Bolivia says goodbye to part of an 18,000-year-old glacier

Saying goodbye isn't always sad, as is the case with two large pieces of ice taken from a glacier on Illimani, the second tallest mountain in Bolivia, which will be taken to Europe to preserve and decipher the 18,000 years of history frozen inside them.


These "ice witnesses" were extracted by the Ice Memory team from the ice-capped mountain near La Paz, whose peak stands 6,432 meters (21,089 feet) above sea level.

They will be taken at the end of the month to France, and then in a few years to be preserved in Antarctica, "the best freezer in the world," as it is called by the leader of this scientific expedition, Patrick Ginot.
   EFE/EPA