Patagonia, Day 10 - at the Perito Moreno glacier

It rained overnight; we could hear the rain drops pattering persistently on the leaves of the trees outside. By morning it had mostly stopped, but when we started out from the hotel, it resumed. So far, we've not had to contend with rain on this trip, but in any case we were prepared for it; for us rain never stops play.

The clouds hung low over the valleys as we made our way towards the national park, some 50km west from Calafate, and there was very little traffic on the road because it was early morning Sunday. As our speed increased, the rain began to bite into our exposed skin, stinging like pin pricks on our noses and cheeks . Those with more touring oriented helmets with full visors had no such problems, they were fully covered. But off-road helmets leave a small gap just below where your goggles sit.

The rain we may have been prepared for, but the cold was something else. The chill was a notch below what was expected and consequently a few of us were rather cold when we stopped for the first time. Even with heated grips, hands felt very exposed in the cold air.

We paid the 215peso fee at the park entrance and had a briefing from the rangers about not dropping litter and or stopping on the road unless in a designated parking area. By this time we still hadn't seen the glacier as we wound our way through the lakeside trees and it wasn't until the first parking area that we saw it. Even from a distance over the lake it looked impressive, the milky turquoise water dammed at one end by a craggy blue-white wall of ice; and we were still 7km from the glacier.

Leaving that viewpoint, we headed closer to the glacier. Near the turn off for the boat jetty, AJ and a few others stop briefly to determine if we should turn off for our booked boat trip, but that's not until 11:30, so they don't. While they are discussing, a tour coach comes up behind, and has difficulty getting past; a few words are exchanged.

Later as the tour coaches labour their way along the road further along, AJ takes the opportunity to make progress past them. For some reason one of the coach drivers takes exception to this and becomes a complete arse, weaving over the road to impede the riders behind. Graham is the first victim and nearly gets pushed of the road by this stupid behaviour and becomes very angry as a result, giving an appropriate response in the coach mirrors. At the main glacier viewpoint Cory receives a complaint from the driver which then escalates to the park warden. The 'crime' is stopping. While negotiations are in progress, rumours circulate about potential penalties: fines for all us bikers; having to report to a police station in the morning; or worse. We plot our escape from Argentina, a la Top Gear, with the police in hot pursuit. This soon turns to resignation as we realise we have to enter Argentina again to reach Ushuaia and the End of the World. Finally, the penalty turns out to be just a warning.

In front of the glacier face is a hill which separates one part of the lake from the other. On this hill are built a series of connected balconies at different heights overlooking the jagged ice. During especially cold periods the glacier completely separates the lakes, which take on different levels. In warmer times the ice melts and water can suddenly escape from one lake to the other in dramatic fashion. For us the lakes were already well connected, but the glacier was none the less impressive when viewed from the balconies.

The boat trip is a real highlight. I wasn't expecting much, but as we got closer (to within 200m) the shear size of the towering 70m high ice wall could not fail to impress. Not only the size, but the colour is amazing. White mostly, but the clean cut faces and inside ravines are an intense deep blue colour. It all seems very fresh. Scientists say the glacier is advancing, not because it's growing, but because it's moving. In reality it's shrinking because it's not being replenished at higher altitudes; an effect of global warming. We had a real treat when a chunk of ice fell from the top of the wall with a big splash. And then, probably triggered by that impact, a huge column of ice toppled over. We were probably a good 500m or more from the impact but it was truly spectacular to see this relatively up close. I thought the impact would generate a huge tsunami like wave, but by the time it reached us, it had reduced to a swell, rocking the boat gently. We caught a second calving event a little later which wasn't quite as big.

The big calving. (picture courtesy of Steve King)

On dry land we kitted up and raced back to catch the England vs Ireland rugby match on TV. Unfortunately bad intel meant this had already finished by the time we got back and dem feckers had already won! Then a lazy afternoon of washing and uploading pictures; our wifi dependency only partial satiated by the slow connection speed.

One nice thing about this town being so touristy, there is a good selection of restaurants to choose from. We dine splendidly.

Tomorrow we head yet again into Chile. Our route depends very much on the weather: if it's good a long scenic route, if poor a shorter more direct route. The forecast is for 50mph winds. And rain. But a lot can change overnight, so fingers crossed.

:
Sent from the dusty road using my rusty BlackBerry