One thought on “Glaciers maté tea and Spanish lesson !”
23rd Jan 2017: Calafate
Day 37
The rain returned when we slept and we were a bit worried about the van sticking in the mud, but it was fine. We left really early in driving rain and drove on to Calefate. After an hour the rain stopped! We left the dense black clouds far behind us.
Back in the desert we stopped for coffee in a road house called La Leona named after the river which was named because of a Puma attack. It was like a mini museum full of old photos, dinosaur bones and pictures of wildlife and fauna. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid stayed there after robbing the Banco de Londres! It was really exciting!
We arrived at El Calefate about lunchtime and chose a quiet campsite where we had the pick of the sites. We chose a secluded spot at the far end with our own private area and ended up stayed there for 3 nights. The showers were hot, the wifi functional and the owners friendly.
After days of dusty roads, everything in our campervan was covered in a thick layer of dust, so finally we had the time and the water to clean everywhere. It felt so much better.
When we were all refreshed, we made the short walk into the pretty town to view the museum. It was so educational, explaining about the atrocities made against the local Indians when the immigrants arrived and how they are still victimised even to this day. Argentinians will hide or deny the fact that they have Indian blood in their ancestry. It’s sad. But good to see their plight being recognised and highlighted.
At the end, we were given a free cup of mate (pronounced mah teh). It’s a traditional drink shared all over S. America. They have a big flask of hot water (80degC) under one arm, and hold a decorated cup full of Gerba leaves in the other. They add the hot water to the leaves and sip the mate tea through a pretty straw which sieves through the leaves at the bottom of the cup. When they are finished, they add hot water to the cup and offer it to their friend. It tastes like a strong herbal tea. This one cup of mate tea can be shared between any number of people, including strangers. We’ve seen people all over our travels carrying a flask under one arm. It’s almost the social equivalent of our alcohol. We were warned not to say thank you for the Mate until we wanted no more, as that word is the polite signal that you’ve had enough.
We did a big shop and cooked a decent meal on our huge, yet private, campsite table and enjoyed another good sleep.
24th Jan 2016: Perito Mureno Glacier
Days 38-39
The nights are really cooling now and the 2 duvets we picked up in Santiago have become a necessity. After a brisk breakfast we drove up to the Perito Mureno Glacier. What was lovely was that the wind stopped! Soon the day warmed up and made everything so much more pleasant.
We past the huge turquoise Lake Argentina noticing the new snow which fell last night on the distant hills. Little icebergs floated on the lake, and as we rounded the bends the glacier came into view. It was so exciting to see this dramatic jagged cliff face at the end of the glacier.
Being so early, we were able to park at the top and quickly walk down the purpose built walkways before the tour busses arrived.
It was spectacular! Breathtaking. Completely awe inspiring. The ice face right in front of us reached 70m high. Since we’d arrived before the tour groups, the silence was a wonder in itself. Then suddenly a slab of ice would break free and crash, thunderously into the icy lake. The glacier cracked and groaned constantly as it moved down the valley dragging boulders with it moving at 2 metres a day! That’s pretty fast!
This Perito Murano glacier has reached the other side of the lake. The pressure builds up at the point where it hits the land, cutting the lake in 2. We noticed the level of the lake on the left was about 10m higher than on the right. Water trickled through from one side to another creating a little bridge in the ice. As the glacier advances, it finally raises the ice off the land and the huge bridge collapses is a spectacular crash. The last crash was last year with camera teams waiting and waiting for this massive event of nature.
Neil and I spent hours simply watching the ice, waiting for the new ice bridge to crash down. It was a fantastic feeling to be there, listening for the cracking of the ice and the massive splash as huge pieces fell into the lake.
It was so well organised with such a long walkway that the tour groups never did fill the place too much. It’s certainly a life time highlight seeing this massive glacier.
On the way back to Calafate, we ventured into the Glaciarium. It was a fantastic museum built to look vaguely like an iceberg full of everything there is to know about glaciers, snow, environmental damage, climate change. We loved it.
Back in our secluded spot in the campsite, we decided to stay an extra night.
Day 39 we spent catching up with emails and all the IT stuff. Neil started the planning of our post campervan travels, booking Airbnb accommodation and flights, while I spent all day catching up on this blog.
We spent the evening in town where we found an ATM with cash (hurrah!!), enjoyed a nice meal and an even more delicious ice cream.
