Laguna San Rafael

In Puerto Río Tranquil I turned off onto the X728. Pitches were a dime a dozen and the North Patagonian Ice Field was my backdrop.

The X728 is a tough 80 km. It greets you with an easy corrugated iron road and a drive through a narrow wooded passage.

Before Lago Tranquillo, you get views of snow-covered mountains and ice fields on the one hand, but also a more severe washboard road on the other.

There was no real speed to reduce the rattling in the Dog.O.Mobil. I just had to get through it. The landscape is beautiful, there are good views and, like the Cascada La Nutria, there is variety. Only the road didn't really got any better.

After 1.5 hours, I found my first campsite here on the Rio Norte. I had previously helped a Chilean Hilux with a cabin out of a swamp. It was a good experience in good weather.

I only wanted to get a few kilometers closer to Puerto Grosse, because I knew that the X728 would be even “better”.

The first test of this was the stretch along Lago Bayo. Previously, I had seen dead trees in a lake and a sign that the road would now become even more modest. The drive along Lago Bayo has passages that are more off-road than road. Narrow and rocky!

And when I passed the Sendero Glaciar Exploradores and the Mirador, I couldn't believe my eyes. The X728 became a dirt road on which you could drive at up to 80 km/h without any problems. I tested a few parking options and found my spot at Rio Verde.

The good thing was that I met Elisabeth and Carlheinz here. We got to know each other better because I got my Sprinter stuck on a pebble and sand bank. In search of the perfect view, I had tested this spot and found it to be good. My 3rd driver error on the South American tour

The sprinter also made it 5 m onto the bank before it sank. Without Elisabeth, Carlheinz and their Landi with winch and 4 sand plates, it would have taken much longer for me to get back on solid ground.

The next day they drove further north and I drove to Puerto Grosse. It was only supposed to be 25 minutes, but turned out to be 1.5 hours.

The X728 was perfect up to the 5-ton bridge at Rinconcito Pesca. The 2.50 m wide bridge was no problem, but the 10 km to Puerto Grosse was. I would say that I didn't drive faster than 20 km/h for the entire 10 km, the road was that bad. But I arrived in Puerto Grosse in the evening and had a quiet night.

With a small boat for 15 people with two 250 hp engines, we set off the next morning at 9:00. The trip to Laguna San Rafael should take about 2 hours. The Rio Exploradores flowed calmly into the Moraleda canal/fjord. It was only from here that there were waves and the trip became more turbulent. Later in the lagoon, the sea was pleasantly calm again.

The San Rafael Glacier is one of the most important outlet glaciers of the North Patagonian Ice Field and the closest tidewater glacier to the equator.

I was stunned as we got closer and closer. At first it was the different shades of blue of the icebergs we passed. Then the bluish color of the glacier with its over 4 km long and 70 m high glacier edge and finally the constant cracking of the ice, followed by the calving of the icebergs.

As a result of climate change, scientists estimated that the glacier has shrunk by 12km in the last 100 years and if nothing happens will disappear by 2030

Less than 300 m from the glacier, standing on top of the boat, I took pictures and when I missed the first major calving, I went into video mode and waited for the big chunk that would crash spectacularly into the lagoon with a huge crash.

The 3 hours flew by. I never got bored of watching the glacier. We also had lunch and a whiskey with glacier ice.

The return journey took a little longer. Firstly, we had to pick up passengers from another boat that had engine trouble. Secondly, the tides were fighting with the currents and the swell was heavy in the afternoon. But that couldn't ruin my day.