SAN RAFAEL GLACIER AND LAGOON - CHILEAN PATAGONIA

September arrived in the Southern Hemisphere, advertising the colors and the sweet promise of another Spring… hurray, Winter was over! And with this new spring, like a groundhog awakes from its winter sleep, my travelling eagerness awakes as well. This time it was even more exciting than ever because it was all about keeping a promise I had made to the most important person in my life… my mother.
The story begins when I was just a girl, aged maybe 7 or 8... mom was flicking through a magazine and suddenly she stopped and sighed...
- How I wish one day I could be here! - she said and showed me a picture of a red-and-white boat floating in the middle of the gelid waters of the San Rafael lagoon, right in front of the majestic ice wall of the San Rafael Glacier.

I said: - Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to take you there! -
She stroked my head, smiled at me and said... okay...
I don't know if she ever believed me but I never let go that promise. For many years, time was passing and I wasn't able to take her there... but, at last, the moment had come, we were packing warm clothes and heading to the northern area of the Ice Fields of Patagonia!
Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to see this amazing... almost virgin place and this time, mom and I will be among the blessed ones!
We took a bus to Puerto Montt city, located 1,032 kilometers from Santiago de Chile, the so called, Entrance to Patagonia. If you don’t want to stand a 13-hour bus ride, there are domestic flights Santiago de Chile - Puerto Montt that cover the distance in just 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The sky over the port was perfect and shiny and as soon as I got off the bus, I could smell the salt in the air… The ocean is always a real pleasure to my senses!

We were received at the boarding area with a drink and folk dances and finally, in the early night, as the boat slowly slid away over the water, we waved good bye to the lights of this enchanting city, to the tunes of the famous old song: Puerto Montt by Los Iracundos… a song that every mature Latin soul can sing along! People crowded the boat deck staring in wonder as the lights of the city port faded away. The darkness seemed to swallow as all as we kept sailing away into the night.
From that moment on, we sailed over peaceful inland waters till the next morning when we reached the open Pacific and faced the Corcovado Gulf that made our boat swing up and down like a wild stallion! We were prepared for this moment with seasickness pills but, fortunately enough, we didn’t need them… I’m afraid I cannot say the same about every passenger on the boat… It’s reassuring to know that the crossing of the gulf takes approximately 2 hours… then, peaceful inland water again.
  

For 2 days we sailed along the tangled web of islands and canals that compose the south of Chile. Some were narrow, some were wide but always surrounded by virgin forest sometimes covered in thick mist and snow-topped mountains crowned the desolate and captivating landscape. If it passed in front of a small fishing village, the boat would blow its horns, greeting the few brave souls who live there.
On the second day we arrived in Puerto Chacabuco, and from there we took a tour to the cities of Puerto Aysen and Coyhaique, It was good to feel solid ground under our feet for a few hours and most of all, admire the breathtaking landscape in this part of Patagonia. I will not go into much details because I want the reader to discover this paradise and be surprised!
After getting a few local souvenirs and wandering around downtown Coyhaique we got back to the boat and this time… we were, definitely, heading to San Rafael!

Another night passed and the excitement on board was tangible. We got up very early and went on deck after breakfast… Wow! Small icebergs were floating on the canal! More and more people came on deck and all of us were struggling to take a photo of these floating beauties! Some were white, some were turquoise or sky blue… they kept the secrets of a millennium inside their icy hearts! When were they born? What have they seen in their icy lives? Questions piled up in my head!
The canal grew narrower and the icebergs grew bigger as we sailed along when suddenly… the horn blew gravely and the Chilean national anthem started to play on the loudspeakers… we were there!!

In a split second everything changed and we were no longer in a narrow canal but in a perfectly round, quiet lagoon and right there… on the left side, the magnificent, majestic, amazing San Rafael glacier. Heart pounding, teary eyes… all at once…
Mom, we are here!
It was a really peaceful and warm morning so it was a pleasure to be on the deck, admiring the icebergs floating in the lagoon. Some as tall as a 3-storyhouse.
Randomly they chose who were boarding the zodiacs first and who would have to wait for the 3 small boats to come back... we were there, in the first group.

The sun was timidly shinning over San Rafael but there was no need for so much clothes as we were wearing! The water was a mirror and the light was great!
If you think of the glacier as a 90 meters tall moldering building, you don’t want to be right below it! Only a small fraction of glacier breaking and falling down on us, and we would have been happy little frozen tourists in the bottom of the lagoon! So the zodiac moved slowly among the icebergs and when we got as close to the glacier as it was advisable/possible, they gave everyone a glass and offered us juice or whisky. 
We were thrilled!

If you recognize me in the photo, I was on the right side of the boat. The surface of the San Rafael Lagoon is all covered with tiny pieces of ice so… it was my happy duty to put my hand in the water, grab some ice and put it into the travellers’ glasses. Easy task!
And that's how... a piece of ice that detached from a glacier, dating from the Ice Age, ended up melting in my Whisky on the rocks!
OMG! What would Greenpeace have to say about that?!
Wait a minute... I belong to Greenpeace!
Anyway... we all have our moments of weakness... and this, was mine!

There is no piece of writing that can make you feel what it really means to be in front of the San Rafael Glacier and Lagoon but if you fancy a travel back in time to locate yourself in the middle of an untouched landscape dating from the Ice Age… this is it! 

Welcome to the San Rafael glacier & Lagoon - Chilean Patagonia!