Today we are taking a boat trip on Lake Argentina to see a few other glaciers that come off the Patagonian ice field. The boat is a large catamaran with a couple outdoor decks and an inside section with big viewing windows. It is very windy on the upper deck, so we spend most of our time inside – a lot of it playing Tichu. The views from the boat are spectacular – mountains everywhere with the beautiful turquoise water of the lake. Along the way we encounter blue icebergs just floating in the lake.
We arrive first at the Spegazzini glacier. The wall of ice is incredible. Like Perito Moreno, it is about 60 meters tall above the water. There is a funny rocky section covered in trees surrounded by the ice field. It doesn’t seem like the trees should like that, but they appear happy enough. While we are watching the Spegazzini glacier, some of the guides on the boat go fishing for a big ice chunk which they then break into ice for our drinks later.
After the Spegazzini glacier, we get off the boat for a small walk in the bay of cows. The bay of cows is aptly named because there are 3,000-5,000 cows here. They were brought by pioneers who were promised land that was then seized and converted into a national park shortly afterwards. The cows aren’t really part of the national park and there are really too many of them, so the park service is trying to remove them. Our guide explained the main reason the park service doesn’t want to kill the cows is because they have to shoot them and then go find the body, cover the head, and cut open the body for the condors. However, they do also seem to think it is a waste of perfectly good cows. Instead they have offered that anyone who wants to come and tame a cow can take it off the island for free. Last year, 150 cows were successfully tamed and removed from the bay. At that rate, the cow removal project could take a long time.
If there are 3,000 cows here, why don’t you see any?
Because they are cowmaflaged!
How do you think they know there are 3,000-5,000 cows?
They used a cowculator.
–Silly jokes by our funny guide
The bay of cows is full of Calafate berries, beautiful flowers, many types of butterflies, tons of caterpillars. The beach is covered in flat rocks which are perfect for skipping over the still surface of the water. Sol and Eric almost certainly broke their previous rock skipping records.
After the bay of cows, we got back on the boat and went to see the Upsala glacier. Unlike the Perito Moreno and Spegazzini glaciers, this one is not stable. It is receding, and two pieces approximately 1400m x 600m and 600m by 500m respectively have broken off. We can’t get anywhere near as close to this glacier in case another big piece breaks off, so we view it from a spot between two icebergs. The Upsala glacier is not a massive wall like the other two. It’s more sloped and looks smoother.
After the Upsala glacier, the boat takes us back to the Perito Moreno glacier which we have now seen from pretty much every possible angle. It is still impressive. We spend the last hour we have with the glaciers watching for pieces of ice to fall into the water. It’s warmer today so more ice is falling and there is loud cracking and thundering splashes coming from all sides. At one point a small iceberg floating in the lake breaks apart and the sound continues for a full minute.
How do you remember so many facts? Do you takes notes?
I love the cow joke.