At the end of our last blog we wrote that tomorrow we would be welcoming Don and Margaret to Argentina, Kat's mum and dad, and that we would be meeting them in El Calafate to spend two weeks traveling around Argentina. Sadly, Margaret developed a last minute medical condition that left her un-able to fly and so they have postponed their visit to the land that gave the world Evita and Maradona. Last Monday was a sad day for all involved, but we are already planning a new visit in, we hope, the not to distant future. Get well soon Margaret.

The reason for our visit to El Calafate was to check out the famous Perito Merono Glacier, and it didn't disappoint! Standing on the opposite cliff you can see the entire slab of glacial ice edging its way down the valley. The glacier appears to roll down the valley towards to you until it hits the lake edge, i think its length is about 30 km. At the lake edge you gaze wondrously up, like a kid in a sweet shop, at the almost 60 m high vertical wall of ice. The glacier emits these weird organic noise from its every orifice. During the six hours we spent their it cracked like gunfire, growled, scraped and snapped at you all day. The glacier is moving down the valley relatively quickly, for a glacier, because its under constant huge pressure from the weight of the ice higher up the valley. When it reaches the lake edge you are treated, approximately on the hour, to massive ice falls as huge parts collapse into the water accompanied to cracks and bangs and gasps from the crowd. It felt like the glacier teased the crowd who have cameras at the ready waiting to catch the ultimate ice-fall picture. Believe me, we spent an hour standing and starring waiting for it. We snapped a picture with our disposable camera, not developed yet, but to give you an idea I pinched this one from google images. Well worth a visit.



Our next destination was Argentina's chocolate capital, Bariloche and we boarded our flight, yes flight, for the quick hop up, part of the gift from Don and Margaret was three flights across Argentina, Woohoo no more buses, and all their five star hotel bookings changed to our name!!! Since arriving in Bariloche we have thoroughly been enjoying the champagne backpackers lifestyle. Champagne Backpacker - A person or persons traveling the world for a short period of time, who walks the backpacker walk, talks the backpacker talk but will slink off to eat in the best restaurants and sleep in the top hotels . So after a fantastic nights sleep between silk sheets, we stepped out of the hotel in the morning, our clothes all nicely washed and pressed, smelling great, a belly full of five portions of breakfast because it was free buffet, and we certainly felt like champagne backpackers.

Cooper Out of our filthy tent and into the posh hotel

Love Dan and Kat