We took a 2 day trip out of Rio Tranquilo to see the San Rafael Glacier. Although the trip ran out of Tranquilo transport is needed to the km 75 marker where you will come across a tiny farm where the guide lives! A short boat ride across the river, then a 30 minute walk along the road that is no longer, as the river flooded, and you join the zodiac boat. But first, to dress for the zodiac - a full body suit, fleeced on the inside and waterproof on the outside, coloured bright red so they can find you in the water when, sorry if, you fall into the river! At first, it seems like any normal boat ride but then the ice floats start to appear, dotted here and there; then more and bigger until you are navigating around huge ice floats that have broken away from the main glacier and floated down with the tide. The colour spectrum in the floats is quite extraordinary and their size awesome for a first timer like myself. After 2 1/2 hours you dock around the corner from the glacier and find that its warm and balmy!? Conaf (Chile National Parks) have 2 guards stationed here but otherwise, its deserted. A hike of just over 2 hours takes you to a viewpoint infront of the glacier and an extra 30 minutes gets you to a spot almost above the glacier. Ofcourse, both viewpoints use to be above the glacier but global warming has put paid to that. The glacier has retreated at a shocking rate - 300 metres in 10 years; the white ink reading 2000 (for the year) was a bleak marker written on dry rock.
We saw some amazing collapses of huge chunks as they broke away from the main block; the smaller cascades from the top were impressive enough, creating a sound like thunder rumbling, but when chunks seperated underwater that created a powerful display as the ice would initially sink due to its weight but then buoyancy would make it rise majestically into the air, higher than its original location, like some force coming up from the sea creating mini tsunamis in the inlet fronting the glacier. (If you look at the attached picture carefully you will see there's a boat of 8 people in the foreground, to give some perspective on its size!)
I was saddened to hear that the Chile government has approved the building of a hotel on the precipice at the edge of the glacier's inlet; sadly ironic to consider that the industrial work involved to build and the consequent traffic and industry will only add to the speed of its disappearance.
To do this trip contact Ian Farmer in Rio tranquilo
