BeachPatels Travel: Glaciers, Glaciers, Glaciers

Christmas Eve did not bring any relief from the 0530 wake up call. The plan of the day was to take a boat cruise on Lake Argentina to see three more glaciers: Upsala, Spegazzini, and Perito Moreno. The last one is the most famous in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (Glacier National Park).

The morning was very windy so we knew it was going to be an exciting day on the water, maybe even a preview of our trip to Antarctica. When we arrived at the departure dock at Puerto Bandera, we thought it might be a tight squeeze on the boat judging by the size of the line to get aboard. It turned out that there were about four boats leaving at the same time. We were assigned to a catamaran style vessel with 2 decks. Since we were some of the last to board, we got seats in the rear of the lower deck seating area which put us at about the midpoint of the ship. This turned out to be a lucky break as we soon found out. As soon as the ship left the dock, it started heaving and pitching. Within 20 minutes, people sitting near the front were getting sick. 30 minutes into the 6 hour voyage, there were about 20 to 30 people with their heads buried in plastic bags. Fortunately for them, the swells let up quite a bit as we made out way through channels carved by ancient glaciers. The pictures below will show what the day was about.

We got back to town at a decent hour, had a very nice dinner and headed back to the hotel. Sonali, Nick, Dale and I stayed up until midnight to see Santa…..literally. A tradition in several countries is to celebrate Christmas at Midnight. The family that ran the hotel had a couple of young kids and someone dressed as Santa showed up. They exchanged presents and hugs. They gave us onlookers a glass of champagne and we joined them in a toast. From the hotel’s position on a hill above the city, fireworks could be seen throughout. The hotel family even lit off a few of their own. Those of us that were awake had a good laugh about those that were sleeping. It was a very cool and unexpected way to celebrate Christmas.