It was again bright and sunny when we woke up. It was a short drive to the parking lot where we started a hike of 5 Km to Lago Esmeralda. The first part was easy, walking through a forest first and later through a valley. Then the trail got narrower as we started to go up hill.
At several places we had to walk over makeshift boardwalks that were placed in case the paths got too dangerous after rainy periods. The most difficult stretch we had to cross was when we had to walk on peat soil. Once that obstacle was behind us it was a more relaxing hike uphill to the lake where saw the snowy mountain’s reflection in the water. We took a break at the water’s edge, ate snack and explored the area for a while and then started our way back down. That went a lot faster than on the way up, of course.
Back in town we dropped everything off at the apartment, got the rental car filled up and drove to the airport to return it. We took taxi back to town even though it was only 3.5 Km to get there.