The land "tour" I signed up for was even better than expected, since I have a deep-seated aversion to being herded around. It was a tour of one, i.e., accommodations, excursions and transportation in Patagonia were booked for me alone – no group in sight. It was booked online with Viator.com, which subcontracts with sayhueque.com which, in turn, subcontracts with local travel agencies. Say Hueque specializes in  "customized tours to independent travelers." All you have to do is show up at an appointed hour with the voucher covering that event. I could have done the trip on my own, despite the fact that I don't speak Spanish (actually did that in northern Argentina, Chile and Peru in 2010), but wanted to maximize my time and not have to fuss around looking for rooms and finding out bus schedules.

Catamarans took us close to the Upsala glacier wall as well as to Estancia Cristina, a ranch homesteaded in the early 1900s, now a part of the glacier park.