(Mom's note: today's blog is co-authored by Dex & Kylie). (D) The day was pretty uneventful until we got on the bus at 1 p.m. The bus would take us the 45 minutes to the Perito Moreno Glacier. This glacier is still moving forward at six feet per day, making it one of the fastest in the world. It also calves a lot of ice, or so we heard. On the bus, Kylie and I played Hangman while Mom and Dad did their own stuff.
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| First view of the Perito Moreno Glacier |
(K) Once we arrived, we went over to a ticket counter and got tickets for a 3:45 p.m. boat ride that would hopefully give us a better view of the glacier. It was only 3 p.m., so we still had time to go part-way on a boardwalk Dex had spotted. (Mom's note: this boardwalk was a thing of beauty -- elevated, metal, and well above the ground -- it was extensive and went on for kilometers along the water and on the cliffs across from the glacier.) It was amazing. We started walking/running down the boardwalk. Dad and Dex got ahead while Mom and I stayed back. We both stopped at different lookouts. Later, Mom started to walk back with Dex and I stayed back with Dad. He explained that we wouldn't hear the loud cracking sound of the ice breaking until after the ice fell because we were so far away. Dad and I were getting close to the end of the walkway when a man said "Look!" We turned our heads just in time to see our first massive ice chunk fall with a mighty splash. I had never seen anything like it. For five seconds after, I didn't say anything! Dex and Mom were extremely disappointed to miss it.
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| Tour boat |
(D) After literally running to the dock (we didn't know where to go), we caught our boat and were stunned at how few people there were. After some announcements, we were allowed to go up top. It was really cold and not much happened, but from the water we could really get the perspective of how tall the glacier was. I saw a couple crumbles of ice falling, then a cameraman took a picture of us. About halfway we entered an area with some small icebergs. It was amazing how much more there was underwater, compared to how much was out. We also saw a cave which was pretty cool. When we got back to the dock, we agreed that even though we didn't see much, it was really fun to be on the water.
(K) After an hour, we got off the boat. I was slightly disappointed to have not seen any ice falling. Mom and Dad went to the bathroom, but since Dex and I were anxious to see something more, we ran quickly passed the spot we had stopped at earlier and ended up higher with a nice corner view of the glacier. We didn't have much luck there, so we ran further. Finally, Mom and Dad caught up, which was a good thing because they had our coats, rain jackets and hats and I was getting cold. Once they were with us, it seemed the show really began. My eyes were glued to the glacier. It was super beautiful and the ice was super blue. If I ever heard a pop, I stared and waited. Then, soon after, a huge chunk fell off from the top and splash down into the icy water below. My favorite were the ones that fell, cracked in two and crumbled in the air, landing with water splashing everywhere. Dad had his camera on sports mode for most of the time before swapping to video. So now, if anyone asks us about seeing the Perito Moreno Glacier, we have footage to show them. I think it was one of the top five things we've done and seen!
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| One... |
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| ...Two... |
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| ...Three |
(D) When we were all together again at our new spot, it was really fun. Everyone was looking in different places, and if something moved at least one of us would spot it. There was a fairly active area right in front of us that had a huge crack. Every now and then, a car-sized chunk would tumble the 50 meters down into the water with a deafening boom like a cannon. Then Dad noticed that one of the tallest parts of the glacier began to cleave. It moved as if in slow motion, as the 70 meter (230 ft) tall giant came crashing into the water. The incredible thing was it never seemed to stop, it just kept sinking. After a little while, I noticed an iceberg that had begun to flip over exposing the beautiful blue ice that had been underwater. It was really cool. We had hoped that the two massive chunks in front of us would fall off, but it didn't look like anything would go.
As time went by, Mom got anxious to go because she didn't know when the restaurant would close, and Kylie was getting really cold. Dad and I stayed a little longer, and, as it turned out, we saw a lot. Two massive chunks, the two I had wanted to see earlier, cleaved and sent huge waves up. It was really awesome to hear the thundering boom when it hit the water.
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| One... |
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| ... two... |
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| ...three |
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| Blue ice |
(Mom's Note: As Kylie and I were walking back toward the restaurant/bus pick-up area, we heard that enormous crashing, thundering, and unmistakable sound of something huge tumbling down. Despite not being in a place to see the glacier, we knew that it had to be the spot we had been looking at for the past 50 minutes. Once we got out of the woods and a little further along with a better position of the glacier, we saw indeed that was what happened.)
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| Walking back to the bus after an amazing show |
(D) Since we arrived too late at the restaurant, we were able to get some animal watching time in. We saw two beautiful hawks nesting near the restaurant. Then, when we were on the bus and just before it left, we saw a bushy-tailed fox. It was a neat send-off. For dinner, we decided to go to the Little Lachuza restaurant where there was an awesome kids play center. For the first time since leaving home, there was a ball pit! Kylie and I had a great time time playing in it. It was an awesome ending to an awesome day.
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