We took a day trip to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, part of the southern Patagonian Icecap, which, at 250 miles long, is the third largest in the world after Antarctica and Greenland. There are 356 glaciers here. We went to see the Perito Moreno glacier which is a World Heritage Sight, and it was incredible! This glacier alone covers an area the size of Buenos Aires. As it enters the lake the glacier wall towers 65 metres above the water, and another 130 metres is hidden beneath the water. The noise is constant as the ice slowly advances, creaking, sighing, and groaning like an old man with complaining joints. Suddenly the ice splits with a gunshot followed by a cracking as pieces give way and fall in to the water. Sometimes the sound is like a series of fire crackers being let off one after the other. Then the air resonates with an explosive sound followed by a rumble like thunder as huge chunks of ice cascade down the glacier wall and plunge into the lake. The water erupts throwing huge plumes into the air and a tidal wave rakes along the foot of the glacier, crosses the lake, and spends itself on the far shore. Icebergs float slowly across the water's surface and spread across the lake. Words cannot describe the enormity and majesty of the sight.
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