Wednesday April 16th, first to Thursday April 17th, 2025 - El Calafate and Perito Moreno Glacier - Saving the Best for Last?

 

Geraldo Povazsan, Gaucho, Enjoys His Maté

Our first day in El Calafate began with a visit to a small ranch, Estanza Bon Accord, not far from the outskirts of the small town. There, we were greeted by gaucho, Geraldo Povazsan, who had inherited the property from his family. Rather than being the beneficiary of a flourishing windfall, Geraldo was now owner of a broken ranch, old equipment, and dismantled houses. Wool prices were low, so it was not feasible to run it profitably in the traditional manner. But Geraldo valued the heritage of the property, and was committed to keeping it intact.

Following the 'Conquest of the Desert' (removal and extermination of the indigenous people) the government wanted to populate and develop the land that was now 'uninhabited'. They granted settlers 20 hectares (49 acres of land). Geraldo's ancestor, William Dickie, had come to the Falkland Islands from Aberdeen, Scotland, where he had successfully raised sheep and then came to Buenos Aries. William took advantage of the government's offer with a business partner and arrived here in 1905 to establish his sheep ranch. 

In the beginning farmers paid rent with the option to buy. That sounded easy enough, but in order to execute the paperwork, the farmers had to go to Buenos Aries - they were not able to leave the farms for as long as that took, so many had difficulty getting the right papers.

Remains of an Old Caretta and Original Homestead

Geraldo's family came here at time when it took three months for people to use this type of cart to travel from Buenos Aries, Pulled by oxen, it was a hard ride. Towns like El Calafate were watering holes for these journeys. 

This first dwelling was built from adobe and willow. It looked like a palace to the family after they had camped out for two years! 

Sheep Pens

In order to raise sheep, one needed 50,000 acres for a herd of 8,000. With climate change, the plants are tougher than they were and the number of sheep one can graze per acre is lower. 70% of the vegetation is yellow bunchy grass, but the sheep will not eat it - they find whatever green vegetation grows around it. The farmer also needs both winter and summer grazing areas - here the plateau offered summer grounds and this area in the valley was used in winter. 

Somehow, this family was able to succeed enough to provide a living for many years. William and his partner were able to buy additional acreage and the ranch is now 30,000 acres, and runs 3,000 sheep and 70 cattle.

Herding Sheep

In addition to Geraldo's sheep herding dog, he also keeps two guard dogs with the flock at all times. These are special dogs who have been raised with sheep and think they are one of them. Pumas regard sheep as slow moving guanacos, and the guard dogs confuse predators by moving around rapidly - the puma, red foxes and wild dogs thinks there are many dogs in the flock and retreat. The town dogs come in packs, kill more sheep than pumas and maim the animals. Condors finish up scavenging the injured animals. You can see that raising sheep here is a hazardous process! The use of guard dogs reduces the need to shoot, trap or poison wildlife.

Shearing Pens

The sheep were herded into pens in the shearing shed, which seemed unchanged from the day it was built! It had that lovely earthy smell of lanolin and wet wool, mixed with a little poop. The smell made me feel warmer....just the thought of another layer softness was enveloping. However, this fleece will not end up on people's backs - it is not fine merino, and is shipped overseas for making carpets. 

Cutting Fleece off the Face

The electric clippers were lined up along one wall, but covered in cobwebs. These days, teams of shearers arrive in the spring and bring their own clippers to use. However, Geraldo occasionally has to clear the wool off the sheep's faces, as their vision becomes blocked. I found it alarming to see those big hand clippers so close to the eyes - but sheep become completely passive when put on their backs, so the face clearing proceeded without harm!

A Lovely, Wooly Nest

The cat agreed with me, that the wool made a lovely earthy place to stop a while!

Bale Stencils and Bolos

The light in the shearing shed was delicious, luminated by the dull sky outside filtering through to lift the dimness of the shed. These old stencils, hanging on the wall, were probably used for marking bales of wool as they were sent off to market. The long hanging objects are bolos, or boleadora, which are thrown by the gauchos to catch horses and cattle by tangling their legs. They were adapted from the hunting weapon of the indigenous people of the area, who used stones instead of leather for the balls.

Bolo Throwing Demonstration

Geraldo demonstrated how these tools are used. The pole he was aiming for represents the legs of the livestock he is trying to bring down. It looked like a tough way to do it, for both gaucho and animal - but perhaps better than chasing them all over the plains!

Argentine BBQ

We were here for an authentic Argentine BBQ - with the diagonal 'cross' that had been set up over the fire for this special occasion. The sheep had been slaughtered and butchered for us yesterday. 

