goal was to throw it around a pole. Most of the men in our group tried it and then I tried it. I tried several times to post a video of this but it didn't post so here is a picture. 

 

Notice that I nailed it! The boleadora is wrapped tightly around the bottom of the pole. Today there was hardly any wind and it was bright sunshine. We have been blessed with good weather. 
 

Perito Moreno Glacier

 

The beauty of creation was on full display today. I like this quote by Rachel Carson: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

  

The drive to the Los Glaciares National Park was very scenic. A local tour guide gave us information about the national park and the the glacier. The Perito Moreno Glacier was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 km (3.1 mi) wide, with an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water of Argentino Lake, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Los Glaciares National Park covers an area 2,806.68 sq mi, making it the largest national park in the Argentina. It was established on 11 May 1937. It was the first national park established in the Argentina.  For comparison Yellowstone National Park in the USA was established  1872 and Banff in Canada in 1885. In 1981, Los Glaciares National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

You could hike very close to the glacier. We saw it calving several times and heard the crackling of the shifting ice. There were some very good sized icebergs that had broken off and they had a very blue color at the bottom of them.