February 7, 2023
Today we were driven from the Explora Lodge to the Grey Lake Lodge 40 minutes away. From there we took a zodiac a couple miles up stream to a large catamaran beached in the sand. Once the 100 souls who could fit were packed into the boat, the captain motored us further upstream to the toe of the 6 km wide, 30+ meters high glacier, where we had plenty of time to get a good look. There were two sides to the glacier,
one on either side of a rock island that appeared to hold the glacier in place. The glacier is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field just west of the Cordillera del Paine, which is a mountain group in the Torres del Paine, where our lodge, Explora, is located. This glacier is receding and will continue to recede unless global warming is stopped. The boat lecturer told us that the reason ice is blue is that it is the only color that passes through ice and is not absorbed. Only 30% of ice bergs is exposed above the water line. Nice to be reminded about things you already knew, huh?
Back at the lodge, we grabbed a bite to eat just before the restaurant closed at 2:30pm. Then I went for a walk about the lodge to get familiar with some of the plants. The planets I identified are the Thorne skeleton weed, or Mother-in-lays weed, the common myrtle, Japanese barberry, Scarlet Lady’s Tresses. There are also three different beech trees that are quite common, but I did not see them on my walk.
Adventures with Julia 