Argentine Valentine

My Valentine's Day started off early and in what seems to be pure El Calafate fashion with the power not working efficiently. Despite this we managed to get ready and make our way to the bus for our day trip to Estancia Cristina! Our bus ride led us to the port where we would board the catamaran to sail across the lakes for 3 hours. Along our journey of wind and rain the sun graced us with its presence and a bright rainbow shown through the sky. We cruised through Brazo Upsala pacing massive icebergs on our way to the face of the Upsala Glacier. The movement of the lake causes large chunks of the glacier to break off and float into the channel. 

Our boat turned around after viewing the face of the glacier and headed back towards the main lake to then make its way through Brazo Cristina where we docked for our excursion to the Estancia. When our group, fittingly the Eagles, was called we loaded up into a 4x4 truck and journeyed 45 minutes up the mountainside to the Upsala Ice shelter. After a 15 minute walk through the wind and the rain we were rewarded with stunning panoramic views of the Upsala Glacier. With Mother Nature clearly feeling the love in the air, the sun shown through brightly for the remainder of the day. We all took our obligatory photos at the viewpoint before being asked to observe a moment of silence to appreciate the sights and sounds of the valley in front of us. 

Afterwards we returned to the Ice Shelter for some Glacier education. The Upsala glacier is also part of the South Patagonian ice field which ranks 3rd in size and importance in the world after Antartica and Greenland a s the world's fresh water reserves are maintained within them. Unlike Perito Moreno, Upsala has found itself reversing at an alarming rate over the last 100 years. The belief is that it is mostly due to Earths natural cycle however humans have also been a large factor of the decline in he worlds ice that once covered 1/3 of the planet now down to 1/10. Afterwards we boarded our 4x4 and made our way back down to the Estancia where we enjoyed our packed lunches. After lunch we were given a tour and learned of the history of the Estancia before walking the grounds to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us.

 As we returned to our catamaran for our cruise back we sat on the deck enjoying the beaming sun and the spectacular views of the icebergs and mountains that surrounded us as we wrapped up our Valentine's Day!