Christmas surprise

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Another gorgeous day.  I feel so lucky.  This morning we woke up at 7am as our tour to the Perito Moreno glacier was due to begin at 8am.  However, at 7:45 we were told that because of Christmas the time had been changed to 10:30.  Sarah and I were already awake so she went for a walk and I booked some things for my trip.  It ended up begin a productive morning as I was also able to get a ton of pictures online.

Four people joined our tour this morning: two solo female travelers Michelle (43, Australia) and Joclyn (49, Canada) and a couple in their mid-30s from England, Kath and Aldeiy.

At 10:30, we finally headed out for the glacier on a back road which apparently has more wildlife than the main one, but all we saw was a condor.  The condor was sitting in the middle of the road and we watched it spread its huge wings and take off into flight.  About an hour later we caught sight of the glacier and got off the bus to have an hour walk along the side of Lago Argentina.  From a distance you could sense her huge size and we were anxious to get a closer look.

Our stroll ended with a piece of chocolate and we piled back on the bus towards the viewing platforms.  The guide informed us that the Perito Moreno glacier is 5km wide (2.5km on the west side and 2.5km on the north side), 30km long and 60-70m high with another 120m below the water’s surface.  It is the only advancing glacier in the world, growing approximately 1.5m each day.

There were numerous raised wooden paths to walk on for different views of the glacier.  Kate, Sarah, Nick and I walked around for a bit before staying in one place in attempt to hear the noise of ice cracking off the façade.  We watched a few small chunks break off into the water and heard the corresponding crackle and splash.  It was incredible seeing the glacier up close, observing all the crevices and the various shades of white and blue.  I tried to get people or trees in my pictures for some sense of scale, but it is impossible to describe the beauty and size.

We eventually changed locations and saw a large piece of ice crash into the water.  I can’t really explain what the sound is like – somewhere between a boom, crack, shot, etc; loud and powerful.  And our weather was just perfect, sunny with scattered clouds and a relatively light breeze (with a chill).  After an hour and a half of watching the glacier, we headed to the gift shop for some hot chocolate.

Our last stop was an hour boat ride in front of the glacier.  On our approach a large chunk fell off creating some large waves in the calm water.  We probably got within 150 meters of the front of the glacier.  It towered over us.  Absolutely stunning.  My pictures don’t do it justice, but hopefully can give a sense of its majesty.  A fabulous day at the glacier!

The bus ride back to El Calafate was just over an hour and we didn’t arrive back until 7pm.  Originally our Christmas dinner reservation was for 6pm, so I figured Ally had dealt with it while we were gone.  Since the beginning of the trip she’s told us how she found a great restaurant in town where we can have Christmas dinner (not that I was too fussed).  We had to pay $15 and would get a glass of wine, turkey, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables.  When we arrived in town yesterday I wondered how we could eat for $15 because many of the restaurants seemed expensive.  Anyway, we had an hour to get ready for dinner.

We met in the lobby at 8pm and had a brief meeting about tomorrow before we started walking to dinner (in the opposite direction of the main part of town).  Kate, Sarah and I were walking together wondering where the hell we were going.  Eventually Ally stopped and told us that our restaurant for the night was (drum roll please) PEGGASADO’s (as in the truck).  Surprise!  They had set up a couple tables and the lunch chairs outside of Peggy and erected a roasting structure where five turkeys were cooking and another cooking station for the potatoes and vegetables.  There was punch and crackers and nuts to nibble on while we waited for dinner.

Let me tell you, it was definitely a surprise; none of us expected it in the slightest.  Most of the women had dressed up in nice tops and were only wearing one jacket because we thought we’d be eating in the comfort of a restaurant, not outside.  Luckily the wind wasn’t bad and it was warmer than it has been, but it was certainly jacket weather.  Kate, Sarah and I sat around talking before Louise joined our conversation.  Michelle was hungry, so she left the party and went back to town for dinner.

The food was all taking a bit longer to cook than planned, so we didn’t actually eat until 10pm.  We were all so hungry (even at 8) since we’d had very little lunch at the glacier (Nick generously gave me some of his homemade salami sandwich so I didn’t have to eat the disgusting lunch box from yesterday).  Andy, who was so excited that we were all surprised, did a great job cooking everything, the food was very tasty, but it was so much work for him and Ally.  They didn’t really get a chance to relax.

Merry Christmas!

By the time we were all finished eating and had washed all the pots, pans, plates in the outside sinks and bins that we use at lunch, it was past 11pm and the light had finally gone.  We walked back to the hotel ready for Secret Santa.  Sadly, three people (Ray and the two new women, Michelle and Joclyn) had already gone to sleep and Ally, after giving us a choice, decided we would do the gifts tomorrow.  People were pretty disappointed (since we all wanted to do it tonight) and we sat having some wine before retiring for the night.  A very different Christmas night to be sure.