#44 Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 🇨🇱 格雷冰川初探（二）

I feel almost surreal enjoying this hot Aussie summer when 2018 Winter Olympics is opening in South Korea. Seems it's a good "colder" choice that I'm now writing on about the Grey Glacier in Chile following my last post. =)

在南半球澳洲的盛夏里，看着在韩国举办的2018冬奥会拉开帷幕，还真有那么点超现实的感觉。我现在接着上次继续写智利南部的冰川，倒是更加应这冬天的景。=)

As mentioned in my last post - the Patagonian Icecap is the world's 3rd largest mass of ice after the 2 poles. This icecap has 2 parts: the Northern and the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. Grey Glacier is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

As a map maniac 🗺 , I just sketched a map to show you the rough locations of the 2 ice fields and the Grey Glacier I’m talking about here(Please ignore the distortion of my map ;) anyway, accurate world map is mathematically impossible to make :p):

The Southern Ice field remains a border issue between Chile and Argentina. It stretches over 3 National Parks including Los Glaciares Park of Argentina, Bernado O’Higgins Park and Torres del Paine Park in Chile.

First, let’s take a look at these 3 amazing national parks covered by The Southern Ice field:

Los Glaciares National Park boasts the world-famous glacier Perito Moreno, best known for the dramatic icefalls from its front wall, and the breathtaking mountain Fitz Roy near El Chaltén which I wrote about in this post.

Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins is a remote region less explored in southern Chile, which I accessed on the way to Torres del Paine(I also had a post about it). It’s an absolute gem I discovered by accident, and I was amazed by its fjords, icebergs, glaciers and diverse wildlife in a tranquil setting. The indigenous Kawéskar people call the village of Puerto Edén their home.

Last but the most famous Torres del Paine National Park - it’s located in Chile’s Patagonia region, and takes its name from the 3 iconic granite towers( Tres Torres) and the horn-shaped peaks called Cuernos del Paine. Here you can see rare wildlife such as guanacos, pumas, huemul deers and the Andean condos. The glaciers in these 2 posts are also located in the Park.

直到今天，智利和阿根廷还在为这块倾国倾城的南冰原起争端。从上面我手绘的地图上可以看出: 上方那一小块阴影是北冰原，下方较长的阴影是南冰原，这也是两国存在领土纠纷的地方。

先来科普一下 —— 南冰原覆盖三大国家公园：位于阿根廷的冰川国家公园，归属智利的伯纳多奥希金斯国家公园和百内塔国家公园。

这几个公园都是自然风光美不胜收的地方，其中百内塔国家公园和冰川国家公园比较知名，而伯纳多奥希金斯国家公园相比之下更鲜为人知，自然也是更具野趣。我在经由水路坐船去百内国家公园的途中，去这里走了一圈，意外地发现这个藏在深闺的秘境：美丽壮观的峡湾、冰山和冰川湖，独特的植被和野生动物，还有附近的土著居民，这一切都在宁静中和谐共生，犹如一片世外桃源。

。。。

这两篇文章里的格雷冰川就位于百内国家公园内。

Apart from the Southern Ice Field you see from my sketched map, the Northern Patagonia Ice Field forms the smaller part of the Patagonian Icecap. The sparsely populated area - Aysen region of Chile is defined partly by this ice field.

After traveling through Chile, I found this region one of my favorites for its breathtaking wild beauty. If I’m going back to Chile in future, I would love to trek the Aysen Glacier Trail (AGT) , where I can get up close to the glaciers of the Northern Ice Cap, and enjoy a great variety of landscapes.

---

I talked about why the glacier ice appears blue to the naked eye in my last post - in short, it's because of the short wavelengths blue light is transmitted and scattered, when squeezed out air in compressed snow leaves little reflective surface on a glacier for the sunlight.

Since the weather was constantly changing, the mountains, glacier and icebergs were coated in different hues as the lighting changed, and a rainbow showed up:

For more photos of the landscape, please check out my previous post. : )

---

The crew is collecting some thousand-year-old glacier ice to serve with the Pisco Sour, the South American cocktail classic, claimed as a creation by both Peru 🇵🇪 and Chile 🇨🇱 . Pisco is a kind of grape brandy, made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit. The essential mix of a Pisco Sour is 3 parts Pisco to 1 part lime juice and 1 part sugar syrup, with fresh egg white as well. In future I will write about my experience of visiting a Pisco distillery in the Elqui Valley in Chile.

---

This kind of dramatic lenticular cloud formation is pretty common here. As the lens clouds look like flying saucers, they have been mistaken by some people as UFOs🛸 .

Patagonia is known for its blustery winds. I was almost blown away in places like Punta Arenas, and here it’s even more windy 💨 . I definitely caught the strongest wind in my life in the area of Lago Grey - I could barely stand still, not to say walk against the incredibly heavy wind. On my way back, I had to struggle each and every step trying not to be dragged into the lake:

So that's it for today's sharing about my trip to Grey Glacier. Hope you enjoyed it as I did! Have you ever been to a glacier? Tell me what you think in the comments below. :D See you next time!

---

Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts , and follow me for more! =)

#43 Follow Me to Grey Glacier (1) 格雷冰川初探(一)

#42 The Story of Dirty Duck Restaurant 脏鸭馆的美食故事

#41 Explore Easter Island with Me (2) - Best Sunset Spot Ahu Akivi 复活节岛摩托之旅（二）

#40 Monomad Macro Photography ~ Friday Flowers 单色微距摄影

#39 B&W Photo Contest ~ Windmill Reflection 黑白摄影 - 荷兰风车倒影

#38 Visit the Rotterdam Market Hall with Me 全球颜值最高的菜市场究竟长什么样?

@ItchyfeetDonica is my only account here and I'm 200% real ;) → Introduce Cross-culture Me on This Cross-over Platform 处女贴-自我介绍

Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

---

!steemitworldmap -50.988692 lat -73.230743 long Glaciar Grey d3scr