80 kilometers south of El Calafate the Perito Marino glacier slowly grinds its way down a mountain valley into Lago Argentino. Its face is over 70 meters high and at its thickest point is over 700 meters of solid ice. Icebergs are continually calved off the front and into the milky lake . After paying the entrance fee we drove along the lake and saw the first ethereal blue icebergs floating in the water.

We arrived before the crowds and had the extensive walkways nearly to ourselves. The glacier is massive, and we could hear sporadic groans, cracks and occasional crashes of ice into the water. Perito Moreno moves at nearly two meters per day toward the lake, and the noise is continuous

Tour boats and kayakers could be seen approaching the glacier, but kept a safe distance away to avoid the calving icebergs. As the tour buses began to arrive, the walkways began to fill with people, and a light rain began to fall, so we grabbed the Hilux and headed back to El Calafate. Tomorrow we’re off to Chile.