Today was a fantastic day that I think few people are lucky to experience. It started by a bus journey into the national park where we were able to see the south part of this magical Glacier from the balconies. After about 1 hour there, we were hurried to the boats nearby. The boat takes you to the start of the big hike and during the 20-minute journey you can see the north and east side of the Glacier. It was absolutely freezing and raining but we were all in awe and spent most of the journey on the deck watching the glacier and observing the large chunks swimming in the water.

After arriving at the small refuge (Refugio Perito Moreno) we were introduced to our guides and started the hike immediately. The first part of the walk is through this incredibly green forest if we didn’t see the glacier on our right side we would easily think that we were in some rainforest. About 1 hour later we arrived in a small campsite where hiking gears are stored. There we all put on our harnesses for safety and given these heavy metal crampons which we carried to the entry to the glacier. About 20 more minutes later we were at the glacier and put on our crampons with the help of our guides then, started our 4-hour long ice hike.

The crampons make walking a little tricky as they are heavy, but they are absolutely essential because the ground is very slippery. The surface is covered with 1 or 2 cm sized ice chunks and every few meters we are having to jump over cracks or water pools. The pools are sometimes just a few centimetres and sometime are mini lakes. These small gaps / mini lakes have fascinating blue/turquoise colour which, our guides explain, are in fact are result of the sun light shining on glacier. The water is perfect and probably the best quality water to drink. We are all freezing but eagerly fill our water-bottles.

This was among the best walks I did in my life. It’s not very difficult at all but requires you to be willing to exert yourself a little. The agency that organises the walks have a silly age limit: you must be between ages 16 and 50. I understand that this is a requirement by their insurance, but it seems quite wrong. Anyone who is fit enough to walk and maintain their body balance whilst hopping between the small gaps/lakes could do it, I think.

The other thing that stuck me was the cost: The trip costs more than 350 USD and while this is a huge amount for locals, it also quite expensive by European standards. I personally hesitated but decided that this was a once in a life time thing. For example, I can sometimes fly from London to Istanbul for less! I mentioned this to the guides who also complained that the cost was prohibitive and meant only a handful people could actually afford to do it.

I felt blessed that I could do this trip while under the age limit and was able to afford the cost, even if with hesitation. I do think that both will bill be revised soon.

After 4 amazing hours on the ice, we made our way back through the same way. We were cold, wet but super happy. Once on the boat again we were served glasses of whiskey containing large ice chunks from the glacier. The drink hit the spot, warmed us and brought back those big grins to our frozen faces.