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What an amaing place Patagonia is - we keep going from one ovewhelming experience to another. On arrival in El Calafate we went 4x4 up the mountain as it was getting dusk, we knew landrover defenders were good but we did not expect them to be quite as nail-biting, 60 degree angles on the side of a cliff face (or so ot seemed) dowm 1 in 2s with screeming Spanish women! Real overlander stuff.
Yesterday we rose at 6 to take the boat up to the Upsula glacier front, navigating giant icebergs on the way 80 km by boat to get there, distances are huge here. The bergs are really blue, stunning views.We landed, literally as they drove the boat onto the shore until it grounded, at Estancia Christina, a remote and desolate ranch in the National Park (it took 8 days to ride here by horse in the olde days!). We opted to go for a horse trek, not realising that it would take 5 hours and was literally half way up the mountain to overllook the glacier. Gaucho led and gaucho clad we set off through beautiful dwarf beech forest before climbing the mountain trails.BBQ gaucho style for lunch before setting down hill - I swear that I have never clenched my thighs so hard in my life! At one stage my horse decided to get down on his knees (excessive pressure command I am told!) needless to say neither of us could walk properly when we got off.
Today we went ice trekking on the Pierto Merino glacier- crampons securely tied we went single file following the guide - going up walk like a penguin and down -bend ze knees and tilt backwards. The ice is melting all the time and cracks and waterfalls appear, then crevices and the whole thing is blue. Fantastic. Finished the walk with a scotch on the rocks- they hacked out some ice from the glacier and used it with the scotch, big smile on Bs face - after that going down was much easier! We then took a boat up to the glacier front and onto the viewing platform. WOW what a spectacle, the whole thing creaks as it moves and suddenly there will be a massive noise like a bomb going off as the glacier grates against itself. As the parts fall of the leading edge huge tidal waves appear- Stunning.
Love hearing from you all
J and B xxxx
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