We arrive in Patagonia!

To we fly to El Calafate, Argentina, a boomtown near Argentina's border with Chile and our entrance into the region known as Patagonia.

Spanning both Argentina and Chile, Patagonia is home to fantastic mountain peaks raised by volcanic eruptions, and carved by massive glaciers and icefields, and stunning national parks. It is an incredible display of natural beauty, that is virtually untouched by the hands of man.

Travel has taken most of the day; we check into our hotel, the Kosten Aike and do a walkabout the small town before dinner.

 Our room overlooks this lake.

The next morning we enjoy a full-day excursion to Los Glaciares National Park.  It is the second-largest national park in Argentina, and covers more than 1,700 square miles and nearly 50 large glaciers.

Our guide for this area is Silvia.  As we travel by bus to the park, she tells us about the history of the land and points out various birds and animals along the way.

We are getting closer to the park..

We enter Los Glaciares National Park.  Our destination today is the Perito Moreno Glacier, which towers nearly 200 feet above Lake Argentino.

 We stop for a chance to photograph our first sighting of the glacier.

 The glacier is named after Francisco Moreno, a 19th-century Argentine explorer who helped resolve his country's border dispute with neighboring Chile.

The constant movement of Perito Moreno's ice mass often forces the glacier to "calve"--when smaller  chunks of ice fracture and break off from the glacier.  It's a "birthing" of icebergs that's usually accompanied by thunderous noises.  We cross our fingers that we will be able to witness the glacier calve.

We arrive at the visitor center and walk down the boardwalks to various viewing points so we can get an up-close view of the glacier.

We hear a thunder-like sound and see our first calving.  The part that broke off is at the upper left end of the glacier and the ice is white in the water.

We stand and watch for quite awhile and see more calving.  Sometimes by the time one hears the "thunder", the ice is already in the water.

Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of the glacier. Air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue.

The glaciers here are unique in that they are formed at a much lower elevation than what is typical...about 5,000 feet above sea level.  This offers visitors great access to see the glaciers.

You will notice we are dressed warmer here.  There's a cold wind coming off the glacier.

We visit with a gentleman while viewing the glacier.  He shows us how to make mate, the Argentinean national drink...and maybe Chile, too!  He packed all of this with him to enjoy while at the glacier.

 It is drunk as an herbal tea.  The leaves come from a native plant of South America and is referred to as yerba mate.

 Hot water is added to the cup of tea leaves....

And then sipped through a straw, called a bombilla.

Back to Calafate by late afternoon, we go to a local resident's "tiny" home for dinner.  Gabriel (aka Gabo) is our host and we enjoy a terrific dinner and conversation with this Buenos Aires native who visited Calafate 10 years ago and never left.

It was fun to assist him in preparing the dinner of zucchini soup, lamb stew, and crepes with dulce de leche.

And Gabo snapped a group selfie at evening's end.  We all had a great time.  This is really a wonderful feature of traveling with OAT.

And that's it for our visit to Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier.  Tomorrow we head to Chile and begin to explore Torres del Paine National Park.

To continue reading, scroll up towards the top of this page and click in the right-hand column the entry entitled:  We are in Chile and experience the Patagonian winds and Torres del Paine National Park!