Today we woke up at 6.00 and got dressed in the freezing cold ready for what was about to be an amazing day. Our tour bus arrived at 7.30 to pick us up and go to the Glacier, this photo is at a viewpoint before we got on the boat to the Glacier. We got on the boat and waited for everyone to get on, then the boat started and when it went around the bend you could see the Perito Moreno Glaciar. We arrived on the other side of the lake and went with our tour guide called Louis. Our group was small because it was English speakers. We went through the forest and went onto a beach and Louis briefed us on what the Glaciar is, how old it is and how it was formed. The reason the Glaciar was formed was the winds coming from the Pacific Ocean hit the Andes then go over the Andes and collect up lots of snow and ice, then the wind travels down the other side into a lake at the bottom of the valley of the Andes and some other mountains on the other side, and that was how Glaciar Perito Moreno was created.
After the briefing we went up the huts to put on our gear for walking on the Glacier. We had to put on these things called crampons that hook on the the bottom of your shoes so that you don't slip on the ice. After this we went on the ice and Louis told us how to walk with the crampons going down the ice and going up, then we started.
We walked around a part of the glacier for an hour and a half, it was absolutely AMAZING. We jumped over crevases and drank the water from the little pools, the water in these pools looked like that water had been died blue because the water was the bluest blue I have ever seen. Before drinking the water you had to break the ice sheet that was quite thin which just says how cold the water was! We walked up to the summit where you could see across the whole Glacier which was full of crevases but it was amazing to look at.
At the end of our trek there was a huge hole that was really deep. I asked Louis if he had ever been down and he said yes, I thought maybe he had done it once or twice with ropes, but then he just climbed down it and then climbed right back up it. It was amazing to watch and when he popped out the other side one of the Japanese tourists in the other group said "Spider-Man".
The next part of our trek was going to the lookouts to view the Glacier, from the different angles and parts. We saw the north part of the Glacier which looks exactly the same as the other side. When we went to the second balcony we saw both sides combined and that really put in perspective how big the Glacier actually is.
This is just 3/4 of the glacier which, it was amazing to look at from all the different places.
This is me after I just got hit by a snow ball from Scarlett, there is snow on the top of most of the ice because it does snow but then it turns into ice.
This is me eating the fresh ice, which was delicious, but after eating it my mouth got so cold.
This is Scarlett standing where all the ice blocks fall and crash into the ocean.
This was an amazing day and definently once in a lifetime.
Oscar :-)
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