The Main House  - The 'New' Homestead

In addition to his Scottish ancestry, Geraldo's grandmother had married a Hungarian man, which is where he got his very 'non-Scottish' name of Povazsan. The main house was where we had our BBQ meal.  It was the winter quarters for the complete family - after the ranch had been broken up. 

It is somewhat of a museum, including a room with radio equipment. Geraldo's Hungarian grandfather, Jose Povazsan had worked in radio transmissions before he came here from Buenos Aries. A customer had come asked him to come to Patagonia to set up a radio shop and this is where he met Geraldo's grandmother. Jose also set up a radio station on the farm, which became a way for the pre-airport visitors to arrange lodging at Estancia Cristina - the last lodge before the glacier. The service helped El Calafate become a tourist town.

Scraggly Fall Beauty

I loved the spare beauty of the property and appreciated that Geraldo has found a way to keep it going as a living museum, cobwebs and all. I hope he succeeds in keeping the 'old' ways alive for future visitors.

 

Quince

There were still apples and pears still hanging on the yellowing trees, along with this furry quince. I had not seen a quince since I was a child - my mother used to serve them stewed.

Main Street, El Calafate

When I Googled El Calafate, it said it is not a picturesque town, and looking at this photo of the main street, one might see why they say that. The downtown is about the size of Fernandina Beach, with lots of touristy shops. Following our visit to the ranch, we had a chance to wander here.

Craft Arcade

There was a little arcade for local artisans, but it was not due to open until later in the day. However, I spotted one of the booths that looked as if it was open.

Lots of Wool!

The vendor was delightful! She went to great lengths to help me find a hat, which had been spun and woven by her.

What a Smile!

She graciously posed for me!

Street Art at the Top of the Steps

I love wandering through places like this and was drawn up the steps at the end of the arcade by this face painted on the wall at the top of the steps.

Mural - A Gaucho and his Maté

This led me to a large barn, where I was delighted to find this mural of a gaucho brewing his maté. It felt just like the ranch we had just left, with the pile of wool and broom to the left of the gaucho. I thought it was fabulous!

Childhood Dreams

At the end of the same building, there was a another mural of a child, gazing out of a window at the beauty before him/her. With the sky above, it created in me a feeling of wonderful integration of humans and nature.

Gnome Arcade and Route 40 Sign

Back down on the main street, (Avenue del Libertador) was a little 'village' with a gnome theme. Its sign was a reminder that we are still on Route 40.

The Village of the Gnomes

The little outdoor arcade was cute, but very touristy, with many gift shops.

Face to Face With a Gnome

There were lots of papier mache gnomes of various sizes hanging from the eaves, on roofs and a few 'full size?' gnomes sitting on benches in the arcade. It was all quite charming. Yet again, the presence of the maté gourd tells you how omnipresent this drink is in Argentinian life.

More Gnomes

Gnomes must have been a 'thing' here, even beyond the special village, as they were for sale in other shops, too. I found this collection a little scary, with ones laying on heir side back there!

BBQ Ahead

There were many restaurants along the main street, setting up their barbeques ready for dinner customers. These looked like sides of beef! I was glad that I had enjoyed a lovely meal of lamb earlier in the day.

The Poplars Were Glorious

Throughout the town, the yellow poplars were magnificent.

Locks of Love

A bridge across a small stream had 'locks of love' secured through its grating.

Plazoleta Perito F. P Moreno

There was a little plaza honoring Perito Moreno. We had first heard about him in Bariloche......you may recall his role in establishing borders with Chile, donating land and establishing the first national park in Argentina. His full name was Francisco Pascaio Moreno and he was born in Buenos Aries in 1852.  When Moreno was 11 years old, his family was among the wealthy who moved out of the city, due to the yellow fever epidemic.  They lived on a ranch where there were no other children for him to play with, so he picked up and collected artifacts, fossils and bones and learned about nature from direct experience. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, to follow in the family footsteps, but instead, Francisco set out for his own adventures at the age of 21. He started in Southern Patagonia because he knew that the activities of the glaciers were known to reveal fossils in their movements. His travels brought him to El Calafate, where he named Lago Argentino, but he never did see the glacier that was later named in his honor.

  The name 'Perito', actually means 'expert' and was given to him to signify and honor the knowledge he had about nature and the wilderness. He had not developed that expertise through schooling, but was self-taught from his explorations throughout the country.

He was inspired to put his knowledge to use for the public good. In addition to all his other services to the community he donated his collection to establish the Museo de la Plata in Buenos Aries, which he directed for 20 years. It is now the 11th most important Natural History Museum in the world.

Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve - Chilean Flamingos

Lago Argentino, which borders the town, moderates temperatures and good soil has formed an 'oasis' of trees, which provide shelter from the strong winds. A nature reserve has been established, where we were able to see many Chilean flamingos as we headed for the Perito Moreno Glacier on the Thursday.

Back to the Ice Field

 As we headed west, it was reassuring to see the ice field ahead as we travelled. When we get to the glacier, we will be a scant 33 miles NNE of Torres del Paine. It is the edge of the same Southern Patagonian Ice Field that we had been visiting before. 

First Glimpse of Perito Moreno Glacier From the 'Curve of Sighs'

We followed the south shore of Lago Argentino for the 50 mile drive. Once again we had a glorious day, with blue skies. When the bus stopped at the 'Curve of Sighs', we were able to vocalize our amazement at the sight before us! 

I usually think of glaciers being perched high in mountains, so I expect that there needs to be much huffing and puffing to see one up close and personal - or helicopters. Not so here, where we are only 600 feet above sea level! The glacier itself is a mass of ice the size of Paris, originating 19 miles away at an elevation of 6,890 feet. It moves at a little over six feet per day, so there is frequent 'calving' as chunks of ice drop into the lake. It has been one of the few glaciers in the world, which is still advancing but there are recent indications that there is lateral slowing.

Observation Platforms & Corrals

As you might imagine, this spectacular place draws many visitors. In the past there were fatal accidents with people slipping as they attempted to get photos and videos. To allow more, and safer access to fabulous views, a multilayered and elaborate system of observation platforms has been built. The site attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Happily, there was plenty of space for all on the day we visited.

A Magnificent View

Ooh! I was thrilled! How wonderful for nature to provide an arena like this for one to look over this wonderful expanse. It felt as if I was sitting in a theatre, having the processes of nature unfold before my eyes.

Calving

Within minutes of arriving at the top of the platforms, we heard a loud rumble and realized that the glacier was calving. I managed to switch to video mode (not an easy accomplishment for me) and managed to capture it in action. Our guide told us that often after the first bit drops, there is more to follow, which you see here. I kept watching out for others, but this was the only one I saw while there.

Ice Floes

This ice most likely originated in Chile. The Pacific Ocean is only 130 miles to the west. The Pacific winds blow from the west and drop the moisture they carry as they climb the mountains. This can result in a annual snowfall of up to 166 feet, making it one of the snowiest regions on earth! A lot of the of the snow sublimates due to low temperatures and strong winds, leaving a snow pack of around 24 feet. The snow builds up and is compressed to form the ice we see in front of us. While Argentina lies on the rain shadow side of the mountains, the ice that is formed slides down to drop into this Argentine lake.

200 Foot Cliff of Ice

The understanding of glaciation emerged as a science in the 1840's through he work of a Swiss scientist, Louis Agassiz. He established the recognition that climates have fluctuated greatly through the eons, sometimes creating ice sheets in other parts of the world similar to the one we see here. The landscape of this area reveals that history, from the huge rocks that get dumped on the land during glacial retreat, to the shape of valleys showing successive periods of glaciation.

It makes sense that the people here understand glaciation better than we sub-tropical flatlanders and our guide introduced us to a theory that had been developed early in the 1900's by Serbian scientist and mathematician, Mulitin Milankovich. He had been arrested by Austro Hungarian forces during WWI for being Serbian and was held on house arrest where he developed a model explaining the correlation of climate cycles with variations due to the tilt of the earth's axis and 'wobbles' in rotation. This theory helps scientists understand the long history of climate variation, but according to both our guide and Google, are not a full explanation for the current, rapid climate change that we are experiencing today. In other words humans ARE contributing to changes that would normally be much slower.

Crevasses?

Seeing the columns of ice that collapsed in the water, reminded me of the hazards posed by crevasses for any intrepid explorers who attempt to navigate  terrain such as this. Many (many) years ago I had been required to learn crevasse rescue in preparation for a backpacking trip onto the Olivine Ice Plateau, a glacier in New Zealand. I'm happy to report it was not as rough as this terrain looks and we never had to rescue anyone in the party.

Ice River

I suffered the same dilemma that I did in Torres del Paine - 'How do I stop clicking my shutter?'

Oh well, all good things must come to an end, and eventually the time came when we had to tear ourselves away and head back into town for our final dinner at the home of a local resident. The next day we flew back to Buenos Aries, then an overnight flight to Miami had me home on Saturday morning. 

Yes, I was there! (Wearing My New Hat)

This had been a marvelous journey for me and I appreciate that you have taken the time to follow along.

Thank you.