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2006 World Vintage Rugby Carnival -
September 17-23, 2006.
Regional Focus #2
El Calafate´s astonishing Glaciers
One might well ask what it is that drives visitors to
Argentina to travel in a jet aircraft for three & a quarter hours due SW of
Buenos Aires, there to land at the remote El Calafate airport in Provincia
Santa Cruz – a journey of almost 3000km into the vastness of Patagonia
practically at bottom of the country?
The answer is explicitly simple.
El Calafate acts as a compelling magnet as the sole gateway
to one of the biggest visitor attractions on our planet – Parque Nacional ´Los
Glaciares´. |
Click on any of these images to see a
slightly larger
version.
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 Some
80 kilometers to the west of El Calafate, inside the National Park & on Lago
Argentino (which is the largest body of fresh water in the country) visitors
have an unprecedented opportunity to witness the sheer power of Mother Nature’s
forces in the form of four mighty rivers of ice - namely the Perito Moreno,
Upsala, Spegazzini & Onelli glaciers.
Nowhere else on earth save for on the Antarctic continent can one witness such
immense glaciers up-close.
The National Park which contains these glaciers defies logical comprehension due
to its sheer immensity. It is the second largest in Argentina, extending some
170km along the Chilean frontier, covering some 660,000 hectares.
Some 40% of the park is covered by giant ice fields, with 47 major glaciers, of
which 13 flow east descending into the park to feed the two big lakes, Lago
Viedma in the north & Lago Argentino in the south.
 Access
to Perito Moreno Glacier is by road from the township – a journey of scenic
magnificence in itself. Operating year round, this day excursion commences from
El Calafate skirting the shores of Lago Argentino.
The road takes guests past several Patagonic estancias (large country sheep &
beef cattle farm properties) then rounding a flowing curve in the highway one is
confronted with a first view of the Perito Morneo glacier & its surrounding
awe-inspiring wilderness environment.
The first stop on the tour to view the glacier is about 7km away & even at that
distance it is mind-blowingly staggering. Usually, all & sundry folks race to
snap off photo after photo at this juncture.
A hint for the uneducated however is DO NOT make the mistake that everyone else
does & shoot off all your film at this stage as the views of the 5km wide
(3.1miles) & 80m (262 ft) plus terminal face of Perito Moreno from closer up are
even better.
So the trick is to ensure you take significantly more film or another spare
digital chip than you imagine you could possibly need.
Visitors are dropped near the first walkway & given plenty of time to wander
around the catwalks - which are spread over three levels - take photos & peruse
the small snack bar.
A well constructed viewing platform means one can observing at close hand this
imposing mass of ice which rises some 65 meters above the deep azure lake which
has been formed by ice-melt, with its ice floes floating around.
The numbers of visitors who cram the viewing platform is often compared with the
´paparazzi´ who camp out on Oscars night, all waiting to get that special photo
of a crumbling wall of ice cascading into the lake below, which occurs with
reasonable frequency as the glacier is driven forward by sheer mass.
There are lots of little information plaques in English for those who have an
insatiable thirst for glaciered trivia.
The next stop is the small harbour where anyone wanting to take a boat trip out
to the glacier will experience a trip that allows visitors to get a closer ´lake
perspective´ of the massive terminal face of this river of ice which stretches
more than 60km down the valley from the towering Andes Mountains that provide a
breath-taking backdrop.
You don't actually get that close – venturing approx 350m away from the glacier
- as it has a nasty habit of ´calving´ every few minutes, as in it ´giving
birth´ to enormous skyscraper blocks of ice which crumble & cascade in
spectacular fashion into the water which can make navigation a bit tricky.
The day excursion returns visitors to El Calafate late afternoon, well in time
for a hot shower & a drink before dinner.
It is one thing to experience Perito Moreno Glacier, but there’s much more to
witness in this amazing region.
 A
very different & equally compelling days ´nautical safari´ departing daily from
El Calafate brings visitors ´up close & personal´ with three additional massive
glaciers – the Upsala, Onelli & Spegazzini
After a short road transfer, this adventure leaves from Puerto Bandera, located
50 kilometers to the west of El Calafate, on the south coast of the Lago
Argentino.
Guests travel is a specially designed vessel with
comfortable lounge styled seating & large panoramic viewing windows which
provide excellent viewing from every part of the vessel, down the North arm
skirting peninsula Avellaneda & on through the ice floes & icebergs that float
in the lake, finally arriving to the terminal face of the imposing Upsala
Glacier.
Being some 60km long & 10km wide the vessel is absolutely dwarfed by the
Upsala´s towering ice wall of glistening blues & greens.
After pausing a good while for guests to take as many photos as they choose the
excursion continues across the lagoon, past more ice floes to a point where the
Onelli, Bolandos & Agassiz glaciers can be observed carving their independent
ways down from lofty heights in the mountains above to lake level.
Again after suitable time again here for photos the vessel travels on to enter a
channel toward the Southwest where the Spegazzini, Seco & Heim glaciers dominate
the landscape.
Spegazzini Glacier is by far & away the most impressive, as its terminal face
towers the equivalent height of a 24 story building above lake level.
What perhaps strikes one the most here are the amazing array of stunning blue,
green, turquoise, glistening white & almost soft rose pink colours of the ice
formations.
Returning to Porto Bandera & then by road transfer to
El Calafate, those who venture on this superb day excursion will undoubtedly
carry the memories of their experiences with them for a lifetime.
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Licenced
Vintage Sports Advisors-how to get there.
The following
organisations have supported the Vintage Sports
Carnivals and are an important part of the
Vintage Sports programs.
They are knowledgeable on all sports and
leisure options with particular emphasis on
Vintage Sports Carnivals. They will help teams
with travel arrangements, with booking their
place at any of the wide range of Vintage Sports
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Carnivals and where they are being held and can
help you with any queries or concerns you may
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Please feel free to contact any of these
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Vintage Sports carnival of your choice.
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Sundance Spirit is the official ground
operator for the 2006 World Vintage
Rugby Carnival in Buenos Aires. For more
information on services offered by
Sundance Tours visit
www.sundancespirit.com |
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(Australia)
details> |
Gullivers Sports Travel was the official
ground operator for the 2004 Limerick
Vintage Rugby Carnival and remain loyal
supporters of Vintage Sports. For more information on
services offered by Gullivers including
Inbound tours for schools and clubs to
the UK and Europe, please click on the
logo. |
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