Birthday Glaciers
I turned 31 in El Calafate this year, an Argentinean town known as the gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier. My birthday was a little different than last year. For one, it’s tough to feel bad about your age when celebrating with a 18,000 year old glacier. Also, I spent this year worrying less about my graying hair and more about global warming as I watched football field-sized chunks of ice break off the glacier in spectacular fashion. After the initial “oohs” and “aahs,” the crowd would fall into what I can only imagine is a contemplative silence about our world’s environmental fate. Or they were quietly rooting for the next iceberg to crack and drop. I’ll be honest, I was thinking about both.
Enormous parts of the glacier calving before our eyes
The Perito Moreno Glacier is located at Los Glaciares National Park, about a 90 minute bus ride from El Calafate. It’s part of the massive Southern Patagonia Ice Field, which is the 3rd largest glacier field in the world, after the ones in Greenland and Antartica (which, by no surprise, are a much tougher to get to). For reasons unknown, Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world that is growing versus retreating annually. We felt a *little* better after learning that. The park is exceptionally maintained as well, with a sprawling wooden boardwalk that provides terrific views of the glacier while getting you close enough to appreciate the 70 meters of solid ice rising above the water.
Perito Moreno from the boardwalks of Los Glaciares National Park
We spent about half the day walking the trails, shared a packed lunch, and celebrated with some birthday whiskey over glacier ice. Back in El Calafate (which felt huge after El Chaltén and Puerto Natales), we unexpectedly caught the town erupting in celebration with rock music, lively markets, and a city-wide race for the annual Fiesta del Lago. Overall, El Calafate was fun but the glaciers were unforgettable.
B’day celebrations. Where the streets have no name…but have your birthday instead.
After 3 weeks of buses, we’ll be finally taking a flight - Bariloche up next!
