Today we hiked in the Patagonia Andes, to Emerald Lagoon. We started in the valley, and hiked through a peat bog. Luckily the tour operator had provided rubber boots, for at times we sank deep into the bog. I think that the bog was trying to steal our rubber boots as sometimes it would not let them go! Teamwork was the key to getting all the students through the bog, as we helped pull stuck students from the mud, and warned others when someone found a deep hole.

We passed several beaver dams. The beaver was an introduced species, brought from Canada to try and create a fur trade, but was a failed experience. However, the beaver’s thrived and have a growing population here in Argentina. The hike took us through a Southern Beech forest before we reached the moraine.

Accompanying our hike was professor Dr. Luke Copland, a glaciologist who provided interpretive commentary on the formation of the mountain range and facts about the glacier we viewed, the debris field and the moraine left behind when the glacier retreated. The contrast of the jagged mountains, the green glacial lake, and the white glacier was amazing.

Tomorrow we set sail for the Antarctic. Anticipation is running high. Can’t wait to get to the bottom of the world, and step on the ice covered continent.