Glaciar Perito Moreno in photos.

When you’re on the road for a constant period of time or have traveled a lot sometimes things become mundane. Oh another cathedral, oh another mountain, oh another waterfall and so on. Every so often though you come across something that just blows you away in a way you yourself don’t even understand. Something that makes you question your place in the world we live in. That was the case for me when I visited Glacier Perito Moreno.

I had heard about it from many people that I must see it and that I will love it. I often hate hearing a lot of praise for a certain site because I get scared it won’t live up to the hype. No I’m not one who cares if it’s on the beaten path or not. It’s just that it really is a horrible feeling when you don’t love something that everyone else seems to love. Oh & it’s okay to not love something everyone else loves. I still get shit for not loving India (read the comments) and I don’t care.

—The first glimpse of Glacier Perito Moreno when you enter the park.—

I arrived in Calafatte from El Chalten in time to take the afternoon bus to and from the glacier. When we finally made it to the park and near the glacier we were asked if any of us wanted to pay an extra $$$ to take a catamaran to the glacier. I thought why not and did. Turned out to be something I wouldn’t regret. We made our way to the glacier and I couldn’t believe it. The fucker was huge.

—Making our way to the glacier.—

—Icebergs floating everywhere.—

—Rising from the water like a skyscraper.—

There it was in all its glory just shooting out of the water like a skyline from the ground. It was a million shades of blue and for a moment reminded me of Chefchaouen and the blues I saw there. I was in awe of its presence. Before I knew it my hour was up and I was taken to the kilometers long deck that runs in front of the glacier.

—A never ending deck with many vantage points.—

When I arrived and saw the glacier from the top I honestly couldn’t believe it. That’s when it happened. I was left speechless and couldn’t believe my eyes. The glacier was never ending. It just went as far back as the eyes could see. Jagged peaks of ice that looked like glass at every angle imaginable shooting into the sky. At that moment I felt so tiny and insignificant in the world I live in. It’s a feeling I’ve only had a few times on the road. The most memorable was the times I saw the Sahara Desert in Morocco and Egypt. It’s such a strange feeling and a feeling you just never forget.

—Just goes on forever.—

I just stood there and couldn’t move. It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain. When something is so grand and vast that you literally question everything. As I stood there in awe my mind was racing with a million thoughts. How could this be real? How does this happen? Gosh I’m really nothing on Earth? Just look at this Jaime, are you seeing this? How does mother nature create such a beast? Why are we killing our planet? Fuck one day this may be gone forever. What would we do then? It looks so pure and pristine. I had to wake my self up and keep going.

I finally made my way down the deck and started walking around. From each step I took I caught a different glimpse of the glacier and I still couldn’t believe it.

—I loved looking at the patterns the ice makes and all the lines.—

—Chunks of ice that have fallen off.—

After walking for a while I just stood there and starred at it. If you’re quite enough you can hear it speaking to you. Okay I’m kidding, but you can hear it cracking from all the pressure built up in it. I wanted to see a huge chunk fall off but it never happened. I loved looking at the lines formed by the glacier. It was like looking at shattered glass and its million patterns. Before I knew it my few hours were up and it was time for me to catch my bus back.

I caught one last glimpse of the glacier from above and then took off.

—A zoomed in look at the glacier from the top.—

Often in life we get caught up in our own little world. We start believing the world revolves around us and the lives we lead when in reality it doesn’t at all. As we go on about our days Mother Nature is doing her thing. That’s something I don’t think most of us appreciate. I mean after all of it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t be here.

I think people need to experience things like this to be reminded of just how small we really are in the grand scheme of things. In the end after our time on earth is done it carries on as if nothing happened. Our time on earth can be measured as a single grain of salt in oceans full of it. Kind of scary when you think of it and I think that’s something most people don’t want to think about. It’s moments like this or the sunrise over Mt. Fitz Roy that remind me why I love what I am doing. It’s also these moments that make me realize how beautiful the Earth is we live in & the tiny role we play as she goes about her daily business.

I only have a few things I tell people they must see in their lifetime and this has now been added to that list. If you ever get a chance be sure to visit Glacier Perito Moreno. It’s an easy day trip from Calafate, Argentina.