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Manu | 18 April 2012 | 2 comments

Glacier Perito Moreno, wonder of Patagonia

I must admit that today I got  chills standing in front of the Glacier Perito Moreno!
It was ages I didn’t feel such an emotion for a place that made me almost cry at the end.
The first impression I had of the Glacier is that it’s alive. I could feel it, even on the road when I hadn’t seen it, yet. It’s like I, and the people on the bus with me, were going to visit something that lives there, that has its own carachter that can change an infuence your view of it. And so it was on the boat when for the first time it appeared at my eyes, and despite the sun, a cold wind and some rain started to fall, giving to the atmosphere something solemn, like a moment to be remembered forever. Looking at the glacier from the water for the first time is really impressive: its huge walls of ice cover your view entirely and make you feel so meaningless and small, with the Nature standing greatly in front of you with one of the most amazing and old creations ever.

The first time a piece of ice cracks and falls into the water is such a big surprise that

Glacier ice

I didn’t now where to look at. Everything happened so quick and I really couldn’t believe that it was just when I was there. A giant wave made the boat staggering and everybody a bit scared, I think it was in that moment that I felt really amazed by the Nature in front of me.

This was not even a piece of the real great emotion I had when I saw Perito Moreno from the terrace just in front. It’s there, when I saw it from an higher point of view and I could really understand how big its extension is, that I got emotional for the first time. I had chills all over, it’s like a big creature waiting for you to be amazed by its beauty.

 

View of the Glacier from the steps!

As it ‘s pretty much low season around here, incredibly all the tourists I expected were not here, and going down the steps, there were lots of moments that I could stand alone in front of it. The wind was rough, and I couldn’t even keep my camera still at times, feeling the breeze winding up my mind.

After observing it for a long time, keeping wondering about its beauty, about how its colours change with the light, going from deep blue in the shining sun, to deep white and grey when the clouds were covering the sun, I understood it’s with the silence I could really get to know it. A lady came in that moment and we stand there for some minutes in silence, when a piece of ice teared away with a big thunder before falling into the iced water. The lady next to me commented with only one sentence:” “La creation de Dios” and we stared at that for an infinite moment of beauty just in front of our eyes. This remembered me what there was written on a sign at the beginning of the path, on the main terrace, remembering the visitor that the hidden part of the glacier has been there for 2 millions years and is the witness of the creation of the world and of the human kind. This, together with the lady’s comment, made me feel for a moment like standing in front of something divine.

What I understood after that, was that I had to listen to the glacier and learn to know it, in order to catch the moment it is going to move.

Ice falling!

Before a piece of ice decides to fall into the water, the ice makes a big noise. You can hear the ice cracking, you can har the voice of the Glacier in that moment. It’s like a shoot, a thunder, at the beginning it’s even scary. In that moment you have to refine your sense and learn to catch the moment the ice is going to fall into the water. You have to be fast, as it doesnt wait for you. At the beginning I was slow and couldn’t, but after a while I got it. I observed the ice for such a long time and I learned to anticipate it. After a while, I could feel what part of the ice was going to fall, and I could capture that moment with my camera, and with my emotions. The moments the ice blocks fall into the water are very similar to a storm. You first see the action and what happens, and then you hear the sound. Same for the ice, you first see these huge blocks of ice falling into the water, and after they are into it, you hear the sound they make. It’s unbelievable, ad that’s the reason why at the beginning it’s difficult to catch it.

View of the Perito Moreno from the North side

What I loved of those moments and in general of the entire day spent observing the Perito Moreno, is that people are silent; it seems they almost don’t dare to disturb it. The only moment you can hear their voices is when the ice falls, andthe only thing you can hear beside the sound of the glacier is the “Uuuhhh” of those who are able to catch the moment. It’s impossible not to do it, not to stand there amazed and scream quietly for the wander of such a  moment.

The impression I had today is that you can feel the glacier alive in front of you. You can watch it moving, you can hear its breath and its voice, and staring at him for a while, you can almost feel it living since millions of yeas, observing the world passing by.

Does it make the same sound even when nobody is there in front of it? That’s what I was wondering today….

Unforgettable Perito Moreno

This has been an unique experience. For sure the most unbelievable place ever seen in my life. When I had to leave, at the end of the day, I went to look at it for the last time from the main terrace and I was almost crying. I was there with some others, and we were all standing there in silence, aware of  the true Beauty of the Nature…

I think this was the most amazing highlight of all my travels, the Perito Moreno has left something inside me, a feeling of wonder that will be difficult to forget…