GPT44 | Glacier Perito Moreno

El Calafate
15 March 2024

We still have some time to kill before we can start our glacier tour, but the weather in the El Chaltén area is predicted to be rainy and extremely windy for the next few days.

I’ve been considering heading over to El Calafate. While I’m not too keen on the super touristy spots, the Perito Moreno Glacier is so close now, and we really have nothing else to do. Should we give it a try?

When I first mention it to Lilian, he thinks it's too much of a hassle. However, after spending a day waiting out the rain in El Chaltén, he also starts considering it. We check out bus options and carefully plan our return trip to ensure we make it back in time for our guide meeting in three days.

It's a 3-hour bus ride to El Calafate. Although the journey primarily takes us around Lago Viedma with expansive pampa stretching as far as the eye can see, I spot numerous guanacos grazing along the way and, for the first time, see condors gliding in the sky.

Upon arriving in El Calafate, we look into buses to Perito Moreno and discover that the fare is 40 euros per person. This doesn’t even include the entrance fee to the national park, which is an additional cost! We wonder if it’s really worth it. I check prices at various bus company counters while Lilian searches online, but the price is the same everywhere.

Feeling it’s a bit of a rip-off, we decide to head downtown. On the way, we pass a car rental company. Renting a car for the two of us might be a better option. The price is just under 80 euros, but we would still need to factor in insurance and gas.

Exhausted, we go for lunch to mull over our options. It’s not wise to make a decision on an empty stomach. With free Wi-Fi in the restaurant—since I only have a Chilean SIM card—I check online. I find an offer for roughly 60 euros, including full insurance cover. That’s more like it!

Perito Moreno
16 March 2024

It’s great to have the flexibility of a car, so we set our alarms to make the most of the day. The weather is a bit cloudy with a chance of rain, but it’s our only opportunity today.

There’s very little traffic once we leave El Calafate. The ride is captivating, with Lago Viedma shimmering blue on one side and a mountain range on the other. The road is mostly flat and straight, cutting through the pampa. Although we’re driving a small, slightly old Ford, I soon forget the 80-kilometer speed limit.

It takes us 1.5 hours to reach the parking lot. The overcast skies turn out to be an advantage, as there are fewer people and plenty of opportunities to stand and stare. When the sun finally breaks through, it causes massive chunks of ice to calve off the glacier and crash into the water. Absolutely fascinating! I’m so glad we came!