ADVENTURES AT EL
CALAFATE
The Glacier surroundings may be the setting for
lots of activities. Apart from the walkways, we did trekking on open ice;
combined SUV with walks to see old stones and dinosaur remains, we sailed up to
a faraway estancia and went on a bike ride along the border of Brazo Rico.
EL CALAFATE BALCONY
By a SUV and through
desertic untrodden ways one gets to the land of ancient and strange geological
formations.
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| El Calafate Balcony: 4x4 Expedition |
El Calafate surroundings have a special charm
and may be visited in half a day. It
is an ideal option for travellers going for a short time and allows them to
visit another aspect of the area, different from the typical postcard view
offered by the glacier.
Our guide and driver awaits us at the hotel
door with a Land Rover van ready to start a 35 km drive across the Huyliche and
Anita Estancias Land southwest of the town.
The program called “Balcon de Calafate”, allows
us to obtain good panoramic views of the area from an altitude of more than one
thousand meters and visit interesting geolocial formations.
The first lap goes across desertic scenery, on
land belonging to Estancia Huyliche. There are great black stones to be seen
here and there strewn in the countryside that have no relation with the are
rocks. The geologists call them erratic stones and were dragged from afar
thousands of years ago by the glacier.
High up we stop to enjoy an incredible view of
the city. From this point it is possible to see the east side of lago
Argentino; and on clear days the silhouettes of mounts Torre and El Chalten
from far away.
Some kilometres further the road takes us up to
Los Sombreros Mexicanos, enormous iron oxide spheres which were generated, as
the guide explained when the site was a marine bed. After the Andean Range
Afterwards, we go down the norht face of the Huyliche Range
PERITO MORENO
Whoever arrives at El Calafate has a fixation:
to see the glacier right away.
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| Perito Moreno Glacier - Catwalks overlooking the Glacier |
Located on the Brazo Rico of Lago Argentino,
Perito Moreno Glacier is five kilometres long and its ice walls reach an
altitude of 60 metres over the water level. Despite all this it is not the
biggest glacier in Patagonia . It owes its
reputation to a curious phenomenon that takes place in its front as a
consequence of the continuos forward movement of this ice mass known as The
Fall.
The best places to see the glacier are the
walkways, sort of watching pints which allos us to have different panoramic
views.
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| Mini Trekking - Perito Moreno Glacier |
ESTANCIA CRISTINA
Surrounded by lakes,
woods and glaciers, this pioneering estancia is a unique refuge in the last
frontier of Patagonia .
It takes three hours of sailing icebergs and
rugged rocks. In the end, on a faraway corner of lago Argentino, next to the
Upsala glacier, lies Estancia Cristina. It has an attractive program that
combines sailign and adventure activities – trekking, horse-back riding and SUV
trips – to the possibility of staying at the new lodge, very near the old
house.
THE JOURNEY
We wighed anchor from Puerto Bandera and sailed
northwards of the Argentino lake. On either sides of the lake there are rock
ranges where lengas, nires and cherry trees manage to grow among the stones.
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| Arriving at Estancia Cristina |
The western front of the Upsala, one of the ice
colossus of Patagonia , can be seen at a
distance. The glacier basin takes 900 sq.km; a surface that triplicates Perito
Moreno’s and is four times bigger than the city of Buenos Aires
At the end of the Cristina Channel we can see
the homonymous estancia, where the vans are awaiting for us to make their first
journey by land.
ON THE FOSSILS’ VALLEY
The next morning we went trekking in the canyon
located between the cerro Coplorado and the Feruglio range. There is a black
sedimentary stone slab, red inside.
Further we continue flanked by a 120 metre high
wall. We are careful in the landslide area and then we stop, at our guide’s
suggesiton, to see the fossils and marks left behind by the amonities – the
ancient round sea snail – and the belemnites – a type of mollusk similar to the
present squid that lived in the Mesozoic – both extinguished millions of years
ago. After feeling like geologists for a couple of hours, we get back to the
estancia to board the boat back to El Calafate.
Land of giant
dinosaurs, the surroundings of lago Viedma keep 70 millions year’s fossil
remains.
The idea of travelling to the Cretaceous
appealed to us. We didn’t need to get on a time machine or get to the middle of
the Earth. We just had to drive quite a few kilometers from Calafate up to the
Viedma lake surroundings. Over there, we were told that we could see fossil
remains of dinosaurs and fossilized trees of about millions years: it sounded
fascinating.
Early in the morning we went along MW11 and
then we detoured along the mythical road 40. A bit further on we crossed the Santa Cruz river, whose turquoise waters connect lago argentino
with the Atlantic Ocean and brought the first
explorers who dared visit the area.
The road goes across the desert. We leave lago
Argentino behind and continue along a glacier originated valley which borders La Leona river. A few
kilometres before lago Viedma we are ready for our first stop at Luz Divina,
and old inn. From there we head towards the west to the estancia Santa Teresita
owned by the Vidal Family. It is a 60 thousand hectare sheep farm; where there
is a huge fossils field.
Only authorized guides
are allowed because it is private property and thus does not have a free access
to the public.
We leave the vehicle on a hill and started on our way along the path over guanaco’s path.
The landscape – sedimentary formations in hues of grey – displays a desolate and strange beauty. From above they look like huge mushrooms or like a pile of plates: it is open to imagination.
If you are travelling to Santa Cruz and you will visit El Calafate, contact us and we will provide useful information. We also specialize in customized tours in Santa Cruz and all over Patagonia. Let us know your opinion and we will be delighted to optimize your visit with useful tips and great tours.
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