An ice place to be

We are hunkered down in a valley in the ice - white and blue are the only colours in this otherworldly scene. The overcast sky blankets the black mountains beyond and blends into the frozen surface, making it difficult to judge where one ends and the other begins. There is a loneliness about this cold, surreal space, something that makes life seem insubstantial.

This is what a polar bear must feel like, I think to myself. Then I remember the only predators in this part of the world are cougars and grey foxes that sometimes stray onto the ice in the hope of finding something lost and weak to prey upon. When one of the trekking guides hands me a cup of hot tea and a sandwich, I feel relieved and thankful for the comforts of the civilised world I have just left behind.

I am somewhere along the 250-square-kilometre course of the Moreno glacier in southern Argentina. The 30km trail of ice is one of almost 50 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world's third-largest reserve of fresh water. It is also one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen.

My group of four guides and 15 travellers - mainly Argentines and Chileans but also a couple of young Australians and three Spaniards - have been trekking on the ice for about three hours. The surface is schizophrenic, changing suddenly from jagged peaks to soft, curving valleys, and we have to navigate dangerous crevasses and bright blue streams. We are all on the "Big Ice" trekking tour run by the Hielo & Aventura adventure travel company - an all-day trip that includes five hours of walking on the ice. My travel companion Tom and I had signed up for the trip through our hostel in nearby El Calafate, the charming town of wooden shops and cosy restaurants that serves as a tourist base for trips to the glacier and other parts of Patagonia.

We had arrived in El Calafate, named after the bush with yellow flowers and dark blue berries that is common in Patagonia, the day before in one of Argentina's luxury buses. The vastness of the country means journeys between tourist sites or major towns often stretch for many hours, and the transport system caters to this by making the trip as comfortable as possible. On this journey, as we reclined in our black leather seats, one of the attendants hosted a game of bingo, with a bottle of local shiraz to be won. Our basic Spanish left us a little slow and, by the time I called out "bingo", another passenger had beaten me to the prize.

We reached the town by mid-morning and checked into the America del Sur hostel. Attractive with its wood-panelled and beamed ceiling, and cosy with its warm shared kitchen and rustic dining room, the hostel has pleasant double rooms with en suite for those wanting a little more comfort and privacy, or dorm rooms for those on a budget. We had left booking the room to the last minute and so shared with two young women, including an American travelling the southern continent for two months by herself.