December 2013 cruise review with many pictures

[scubacruiserx2]

More birds to identify! The first one in post #146 (photo copied below) is another Southern Giant Petrel.

 

Thank you once again J-D for your ID of , and information on the "bird in question".

 

 

 

Floridiana quote

 

 

 

What did we see on our Puerto Madryn excursion? A sea lion colony, a cormorant colony, several species of land birds, a curious guanaco, horses and a sheep shearing demonstration with traditional tools. Our cruise was too late in the season for penguins. We booked it because it went all the way to Florida, but weather and penguinwise, the height of the southern summer is much better.

 

 

 

 

Floridiana We are sorry that you missed the penguins ! But we enjoyed our visit to Chile in November 2007 so much we thought that we would like to return at the same time of year and see the Argentina leg of the trip. The best place to see penguins would be the Falkland Islands with 5 different versions of penguins. Celebrity has a cruise to Antarctica and the Falklands that looks

really good !

 

http://www.cruisesonly.com/sc.do?d=02/01/2015&d2=02/28/2015&i=888921&c=11&v=55&IncludeAlumniRates=true&IncludeSeniorRates=true&zipcode=33470&statecode=&dsc=y

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'

[scubacruiserx2]

With one last sunrise our cruise was ending Buenos Aries !

 

 

 

 

Most of the passengers were sleeping in because they had an overnight in BA. But we had a flight to El Calafate at noon for our post - cruise stay. So we took our last look at the ship in Buenos Aires .

 

 

 

 

The Port in Buenos Aires

 

 

 

In the final review of the cruise , I can't think of anything that HAL could do to improve their performance . In all respects , they had met and exceeded our expectations !!! :)

 

Next: Post cruise stay in El Calafate

[scubacruiserx2]

Our original plan was to spend 4 days post cruise in Buenos Aires . In looking at pictures of the Perito Moreno Glacier we decided that we wanted to spent 3 days there. So after disembarking ship in Buenos Aires , we flew to El Calafate .

 

 

 

 

We snapped a picture of this map at the airport while waiting for luggage.

 

 

 

After picking up our rental car , we headed out for the town.

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Calafate

 

 

After a quick stop at the grocery store we made our way up to the place where we would spend 2 nights

 

 

 

 

Our room had a view of Lago Argentino .

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind was ripping just before sunset

 

 

 

 

 

And the dining room didn't open until 8pm !!

 

 

 

So we opted for pizza in the room (very good) , a bottle of wine and a very welcome bath .

 

 

 

 

We want to make an early start for the glacier 78 km away , so we fell asleep (with masks) in the very late sunset.

[Floridiana]

I am looking forward to this part of your trip. What is the name of the lodge in which you stayed? ... and the rental company? I am seriously planning! :)

[scubacruiserx2]

I am looking forward to this part of your trip. What is the name of the lodge in which you stayed? ... and the rental company? I am seriously planning! :)

 

We used Alamo car rental airport code FTE and Hotel La Cantera .

 

http://www.hotellacanteracalafate.com/en-us/

[Floridiana]

Thank you.

[scubacruiserx2]

We were up early on Sunday morning for breakfast and to see the glacier about 48 miles away

 

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier

 

 

As we were leaving town , West on 11, we made a stop to look at the marshy area near the lake

 

 

 

 

This is part of the Estancia Alice along the way

 

 

 

 

The entrance to the park was closer than we had thought (about 35 minutes) so we had to wait about 20 minutes for them to open

 

 

 

 

Thus giving us time for a couple pictures of the wildlife at the entrance

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you.

 

You're welcome !

 

 

This is the view we had while waiting for the park to open

 

 

 

Price of admission

 

 

 

 

 

Traveling through the park was slow going with many twists and turns. There is a very reduced speed limit and the time to the glacier observation point is equal to the drive from the entrance of the park to the town. The road follows the Brazo Rico until you reach the glacier.

 

First view of the glacier

 

 

 

 

Arriving at the parking lot you see a series of catwalks that allow different views of the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

And the information sign

 

 

 

 

Enlarged for details

 

 

[J-D]

The striking orange and black bird (with white marks on the face) in the last photo of post #157 is a male Long-tailed Meadowlark, Sturnella loyca (in Spanish, Loica).

 

John

Edited February 24, 2014 by J-D

[scubacruiserx2]

The striking orange and black bird (with white marks on the face) in the last photo of post #157 is a male Long-tailed Meadowlark, Sturnella loyca (in Spanish, Loica).

 

John

 

Muchas gracias , Juan !

 

 

It's had to imagine just how large the glacier is and even harder to capture it all in photos - but we will try . Perito Moreno glacier is not the largest glacier in the park , but it is the most visited because of it's accessibility . The glacier is 19 miles long , 2.5 miles wide and over 200' tall !! It is HUGE !! Here is a view looking South toward the Brazo Rico .

 

 

 

 

Notice in the center of this photo that the glacier contacts the land.

 

 

 

This is the center view

 

 

 

 

 

And this view faces South where Lago Argentino contacts the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

And here is another overview in the early morning light

 

 

 

 

 

Finally , in this video clip you can see a panorama of the glacier

 

 

 

 

As I was looking along the western face at an ice cave I noticed some movement so I started shooting . 2 chunks of ice larger than a truck fell. One of the chunks is pointed by the arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Resulting in a huge splash and it's subsequent wave.

