It snowed last night!
Currently, I write from El Calafate, Patagonia. I arrived several days ago, on what will be forever known as the ¨Drunken Mosquito¨-- Never has a flight inspired me to articulate the sense of fear that was placed within the minds of the crafts passengers. I have many times flown, and many times experienced some level of turbulence, but never has it been to the Mosquito's level. Imagine sitting in one of those big carnival rides, the ones that shoot you straight into the air and then you immediately bounce down to the ground, and then again, shot you straight into the air. Now that the image is in your head, also image this ride violently flinging you side to side. This was similar to what we experienced--. Alright, so getting back to Patagonia, this area is rather beautiful and reminds me of the central to northern portion of New Mexico- mountainous, expansive, and spectacular views.
Am I ill prepared for the Patagonia extremities, definitely. Does it add to the overall adventure, obviously! With little more then an HBS sweater, and a windbreaker, the Scott´s and I headed off and visited one of El Calafates most famous sights, the Perito Moreno Glacier. Cold and damp would be an understatement for some, but as soon as our eyes peered upon the magnificent glacier (apparently the glacier is about the size of the whole of Buenos Aires!) we immediately warmed. Thunderous sounds and falling ice is what serenaded our otherwise silent environment. Moreno seems to sheds layers of ice every 10 - 20 minutes, and consistently replenishes itself at about the same rate (or, to be more technically correct, is replenished by the falling snow). Something I found rather interesting is that the Antarctic, Patagonia glacier region and one other glacial area (sorry, I´ve forgotten the name) contains about 90% of the worlds fresh water reserves... Think of the geopolitical situation this presents, say 30 - 40 years from now... that is, if we haven´t found a way to efficiently extract fresh water from the ocean.
Am I ill prepared for the Patagonia extremities, definitely. Does it add to the overall adventure, obviously! With little more then an HBS sweater, and a windbreaker, the Scott´s and I headed off and visited one of El Calafates most famous sights, the Perito Moreno Glacier. Cold and damp would be an understatement for some, but as soon as our eyes peered upon the magnificent glacier (apparently the glacier is about the size of the whole of Buenos Aires!) we immediately warmed. Thunderous sounds and falling ice is what serenaded our otherwise silent environment. Moreno seems to sheds layers of ice every 10 - 20 minutes, and consistently replenishes itself at about the same rate (or, to be more technically correct, is replenished by the falling snow). Something I found rather interesting is that the Antarctic, Patagonia glacier region and one other glacial area (sorry, I´ve forgotten the name) contains about 90% of the worlds fresh water reserves... Think of the geopolitical situation this presents, say 30 - 40 years from now... that is, if we haven´t found a way to efficiently extract fresh water from the ocean.
posted by Arin | 8:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home