Did you want ice with that?

Yesterday we visited he Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the largest in the world, and particularly special because it is still advancing (apparently they usually retreat?). I was expecting from pictures that I had seen that it would be big, but when we actually got up close to it the size was staggering. 

We went out on a boat ride up to the face of the glacier at first, freezing cold out on the water as you would expect. Everyone was hoping for a giant portion to calve off while we were there so that we could see it up close, but at the same time it was probably for the best that it didn't happen, as we got pretty near to it.

After that we went up to one of the walkways above the glacier and realised that however vast we had thought the glacier from water level, it was nothing compared to its real size. The face was double the length that we had first seen, and it extended back as far as we could see through the mountains. We sat and had our lunch, and we all agreed that it was high up on the list of the most unusual places we've ever picnicked! 

The glacier had been creaking the whole time we had been watching, with inside sections cracking and small parts breaking off all the time. It is constantly moving and changing.  We all sat with cameras poised, hoping for the shot of a large piece calving, and we were lucky enough to see a few pieces go.  Whether or not we 'got the shot' is questionable, but when you watch them in sequence you can see the movement.  

On the way back to El Calafate we stopped off in the Glaciarium, where we could visit a museum and learn more about the ice, or go to the ice bar for 30 minutes of free drinks... We chose the latter; having never been to the ice bar in London this seemed like the thing to do :) Absolutely freezing as you would expect, but hilarious - it was like a mid afternoon underground ice rave!

We've now crossed over into Chile, it took us a while to get out of Argentina this morning, and adding that to the 4 hour bus journey, some very early starts and hectic days, Andy came out with the line that I'll probably never let him forget 'can't we go and check in to a 5* hotel??'.  Given that we are now in Punto Arenas preparing for our 3 days of hiking around Torres del Paine before a 12 hour journey to Ushuaia, this doesn't bode well!!!!