 

 

[t60]

Stunning pix of the glacier

 

Sandy in Spain

[scubacruiserx2]

Stunning pix of the glacier

 

Sandy in Spain

 

 

 

Thank you Sandy .

 

 

The lower we descended on the catwalks - the closer to the glacier we got

 

 

 

 

 

Other people were starting to arrive

 

 

 

 

We were in the center of the glacier now

 

 

 

 

 

Its hard to explain the sounds that the glacier makes - creaking , cracking and groaning. Sometimes like the sound of distant hunters shooting or other times - like a giant flushing toilet . If you turn up the volume , you can hear some of the sounds on this calving video clip

 

 

 

 

The closer that you get , the more detail you can see

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of some of the strange shapes

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by scubacruiserx2
Wrong video

[cormike1]

Your close-up glacier pictures would make some beautiful "abstract art" for your wall if you had them enlarged and framed. How beautiful!

[Floridiana]

Now you did it! I HAVE to go there. :)

[scubacruiserx2]

Your close-up glacier pictures would make some beautiful "abstract art" for your wall if you had them enlarged and framed. How beautiful!

 

We hope you have great weather and your cruise(s) are as great as ours were ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

Now you did it! I HAVE to go there. :)

 

We are soooo glad that we went there , but wished we would have stayed longer !!!

[scubacruiserx2]

The light was getting better but it was starting to "get crowded" in the center of the glacier.

 

 

 

 

So we set out toward the Brazo Rico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the contrast between the dead trees and the "living" glacier

 

 

 

 

 

As we neared the rupture zone we could see the ice dam at the point where the glacier touches the land. The result is that the water at the red arrow Brazo Rico rises and creates tremendous pressure on the ice dam in an effort to flow toward the blue arrow (Lago Argentina) .

 

 

 

 

When the dam finally ruptures , it is an amazing show like this 2006 video from you tube

 

 

 

 

While we were there , we saw our next event - a trip on a 100 passenger boat to the glacier's face

 

 

 

 

 

We took one last look as we prepared to leave

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we had to stitch 2 photos together in order to show the entire 2 - 1/2 mile face into 1 panorama !!

 

 

 

 

Next : A boat ride to the glacier

[scubacruiserx2]

The boat rides to the Brazo Rico arm of the glacier depart from Bajo de las Sombras near the arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a clip of the ride out:

 

 

 

 

Soon we were underway and we were allowed to scamper up the stairs to the observation deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some people got to handle the merchandise

 

 

 

 

 

And the weather was picture perfect

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

With the back lighting the glacier seemed to glow

 

 

 

 

Just as we were leaving my wife detected movement on the glacier

 

 

 

 

My long zoom was in the backpack so I had to use the short lens . But you can see the shapes of hikers on the glacier. Notice the amazing size of the glacier !!

 

 

 

 

With high winds blowing we quickly returned to the port

 

 

 

 

Perito Moreno is only one of the 47 glaciers contained in Los Glaciares National Park , and it's not the largest , just the most visited and most convenient .

 

 

http://www.losglaciares.com/en/parque/index.html

[Floridiana]

Great!

[scubacruiserx2]

While leaving the park we made several stops along the way:

 

 

The first stop was at a scenic viewpoint

 

 

 

 

With a last view of the glacier

 

 

 

 

 

And a soaring condor

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw several snowmelt fed waterfalls and stopped at this one

 

 

 

 

 

A video clip of the waterfall

 

 

 

 

 

We saw this huge ( about 1" ) hard - working bee

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our last stop was at a picnic area with a bathroom . We had asked the hotel to pack a lunch and it included a sandwich , fruit , water and a dessert and treat . It was great to have because there isn't anything along the way. The ride back was somewhat anticlimactic except for a few photo stops (surprise ) !

 

 

 

 

We saw some amazing clouds near the lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After arriving back at El Calafate we stopped for a look back picture

 

 

 

 

And at the Laguna Nimez Bird Sanctuary

 

 

 

 

 

And we found a good reason for the birds to take flight

 

 

[Floridiana]

Is that a black dog?

[scubacruiserx2]

Is that a black dog?

 

Yes it is with boundless energy !!

[scubacruiserx2]

After a day of glacier viewing our next big highlight was dinner . We normally eat around 6-7 pm and there are not many options at that time. We didn't want to wait until 8 pm for dinner at the hotel. The pizza was good but we wanted something different. Mc Daniel's ?

 

 

 

 

We wanted a little different dining experience and we had heard about Pura Vida so we went to check them out

 

 

 

 

 

They opened "early" for dinner at 7:30 pm and had an intriguing menu posted on the door , so we were in

 

 

 

DW wanted Hare with vegetables and backed potato and I wanted Lamb pie. They didn't have hare so I went lentil stew and she went lamb pie.

 

 

 

The lamb pie was like a pot pie and big enough for both of us @ $92 A.P.

 

 

 

And the lentil stew was like chili - perfect comfort food for a cool night. And @ $85 A.P. was a good value . So we both went "home" fat and sassy :)