Patagonia is one of the most extreme places on Earth. The mountains reach high, the climates drop low, the land stretches long, and the population is sparse. For these reasons, and many others, it is one of the mostly highly sought locations for outdoorsmen around the globe. And if you don’t believe us, maybe you’ll be more convinced when it hear it from the mouth of one of the most well-known adventurers in our current day and age – Bear Grylls.

Sometimes a good hostel recommendation can go a long way. Most travelers have experienced those scary-to-sleep-in sheets, those refuse-to-be-barefoot bathrooms, and those sleepless-night beds at some point on our travels. It’s part of the life of a backpacker, but hey, if you can avoid it, you may as well. So if you are heading to El Calafate at some point in your Argentina adventures, a few nights at Hostel del Libertador are the way to go.

If a year ago someone had told me that I would go trekking on a glacier, I would have laughed. First of all, where the heck would I ever go where I would be able to find a glacier? Secondly, what glacier could anyone possibly walk on? Aren’t all glaciers big blobs of ice, constantly splitting and crashing into the water (because of global warming)? Oh how naïve we can be. On my recent trip to El Calafate in southern Argentina, I did indeed trek on a glacier. For what amounted to about $10 dollars an hour, I was treated to one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

My visit to the Perito Moreno glacier a couple of hours away from El Calafate, Argentina, was an escape to a landscape of jagged white and blue ice. It stretched past the mountains in the distance and clouds clung to the far reaches of the glacier. A milky blue-gray lake lapped at one end of the glacier and transported thick pieces of ice away from it.

The heavy silence that hung over us like the clouds on Perito Moreno was only broken by camera clicks and the thunder-like sound whenever a piece of ice – no matter how small – broke off the glacier and collided with the lake water.

Any Patagonian traveler will tell you, Perito Moreno Glacier is the must see destination. Following the advice of fellow travelers I met along the road, I rolled into town on a cozy full cama bus at 2am (a bus with full beds). I was thrilled to see the Albergue and Hostal del Glaciar van patiently awaiting our arrival at the bus station, and after grabbing my human size backpack I jumped in the van and was escorted to the hostel. I was impressed with the hostel and would definitely recommend it – clean, well organized, and friendly. Within the first 15 minutes of arriving I had booked a tour to the National Glacier Park and was comfortably settled in my room.