A wall of ice - Glaciar Perito Moreno

Visiting a another natural wonder So it's up today and I can't wait. At 8.30 a.m. we are taken from the minibus XL tour picked up and the journey begins in the direction of Los Glaciares National Park and the mountains within. First we take a detour on the old, unpaved road through the Argentine pampas. Landowners of a so-called Estancia have in Europe unimaginable areas the dry, relatively sterile pastureland, which is practically only for Sheep farming is being used. Karakaras are looking for road victims and a stately one Blue buzzard uses a hill from a vantage point over his hunting ground.

At the second estancia we stop for a brief touristic but authentic glimpse into farm life. The top attraction is undoubtedly that tame guanaco boy, which can be caressed and tries again and again to get inside the house.

Lying next to it shaggy goats, the Horses are just rounded up and one extremely trusting fox hopes for a bite.

Slowly we get close to the mountains and after 50 km we reach the southern part of the Los Glaciares National Park. In order to ease the hefty entry fee for foreigners, we continue the journey. Even from a great distance we can see the white valley of the Glaciar Perito Moreno detect. On a winding drive, lined with some trees, we get closer and closer to our goal. Already the first look at the a good 60 m high and 5 km wide glacier tongue is overwhelming. The more astonishing is the fact that we are only here 185 m above sea level are located. On the blue circuit we approach the glacier from the north side.

The Perito Moreno is one of the largest glaciers in the largest ice field in South America: the Campo de Hielo Sur. He is best known for that rare show "La Ruptura"where the glacier separates two arms of Lake Argentinos from each other and thus becomes a natural dam. The water slowly makes its way through the glacier and forms a huge ice bridge. Their collapse a worldwide unique spectacle offers. The glacier is - in contrast to almost all others - not in decline and remains stable, although it is Moved forward up to two meters per day.

To my amazement it holds up Crowds of people in tolerable numbers, or on the extensive walkways, they are well distributed. Only at the central vantage point is there a crowd. In contrast to the rest of the group, Niki and I decide to forego the optional boat tour and prefer to spend a little more time at the viewpoints. From above you can see the entire glacier valley and at the same time waiting for the next bigger calving of the glacier. As we are just unpacking our lunch there is a huge crash, an enormous block of ice falls into the lake and hits high waves. You could see this natural spectacle watch for hours, fascinated by the incredible forces at play here.

At 3 p.m. we start our way back. In El Calafate, the tour ends at one of the local breweries Beer and empanada. But we can't stay too long, after all, we have to organize a tour for tomorrow. Unfortunately, all tours are fully booked, no matter if the expensive but unique kayaking between the icebergs of the Upsala glacier, ice hiking on the Perito Moreno, trekking near the enormous Upsala glacier or a full day horse ride through the pampas.

That's why we decide to continue tomorrow to the trekking mecca El Chalten. We immediately find free places for the bus ride tomorrow morning. Finding accommodation is much more difficult in the small town, which is overcrowded during the high season. We send numerous e-mails because most accommodations cannot be booked directly online (yes, they actually still exist!).

After receiving special offers for a Journey to Antarctica have now definitely forego the costly adventure into the Southern Ocean. Ten days for 5000 dollars is simply too high a price, there would be the 70% reduced offer for 7200 dollars for 22 days including the spectacular South Georgia, but the best option is by far beyond our budget.