Marble Caves and Ice Fields
The Gem of Lake General Carrera & San Rafael Glacier
The stretch of road from Puyuhuapi to Puerto Rio Tranquilo was majestically scenic with broad swaths of the mountains still cloaked in snow, alpine pastures with sheep and cattle grazing, and waterfalls cascading as if from the heavens to delight the eyes. Yet as is frequently the case in Patagonia, the beautifully paved portion of the Carretera Austral ended abruptly, dropping the Citroen onto some of the worst pot-holed stretch of dirt/gravel road we have yet experienced. Our destination, Puerto Rio Tranquilo (Tranquil Port), is tucked along the shore of Lake General Carrera (S. America’s 5th largest and arguably most beautiful lake). The lake’s original name, for those who enjoy geographic trivia, was Chelenko. The town takes on a somewhat disheveled appearance, with ramshackle looking hostels and private residences cloaked in timber. Down by the water’s edge there is a bustling carnival like atmosphere crowded along a dirt lane, with small storefronts, all tour operators hawking tours to the Marble Caves (both by launch and kayak).
Question: Where is the second largest ice-field in the world?
Pulling in around 11:30AM, we checked in with our glacier tour company Destino Patagonia (www.destinoparagonia.cl), to settle up with them for the one-day tour of the San Rafael Glacier. We had been informed previously, that due to inclement weather (rain, wind and freezing temperatures), our three-day tour which would have included two overnights near the glacier with hiking, had been canceled. We put up the equivalent of around $200 each, for the one-day tour that would leave the next morning at 7AM from Puerto Rio Tranquilo. Knowing we couldn’t check in as yet at the Rimiyah Hostal, and with bright, sunny, yet windy conditions, we decided to take the boat tour to the Marble Caves.
We secured a 12:30 boat tour and walked a short distance to the dock, where an open boat was just coming in with returning passengers. After donning life vests and red rain slickers we boarded the simple open fiberglass craft which could seat 9 plus the captain. The ride was immediately challenging, as the captain tried to stear crosswind through the white-capped waves. After a good thirty minutes of pounding with the occasional soaking from bow spray, we slipped into a calm area by the shore with multiple cave entrances. Having been told to keep our hands inside the boat, we glided perhaps fifty feet inside the cave, with it’s marble walls and mini stalactites. Of particular interest was the pocked surface of the marble, appearing akin to the surface of a golf ball. This surface was created through a chemical reaction eons ago, when a volcano spewed acidic gases into the atmosphere creating bubbles in the marble surfaces.
The circuitous caves and curvaceous outside pillars have evolved over 6,000 years, from the constant wave action of the lake. The brilliant blue colors one perceives are not from the marble itself, but rather a reflection of the intense blue water from the lake. The colors of the marble vary dependent on the level of lake water, and intensity of the sun. It is a wondrous site, with massive marble edifices above, a collection of caves and swirls of stone, punctuated with striated pillars of marble. Not easy to get to certainly, but well worth the effort! We were very glad to have witnessed this startling natural exposition when we did, as the ever increasing wind velocity, halted tours the following day.
The next morning, November 29th, we were up early, and with a bite in the air, we boarded the 15 passenger bus that would take us some two hours to Bahia Exploradores, a small bay where boats to the San Rafael Glacier depart from. Our bus was driven by a young Chilean woman of diminutive size, but assertive (nay aggressive) driving style, that induced a bouncing jouncing ride along the gravel road. The bus would occasionally swerve and roll as she sought to avoid oncoming vehicles while maintaining her speed. We were all the while entertained by a young couple (a Greek Ironman Triathelete - Themis, & Kelsey, a vivacious dual citizen of the U.S. and the Netherlands). He was the first Greek to participate in the upcoming Patagonman competition (think Ironman of Chile). We later followed his successful race on Instagram; a race where the Chilean Navy had to change the swim location three times due to rough sea conditions brought on by high wind velocities.
At Bahia Exploradores we stepped across five similar vessels to settle into our craft, which had seating for fourteen inside a low cabin with plexiglass windows. Our guide was a vibrant Chilean named Macarena, which befitted her ebullient personality. Soon after getting underway, she served hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches, as we slowly made our way along the river portion of the journey. After about an hour, the river widened, allowing a view of the iceberg festooned lagoon ahead of us. For this landlubber, the first sighting of the icebergs was a captivating, giddy experience. On closer inspection the icebergs were ghostly white with varying blue hues depending on their size. The captain cut back the 200-horsepower outboard engine, enabling the boat to maneuver slowly around the larger icebergs, while creating a din inside the cabin as the smaller icebergs grazed the side of the boat.
Before we closed in on the glacier itself, we docked and disembarked at an old dock, that led us to a dirt path which we trod for twenty minutes. The goal was the ruin of a hotel the Chilean Government erected and operated between 1940 and 1950. While the signage did not say specifically, one gathers it was less than profitable, having to be outfitted with everything by boat in such a remote location. A fire eventually destroyed the stone/wooden structure, leaving behind the 10ft. tall stone walls, along with, ironically, a single enamel bathtub! We continued our walk down to the shore and observed the ice bergs bobbing on the gentle swells of the lagoon.
Returning to the boat we motored slowly to the front wall of the massive glacier, with its varying colorations of white and blue, keeping some distance (perhaps 500ft.) from the front wall which descends into the lagoon. What sounded like rifle and or small cannon fire could frequently be heard, with fairly frequent cave-ins and calving of the glacial ice as it crashed into the lagoon’s water below. Of equal fascination were the sometimes large 50-60ft high icebergs that we circumnavigated. The crevices beckon one’s eyes to peer inside as if the soul of the iceberg could somehow be perceived. Mesmerized, we and our fellow passengers decided to take lunch out on the open front deck where we could get unobstructed views of the glacier and surrounding iceberg dotted lagoon. To top off the experience, Macarena, swooped up a large chunk of millennial ice from the sea that was subsequently cut into large chunks and served to all of the passengers in a tumbler with Jack Daniels!
We returned to Puerto Rio Tranquilo the same way we came, weary yet elated from the 12 plus hours of touring to this remote and geologically ephemeral tour de force.
Answer: The world’s second largest ice-field is the Northern Patagonia Ice Field located in Laguna San Rafael National Park, a huge park established in 1959, the first being Antartica
Yes my mother would be right there with us! Let’s not forget she went on an expedition up the Amazon in her 80s🤗
Wouldn't a job with Nat Geo be extraoridnary! We are but humble vagabonds presently contemplating how to get to a little seen glacier near Cochrane, Chile. All the best now!