South America 
23rd Jan 2017: Calafate
Day 37
The rain returned when we slept and we were a bit worried about the van sticking in the mud, but it was fine. We left really early in driving rain and drove on to Calefate. After an hour the rain stopped! We left the dense black clouds far behind us.
Back in the desert we stopped for coffee in a road house called La Leona named after the river which was named because of a Puma attack. It was like a mini museum full of old photos, dinosaur bones and pictures of wildlife and fauna. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid stayed there after robbing the Banco de Londres! It was really exciting!
We arrived at El Calefate about lunchtime and chose a quiet campsite where we had the pick of the sites. We chose a secluded spot at the far end with our own private area and ended up stayed there for 3 nights. The showers were hot, the wifi functional and the owners friendly.
After days of dusty roads, everything in our campervan was covered in a thick layer of dust, so finally we had the time and the water to clean everywhere. It felt so much better.
When we were all refreshed, we made the short walk into the pretty town to view the museum. It was so educational, explaining about the atrocities made against the local Indians when the immigrants arrived and how they are still victimised even to this day. Argentinians will hide or deny the fact that they have Indian blood in their ancestry. It’s sad. But good to see their plight being recognised and highlighted.
At the end, we were given a free cup of mate (pronounced mah teh). It’s a traditional drink shared all over S. America. They have a big flask of hot water (80degC) under one arm, and hold a decorated cup full of Gerba leaves in the other. They add the hot water to the leaves and sip the mate tea through a pretty straw which sieves through the leaves at the bottom of the cup. When they are finished, they add hot water to the cup and offer it to their friend. It tastes like a strong herbal tea. This one cup of mate tea can be shared between any number of people, including strangers. We’ve seen people all over our travels carrying a flask under one arm. It’s almost the social equivalent of our alcohol. We were warned not to say thank you for the Mate until we wanted no more, as that word is the polite signal that you’ve had enough.
We did a big shop and cooked a decent meal on our huge, yet private, campsite table and enjoyed another good sleep.
24th Jan 2016: Perito Mureno Glacier
Days 38-39
The nights are really cooling now and the 2 duvets we picked up in Santiago have become a necessity. After a brisk breakfast we drove up to the Perito Mureno Glacier. What was lovely was that the wind stopped! Soon the day warmed up and made everything so much more pleasant.
We past the huge turquoise Lake Argentina noticing the new snow which fell last night on the distant hills. Little icebergs floated on the lake, and as we rounded the bends the glacier came into view. It was so exciting to see this dramatic jagged cliff face at the end of the glacier.
Being so early, we were able to park at the top and quickly walk down the purpose built walkways before the tour busses arrived.
It was spectacular! Breathtaking. Completely awe inspiring. The ice face right in front of us reached 70m high. Since we’d arrived before the tour groups, the silence was a wonder in itself. Then suddenly a slab of ice would break free and crash, thunderously into the icy lake. The glacier cracked and groaned constantly as it moved down the valley dragging boulders with it moving at 2 metres a day! That’s pretty fast!
This Perito Murano glacier has reached the other side of the lake. The pressure builds up at the point where it hits the land, cutting the lake in 2. We noticed the level of the lake on the left was about 10m higher than on the right. Water trickled through from one side to another creating a little bridge in the ice. As the glacier advances, it finally raises the ice off the land and the huge bridge collapses is a spectacular crash. The last crash was last year with camera teams waiting and waiting for this massive event of nature.
Neil and I spent hours simply watching the ice, waiting for the new ice bridge to crash down. It was a fantastic feeling to be there, listening for the cracking of the ice and the massive splash as huge pieces fell into the lake.
It was so well organised with such a long walkway that the tour groups never did fill the place too much. It’s certainly a life time highlight seeing this massive glacier.
On the way back to Calafate, we ventured into the Glaciarium. It was a fantastic museum built to look vaguely like an iceberg full of everything there is to know about glaciers, snow, environmental damage, climate change. We loved it.
Back in our secluded spot in the campsite, we decided to stay an extra night.
Day 39 we spent catching up with emails and all the IT stuff. Neil started the planning of our post campervan travels, booking Airbnb accommodation and flights, while I spent all day catching up on this blog.
We spent the evening in town where we found an ATM with cash (hurrah!!), enjoyed a nice meal and an even more delicious ice cream.
Fully clean and rested, we were ready to move on
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