Just the tip of the Iceberg

This blog posting is from the mind of Andrea Hess

As this year unfolds before me I am constantly reminded of the beauty of this amazing planet. I love learning about cultures and meeting people from all over the world, but for me an equally important aspect is discovering the natural treasures that grace every country we’ve been too. While many of the places we’ve seen have been absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking, two particular experiences have given me a whole new appreciation of the vast diversity and undiscovered mysteries of our great mother: scuba diving in Thailand and ice trekking on Perito Moreno Glaciar in Argentina.

We have experienced such differing landscapes and earthly delights. In Holland we peddled bikes through the peaceful green pastures of Texel Island. In Croatia we rode Kiki, our beloved red-hot motor scooter, through rolling green vineyards, and hiked down rocky cliffs to pebble beaches framed by crystal water and glistening white sailboats. In Thailand we trekked through lush green jungle, searched for perfectly formed shells on deserted beaches and snorkled around monstrous karst formations. Laos showed us the most spectacular waterfall flowing through swimming holes of turqoise water. We explored caves with crystalized stalagmites and stalagtites framing a natural cathedral.

All of these sights were spectacular. Yet, I had seen some other version of them somewhere else in my life. My first ever scuba diving experience was the first time Mother Nature blew my mind on this trip. Abby, my college roomate who now lives in Japan, met us in Ko Ya Noi in Thailand for a week in January. She was set on going scuba diving and demanded that I come with her and that I would love it. Going scuba diving was on my endless (but fun) to do list for this trip and here was my chance to cross something off that list. With some trepidation, I signed up for the “discovery dive” and we set out for a day at sea. After brief instructions my lovely lady teacher and I dove into the ocean and swum hand-in-hand among the creatures.


We spent an amazing week hanging out with Abby in Thailand. Nice wetsuit there ladies!

I have snorkled many times before and always loved it - the feeling that I was peeking into a forbidden and unfamiliar world. Immediately I knew this was different. This time I wasn’t peering in their window, but inviting myself inside. The fish were welcoming hosts and I was in a daze. Never before had I seen so many fish, not a few, or even a few hundred, but thousands of fish of every color, size, shape. As we adjusted the pressure in our ears we sank futher and further towards the coral reef.


What a spot! Crystal blue waters, tons of coral and fish a plenty. Magic (not Johnson) was waiting underneath the surface.

The more we sank, the more I saw - eyes wide open, soaking it all in. Little “Nemo” clown fish were hiding out in the sea grass, baracudas over three feet long were swimming towards the surface, and what was that ahead… a leopard shark over 12 feet long resting on the ocean floor. We floated around a corner and suddenly, without warning multiple schools of fish swarmed around us. We were encircled by a rainbow of fish and couldn’t see more than three feet in front of us. If I could have dropped my jaw I would have - instead, I did the opposite and clenched my teeth around my mouthpiece.


Look at that smile!

The world seemed so much bigger and more complicated and I felt as if what I had experienced as a human, living on the land, was only a fraction of what there was on earth. I was one of my third grade students having an epiphany while learning multiplication and division for the first time, realizing there is so much more to math than addition and subtraction.

This same feeling occurred two days ago when Eric and I visited the Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina. I had never seen a glacier and neither had Eric. We thought, okay, we have to go see it, we’re here and that’s what you do in the Patagonia region. All the tour companies around town offered a trip to see the galcier and then you could pay for a separate boat ride that took you up close. Only one company offered “mini-trekking” where you actually got to hike up the glacier with crampons (special spiked shoe attachments) on your feet. We decided to splurge and signed up for the hike. “When else are you going to get a chance to climb up a glacier?” we said to each other. We expected a fun day, but neither of us expected to be so completely awed by what we saw and heard.


The sunlight broke through the rain clouds for a brief moment offering us a spectacular glow.

From the bus we caught our first glimpse of the glacier at the far end of Lago Rico. We got out in the rain at the viewpoint to take a photo. It looked like a large ice dam, but we couldn’t tell how impressive it was until we got really close. We descended to the viewing platforms in front of the glacier and while our guide was giving us an overview we heard the first crack. Then a second… third… louder… then, suddenly a HUGE chunk of ice from the edge of the galcier came crashing down into the lake and the echo reverberated between the mountains. We realized immediately the majesty and power we were witnessing.


Doesn´t it look like Superman´s Home up in Antarctica? I kept looking for Ms. Tessbocker.

We stood in awe, staring at the glaciar’s pointy peaks, cobalt blue tunnels and expansive ice field reaching for hundreds of miles onward to Chile and the Pacific Ocean. We eagerly listened and waited for another crack and another chunk of ice to come crashing down and were rewarded with many more throughout the day. We learned that the glacier is moving “at glacial speed”. Well, actually it’s moving forward at an unusually fast speed of 2-3 meters a year unlike other glaciers that move at 2-3 cm a year. The water is also warmed to 4-5 degrees centigrade (up from 2-3 degrees) because of global warming. These two factors make the glacier more active than most and therefore more exciting to watch.


Our guide, Martin, made Andy weak in the knees. She almost filled our memory card trying to capture what she deemed the ¨perfect Argentinian man¨

After lunch we were shuttled on a boat though icebergs to the other side of the glacier where our gorgeous guide, Martin, gave us an overview of glaciology and the Patagonian ice fields. We strapped crampons on our feet and after a quick lesson on how to walk on ice (always separate your feet, and take small deliberate steps-“up like a penguin, down like a monkey”) we set off. After a few minutes getting comfortable on the ice and balancing ourselves against the wind, we stopped and took in the views - incredible doesn’t even begin to describe it! I felt as if I was walking on the moon - the landscape was so unfamiliar that I was in shock.


All alone on the ice. Surreal, huh?

I couldn’t snap enough photos, and although some of them came out great, they cannot capture the feeling we had walking on the glacier. The endless undulating ice hills were dotted with shallow and deep crevices glowing blue. (The blue color is from the lack of oxygen in the ice not exposed to the air.) Our guide invited us to taste the purest water on earth and I bent down eagerly to cup the water in my hand. YUM! At the end of our journey we were surprised with treats - chocolate bon-bons and whiskey (on the rocks of course). DOUBLE YUM!


The happy couple posing with the Perito Moreno Glacier behind us. What a great day!

On the way back Martin reminded us that only the top third of the glacier is visible and the other two thirds are below the surface of the water. Consider also that the highest point of the glacier was over 200 meters above the lake.

I have been truly humbled and awed twice by Mother Nature this year. It has only made me hungry to learn and experience more. I have realized that there is so much more to see on this planet, and that I have literally only seen the tip of the iceberg.