Day 1:
We spent 2 days in Argentinian Patagonia in the town of El Calafate. We took the 3 hours 20 minutes flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate Airport and arrived early in the morning. After picking up our rental car from the airport, we checked in at our hotel Mirador del Lago and were soon on our way to the main attraction of this trip, the Perito Moreno Glacier. The drive from El Calafate town to Perito Moreno takes about 1.5 hours and some portion of the trip is quite scenic where you can see the beautiful blue color of Lago Argentino.
Since we were visiting Argentinian Patagonia where weather is quite unpredictable, we were wise to dress in layers. I had ordered proper gloves, merino wool socks, thermals and we dressed in layers to feel warm. It still was very cold and windy there at this time of the year (end of summer in March)
After paying the entrance fee at Los Glaciares National Park, its a further 20 minutes down to the parking lot at the glacier. A bus frequently makes the round between the main parking lot and the glacier visit starting point.
After seeing the glacier from 2 different hiking routes, we left the area to get to the Hielo & Aventura Boat ramp for our afternoon boat ride. The boat dock is only 10 minute drive from the Perito Moreno Glacier parking lot.
After the boat ride, we took our car back to the Perito Moreno Glacier parking lot and this time since it was a bit late, we avoided the main parking lot and just parked directly at the lot by the main restaurant. We spent about an hour hiking some of the viewing ramps but it was very cold and windy and since we had pretty much seen the glacier from different angles and view points we decided to call it a day and drive back to El Calafate.
We had dinner at our hotel which was all very delicious and felt high-end dining.
Day 2:
We started the day early by visiting the Laguna Nimez Reserva Natural Municipal. This park is a bird conservation where you can see huge variety of birds in their natural surroundings. Its a pretty easy hike and the whole visit can be done in 2-3 hours.
One end of the reserve borders the Lago Argentino, and we saw 2 Black-necked swans playing by the shore.
After hiking for about 2 hours we drove to the El Calafate sign near the lake.
After doing some souvenir shopping in town, we went back to the hotel for lunch.
