Sailing, Ice & Flavors: A Taste of Patagonia
Contributed By: Verónica Larraburu
Welcome to El Calafate, one of the most extraordinary corners of Patagonia, where immense glaciers, turquoise waters and rugged Andean landscapes come together. Home to the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier and Los Glaciares National Park, this is a place where nature takes center stage — and one of my favorite ways to experience it is from the water.
Sailing Through Los Glaciares National Park
Sailing across Lake Argentino, surrounded by towering mountains, ancient glaciers and icebergs drifting through the water, is an experience that never feels quite real.
A Personal Journey on the Water
What I particularly love about this navigation is how personal it becomes. You can meet the captain, learn about the fascinating world of Patagonia’s glaciers, and even hold a genuine piece of ancient glacial ice — collected from the lake after breaking away from one of the glaciers.
Patagonian Flavors on Board
And then there is lunch.
Enjoying a Patagonian meal paired with Argentine wines while navigating through this extraordinary landscape is an experience I find difficult to compare with anything else. As the boat moves deeper into Los Glaciares National Park, enormous walls of ice emerge against the mountains, while icebergs of different shapes and sizes surround the boat.
Step Outside and Take It All In
I always encourage you to step outside onto the deck and simply take it all in. Let the Patagonian wind play with your hair, feel the crisp air on your face and give yourself a moment to simply be there. The incredible shades of blue in the ice, the silence broken only by the sound of the water, and the occasional crack of a glacier in the distance make you feel wonderfully small — and incredibly lucky to be there.
For me, this is what travel is about: not simply visiting Patagonia or seeing the Perito Moreno Glacier, but allowing a place to make you feel something.
And perhaps that is the magic of Patagonia: you don’t just remember what you saw — you remember how it made you feel.
