On Family Vacations, and some other stuff

I Pay to See IceMy travels in Argentina have taken me from waterfalls to vineyards to mountainsides to metropolitan sprawls and back again, but until this week I had never made to the far south, the land of Patagonia. My Dad was coming to visit me so I wanted to take a trip that enabled us to see a unique part of the World while simultaneously escaping the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. Of course like any family adventure the trip began on a stressful screamed filled morning. We woke up late because my dad doesn´t know how to set an alarm on his brand new iphone, advanced technology just isn't meant for some folks. Everything would have been fine but unfortunately in my hazy morning mind frame I told the taxi driver to take us to the wrong airport, an unfortunate mistake that cost us hours in the airport, fees for a flight change and an ear full from my dad. As I waited in the airport trying to ignore criticisms from my father I forgot just how wonderful family vacations can be. No one can stress you out worse than your parents and I was beginning to learn that lesson all over again.

Finally we made it to El Calafate, a charming mountain like town on lake Argentina with beautiful Hotels, interesting artisan shops and all around relaxed vibe. We checked into our hotel, which had a wonderful view of the lake and mountainside and bar that we would come to know well in the following days. But the real adventure began on our second day when we traveled to the Perito Moreno glacier about 65km outside of the city. Our insanely risky driver whisked us towards the glacier at alarming speeds sending our guide falling into random European tourists and spilling more than one Gourd full of mate. Finally we entered the parque nacional los glacieres and hopped outside the death Mobile into a World of soaring mountain Peaks, crystal clear Waters and humongous condors. We stopped and took a couple Pictures while I made fun of my pops for not having a digital camera. He replied that he would have bought one if it weren't for my NYU tuition. Dad 1, Matt 0. Than we hopped back in the coche and raced towards the main attraction, the Perito Moreno Glacier. Let me begin by saying that I was in absolute awe of the glacier. It´s bigger than Buenos Aires and stands 60 meters above the water where it hurls giant chunks of ice that crash with a thunderous sound into the depths below. My dad and I stood their for hours ignoring the guide, sipping some vino and just basking in the wondrous place that we were lucky enough to have come to. In coming generations as the World becomes hotter and more polluted places like perito moreno will cease to exist. The melting of glaciers will cause the Waters to rise and places like NYC, Amsterdam and San Francisco will be inundated by water. Yet lucky for me these Worldwide catastrophes haven´t occurred, they are only in the process of coming to fruition. As I sat in front of the glacier my mind filled with thoughts of the future of our natural environment I Couldn't help but think about what was to come next. Sure I was there seeing the glacier but would my kids orgrand kids be able to? Trying to escape my labyrinth of negativity and chatted it up with my Dad, talking about where he was when he was 21 and how I Could finagle myself into getting a polish passport because he was born there. My mind quickly floated away from feelings of cultural anxiety to feelings of joy, I had finally come to enjoy my family vacation.