El Calafate has grown out of nothing to serve as the base for the hordes of tourists coming to see perhaps the most famous glacier in South America, the Perito Moreno Glacier. We saw many glaciers, but this was the granddaddy, the most blue, the most awe-inspiring. It is one of the few glaciers that is still advancing, at the rate of a meter a day. And when the ice hits the water and breaks off ("calves"), the thundering roar brings all to attention.
Perito Moreno brings so many visitors, the government constructed a series of railed walkways across from it for safe viewing. I think people were going right down to the edge and getting occasionally getting crushed by an errant iceberg. After scaling all the walkways in the bitterly cold wind, we hopped aboard a boat to get a view from the bottom - the boats keep a safe distance, but being down on the glacial lake gives you a wholly different perspective of the glacier.
Back at El Calafate that evening, a stomach bug that one person had on the ship claimed a third victim (3 out of 7?! I hope it doesn't make it to me!), which was too bad, since we were continuing to enjoy excellent food. The advantage to being in a tourist center was a proliferation of quality restaurants. I was a little beefed out and had homemade gnocchi. Yum! After 3 days in Argentina, from what I could figure out, the food is all about pizza, pasta, beef and dulce de leche. I can think of worse things!
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