We flew from Ushuaia to El Calafate in Argentine Patagonia. On our first full day we went to the Upsala Glacier and the Cristina Estancia. The Patagonian ice sheet is the third largest in the world, behind Antarctica and Greenland and larger than Iceland's. It extends for hundreds of killometres.
We went by bus to a wharf then by boat on Lago Argentino the largest lake in Argentina. We saw hundreds of icebergs before arriving at the estancia.
The weather was very windy but we did see some sun.
Blue ice just like Antarctica
The weather, the ice and the water.
We passed the Iceberg alley with icebergs calved from the Upsala glacier and up another arm of the lake to the estancia. This was was established in 1914 but is now inside the National Park.
We then went by 4 wheel drive up the mountain to the glacier. It was very rough going..a land version of the Drake Passage!
Half way up the mountain. Wonderful views
Us at the top.We could see the ice extending to the horizon. The melt water glacier is between us and 3 glaciers that we could see
The Upsala Glacier
Behind the lake are the Bertacci Glacier, Cono Glacier and the Upsala Glacier
The geology of the area is amazing. We saw many fossils like this and small squid.
Gail at the water wheel and bridge
The shearing shed is now a museum. The estancia was a sheep station. We had a huge lunch..Patagonian lamb.
2 comments:
Amazing blues! Absolutely gorgeous photos.
The colours are amazing, especially that blue that I usually think of as tropical.
xoxo
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