Our second weekend here in Buenos Aires, I traveled with Saskia and Andrew further south in Argentina to a little town called Calafate, which is famous for the nearby Lake Argentina and the many glaciers surrounding it. We flew out of Buenos Aires Friday night (after a delayed flight adventure at the airport) and arrived in Calafate three hours later. Saturday morning, we woke up early to take a bus down to the lake, where we got onto a ferry that took us to see all the different glaciers. We also got very close to some beautiful blue icebergs (see Whoosh picture #2)--if I remember correctly, the color is due to the fact that the icebergs are made of compacted snow and not just regular ice. I may need to check on that, though.
The boat ride was so much fun! It lasted until the afternoon, and pictures were constantly being taken. It even snowed for a bit, but thankfully, the skies cleared up, allowing us to see Perito Moreno, the most famous glacier in the park. It was a good thing there was heating inside of the ferry, though, because it was freezing outside! (Literally, the temperature was below 0 degrees Celsius during the weekend, since it's winter here in the Southern Hemisphere.) Thank goodness for layers of clothing.
Sunday morning, we got to meet some genuine gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) of Patagonia, the name of the region, on horseback! (See Whoosh picture #2.) We rode around on a nearby hill before heading back to their headquarters for some mate--a typical drink in Argentina--and fried bread. After lunch, we went ice skating on natural ice--part of the lake was frozen over and open for ice skating! Definitely something that can't be found in Dallas, Texas.
Overall, the trip to Calafate was a wonderful and one-of-a-kind experience. Glaciers, horses, and ice skating, all within the span of two days! Argentina certainly has a lot to offer.
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