Bahia Exploradores!

On something of a lark, I decided to make a detour from the not so beaten track of the Carreterra Austral and head west, to a place called Bahia Exploradores. The map showed a road in construction heading towards the sea, and the Campo de Hielo Norte, and Laguna San Rafael. I decided to give it a try and see what I could see. I feel that I was rewarded mightily for my curiousity.
Along the rainy and cloudy route I was given great views of glaciers, waterfalls, and forest. For whatever reason, I was keeping my eyes out for a horn of a cow. Ever since Futaleufu, where I drank mate from a horn, I had wanted my own. My quest was answered when I spotted a carcass by the roadside. Feeling very man versus wild, I used a stick to drag the skull out of a bog. It´s brains were leaking out of it´s eye socket and it stank something fierce, but before I knew exactly what was happening, there was a horn in my hand. I washed it thoroughly in another bog across the road, wrapped it in a plastic bag and attached it to my heap of goods on top of my backpack. I had got it.
I rode on towards the west, charged by this experience. I continued to admire the glaciers and mountains, and even the rain that was beginning to fall harder. After 52km, I came across a small cabin that served as a center for glacier viewing and trekking. I asked where the road led, what I could see from the end, and where I could camp for the night. I pressed on another ten kilometers to the end of the road, and then headed back to the Sendero Interpretivo, where after drinking mate and walking up to see the glacier (this is where I dropped my camera, and could not longer see the screen. Pictures from here on are taken blind), I was invited to stay the night inside. Mauricio, Tabatha and another young guy whose name I forget served me bread; Tabatha and I walked to the river to fetch a chunk of ice that had floated from the glacier. Along with two other Chilean travelers, we drank rum with ice from the glacier and cooked dinner. It was great company.
The next day I walked on the glacier. Yep, I walked on the glacier, Ventisquero Exploradores. It was incredible. They outfitted me with crampons, gaiters and a small backpack, and a group of six of us went hiking for six hours or so. It took about an hour and a half to reach the clean, white part of the ice where the amazing blue and turquoise caverns and crevasses are. I was given great latitude to peer into these cascades of ice-water, drop rocks into deep holes in the ice, try my hand at climbing with axes. It was a great experience.
The ice in general was much dirtier than I imagined, as the rocks tend to rise to the top and the ice goes to the bottom. There were many incredible rocks, ones that seemed to be fused together out of several different ones by the immense pressures of so much ice. I felt very fortunate for this experience.
I was a bit worried about getting back to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, as I wanted badly to get back this same day. After many hours hiking I was hungry, and only had pasta for dinner. I stuck out my thumb, and after twenty minutes the first pickup truck that came by took me 52km back to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, where I camped for free by the lakeside and went to eat dinner at the nearest restaurant. Yeah! I was back.