Patagonia’s snowy mountains, the glacier and natural beauty can remind us of Alaska (My 2021 trip to Alaska). They are different from each other. Alaska is about 1.6 times the size of Patagonia and its glaciers are about 4 times larger. South America is far different from North America in culture, their languages are different, and the history is very different. Patagonia has comparatively milder weather, and has some world famous hiking trails such as the W trek and the Laguna De Los Tres trek. For us, both Alaska and Patagonia offers once-in-a-life experiences.
The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered the land and coined the name Patagonia five hundred years ago. Was he in awe of the natural beauty? Did he admire the Perito Moren Glacier? Did he track the strenuous Laguna De Los Tres trek to get a good look of Fitz Roy? Or simply treasure its vastness? The term “Patagonian” (or Patagon/Patagón) historically denoted the “giants”, the tall natives with big feet compared to the Spanish colonist. Patagonia has not been useful in commercial purpose until the industrial revolution hundred years later, with the consumer interests in wool. Patagonia spreads itself across Chile and Argentina. Argentina has the majority share of Patagonia but the smaller neighbor Chile has arguably the more famous Torres del Paine National Park, the popular W trek. Last November we flew into El Calafate from Buenos Aires, and had a memorable two weeks in Patagonia, Argentina.
Travelling to Patagonia requires some good planning. There is no easy international direct flight to El Calafate, Patagonia. It took us 8 hours to fly from Iguazu (IGR) to El Calafate (FTE) via Buenos Aires (AEP). El Calafate is the southernmost city among the places we have been to, so far. It has a lot to offer but is more known as the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park and the massive Perito Moreno Glacier within.
My first impression of El Calafate is the beautiful turquoise color and the tranquility of the huge Lago Argentino (Lake Argentina). I hoped the car, taking us to our Airbnb, moved slower so that I could appreciate the lake and the first Patagonian impression slowly from afar.
The Airbnb is a comfortable unit, located 15 minutes walk to the downtown. The proximity to the touristy downtown area is why we picked it. It turned out that to walk to the touristy downtown, we needed to pass through the neighborhood with a few run down houses, some half done construction and several stray dogs that were not particularly welcoming. I am afraid of dogs so that did not help. I made a mental note to check the neighborhood of future Airbnb carefully and not just rely on its proximity to touristy areas. (Fortunately, we picked another Airbnb when we came back a few days later to El Calafate. That other Airbnb is arguably one of the best decorated Airbnb cottage with a colorful garden of beautiful Lupines and a remote view of the Lake).
The next day, we joined a one-day tour, inclusive of all transportation and a boat ride, to Moreno Glacier inside Los Glaciares National Park. Moreno Glacier looks like a gigantic flat top “icy mountain” with jagged landscape that look like cliffs and spires on its sides. Because of its vastness, the glacier does not look like its average height of 240 feet above the surface of Lake Argentino. In a direct comparison, the Perito Moreno Glacier is larger than the city of Buenos Aires!
To take the Moreno glacier all in, we spent a few hours on well paved boardwalks and stairs built across the Glacier. There are plenty of photo opportunities of the different sides of the Glacier. On these boardwalks, we occasionally heard the cracking and thundering noise that reminded us of the glacier calving and the power of nature. To get closer, we took a boat ride to fully admire the gigantic Glacier, its beautiful blue and white floating ice blocks everywhere and its chills. It is a scene to remember for a very long time. Perito Moreno Glacier alone would have been worth the long trip to Patagonia. But there is much more waiting in Patagonia.
Coming up: Nibepo aike estancia, a functional estancia (farm), Nov 19 to 21 2025
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