Chile '25 • Day 7: Lago Argentino

Bob Aron
Jan 23, 2025
3 min read

THE BIG SHOW

OK, now we’re getting to the big show: Patagonia on the Argentina side. First up: an all day boat trip on Lago Argentino to see some glaciers. Specifically the Spegazzini, Perito Moreno, and Upsala glaciers. We also saw many ‘hanging’ glaciers, none of which I can remember the name. Hanging glaciers are ones that have receded from the water shore they feed.

The 4 of us (Yvette, Maribel, Steve & myself) went back and forth on whether to book the ‘deluxe’ ticket. It was fairly expensive and we typically never book expensive excursions when we travel. But, the private deck and 16 person capacity attracted me. I’ve been on boat tours before and it is always a challenge to get a clear shot (photo) at the sites, especially now with everyone taking both selfies and photos with their phones. And who doesn’t love a gourmet lunch instead of a box lunch with a dry sandwich? My instinct told me that the ‘gourmet’ lunch wasn’t going to be that spectacular but what the hey, we booked it anyway. The private bathroom was a bonus! There were over 100 people on the tour.

At first it seemed the deluxe ticket was a bad idea. We met some really nice Argentinians while waiting to board the vessel and it felt super weird to be shown into our ‘private’ room and separated from them when we boarded. The room was great but for a while we thought we were going to be the only ones in our private little golden cage. Pretty boujee. Turned out there were a total of 8 of us and the couples from LA and Cypress were great. Thank goodness, since we were together all day. The couple from L.A. had started their trip just after the fires in California had started.

As it turn out the perks were pretty excellent. The ‘gourmet’ lunch was much more than a better boxed lunch. 4 course meal, Argentinian wine throughout the day, whisky with glacier ice, coffee on hand. And not fighting the photo crowd worked out as I had hoped.

Pouring rain when we woke this morning, but no rain in the forecast. By the time we had driven to the dock for departure, things were looking good. It seemed it might be cold out on the water, but not wet.

What a wonderful trip. You pretty much have to do this excursion if you’re coming to El Calafate (even without the boujee deluxe ticket!). It’s the only way to get up close to more than just the Perito Moreno glacier. And if the weather cooperates, it’s stunningly beautiful. Even in bad weather, I’m sure getting up close to the glaciers is still going to be impressive. It may take a while to sort through the 450 photos (plus phone shots) to find the best ones so I just randomly grabbed a few for this post.

Spegazinni Glacier

One of the glaciers that so far has avoided major receding. And the boujee bonus: whisky on glacier ice!

Upsala Glacier

Upsala is an unstable so the boats can’t get very close, but you can see how massive it is even from far away. It’s unstable because large amounts of ice push out over the deep water and break off in large pieces.

Perito Moreno

Definitely receding and the most popular glacier to visit. It’s possible to drive to points that get a good view and is accessible to trek on the ice with a tour. That’s tomorrow’s story.