Mt. Fitz Roy and Calafate

We took the trail from downtown El Chalten up to Lago Torre where we camped for the night.  After setting up camp, we walked around the moraine on the north side of Lago Torre, which gave us a unique view looking down onto this huge glacier.

Here is Dan at dusk in front of Lago Torre with Mt. Torre behind.

In the morning Bets went to brush her teeth and was excited to see the full moon perched right on top of a granite peak.  By the time she ran to got the camera, it had gone down a bit, but you can still see it at the top of the far left mountain.

Day two of hiking we enjoyed a chilly swim in this lake and lingered in the sun on the shale beach (perfect for skipping stones!).

This was our view of Mt. Fitz Roy from where we ate lunch on the second day.

We took a side trip to see another glacier which involved climbing through these massive boulders with cold glacial meltwater flowing beneath.

An iceberg in Laguna Piedra Blancas.

Bets managed to pick up a small iceberg.  It was very very cold, very dense, and very heavy.  Here she is throwing it back into the lake.

One more shot of Laguna Piedras Blancas.

On the third day Dan woke up early to go for a stroll at sunrise.  Here is Lago Electrico which sits at the head of the valley we camped in during the second night.

A beautiful reflecting pond shows Mt. Fitz Roy.

Rio Electrico at dawn.

The fourth day we hiked to Campamento Poincenot to do some shorter day hikes.  Here is our campsite for the third night.  In this picture, Mt. Fitz Roy is starting to be engulfed by swirling clouds.  By the time we woke up from a quick nap, the whole view was gone and the clouds had moved in.

That afternoon we hiked up to Lago Sucia where we had this whole glacial view and beautiful turquoise lake to ourselves.

On the fourth morning we hiked up to Lago de los Tres for the classic view of Fitz Roy, which was hidden behind clouds all day.  Oh well, that´s what you get for reading the trail guide in the wrong order!

On our way down to El Chalten we noticed this little Magellanic Snipe in the marsh.  What do you think, Kevin?  Pretty cute little guy.

We took a bus to Calafate which is little south of El Chalten.  We spent three nights in the town and had a great time.

Here´s a furry Airedale we saw out on the street.  Miss you Brycie!  This is the first Airedale we have seen in South America.

We took a guided tour bus to see Glacier Perito Moreno which is 100 km west of Calafate.  Here is Dan after seeing this massive glacier for the first time.

We went out on a boat to see the south side of the glacier up close.  We couldn´t stop smiling, it was amazing!

The glacier is 60 meters tall, as tall as a 15 story building.

The glacier advances across a narrow part of Lago Argentino, which dams the river and the southern part of the lake.  During one such damming, the river rose 30 m and drowned all the trees.  The dam finally broke and now a little piece of ice is all the remains on the right side of this picture.  A very short river flows in between and connects the slightly higher southern part of the lake with the rest.

A view of the glacier from above.

We enjoyed watching huge pieces of ice fall off the glacier into the lake below.  Can you see the three pieces in midair in the middle of this photo?

We witnessed one massive calving event at the end of the day.  Here is the before picture.

And this is the picture Dan took at the end of the collapse.  Notice all the ice in the water and the wave hitting the glacier as more ice falls.  Most of this face you can see here collapsed.  It was truly an awesome sight, and the sound of the ice hitting the water was remarkable.

We hung out on the other side of Lago Argentina near Calafate.  There are a bunch of flamingos that live in a reserve here.  This photo shows two flying flamingos.

Dan was excited to see the many types of Andean ducks.

We ended the day with a picnic on the beach complete with Suzy-style tortellini salad and a bottle of wine kept fresh by a stopper made by Chris.

We leave tomorrow for our longest hike yet around Torres del Paine.  Hope all is well with all our readers!