El Calafate - Christmas At The Glacier

The key reason for us to come to El Calafate was to visit the famous Perito Moreno Glacier, which is one of the most impressive and, more importantly, accessible glaciers in the world.

So we hopped on a bus and drove to the glaicer. The infrastructre there is simply superb with well-build/maintained staircases to walk rather close to the glaciers face.

Once we had our first clear view at the glacier, we were speechless. Not only did the glacier stretch very far into the distance (it has multiple arms that feed the glacier over mountains and through valleys), but at the highest point the front face of the wall what we were looking at was 70m high. The colours ranged from white to a milky blue, to a very intense and shining dark blue that was mesmerising to look at.

In addition, the glaicer constantly kept on making noises as huge blocks of ice broke off, falling tens of meters down either within the glacier or into the water in front of our eyes.

Watching ice break off really is a sight to behold and we were lucky to witness quite a few - and one large - blocks of ice cracking away from the glacier.

At one moment, we managed to witness a huge block of ice in the water turning upside down, revealing what the bottom looks like. The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was that it looks very much like a diamond - absolutely crystal clear, shiny and elegant.

We really enjoyed our time looking at the glaciers and observing the little ecosystem that was going on within it. The sheer size of that glacier is difficult to comprehend and was nothing any of us has ever seen (not even in New Zealand!). I am still amazed thinking about it. It wasn't cheap ($45 entry and another $50 to get there), but it was very well worth the money. Places like this really remind me why I love travelling so much.

The following day it was Christmas Eve. Throughout our time in Patagonia so far, there was literally zero Christmas feelings. No meaningful street decoration or beautifully-decorated Christmas trees. Nada. In none of the towns. For a country with a Spanish history that was odd to us. Thus, we were also in no Christmas mood whatsoever. That didn't change in El Calafate either, even though we thought the little town would have potential.

It was of course also strange to have 20+ degrees on the 24th December. To make the most out of it, we cooked some steak and literally ate outside in the sunshine - something really unimaginable in Germany. It didn't feel like Christmas (the second time in two years for me, as there was no Christmas feeling in Vietnam for me last year, either), but we still made the most out of it, calling home, playing yatzy and chatting the day and evening away.

A Christmas well spent with the memories of the simply stunning Perito Moreno Glacier still lingering in the back of our minds.Read more