The hike to Laguna Esmerelda, Ushuaia.

I met Ellie at her hostel in the morning, walking the length of town from my hotel. I was leaving for Buenos Aires the next day and we decided to spend the day hiking to the Laguna Esmerelda before sharing one last meal together before we parted.

She’s chatting with a friend she had met who is taking a bus to the trailhead. We ask when it’s leaving and she tells us it’s soon. The driver appears and we ask if they can wait for a minute while Ellie gets ready. He has other people to pick up and cannot.

I had asked at the hotel for the contact info of someone who could take us to the trailhead, but we decided to Uber there in hopes that we’d get a faster ride. It turns out to be a bit of a mistake.

We drive west through the city until we reach two pillars that mark its western boundary. Police check outgoing traffic. There’s a small building just inside the city gates where two policewomen check IDs.

The Uber driver stops. She tells us she can’t go on, that only cabs and private cars can go; Ubers cannot. She cancels our trip and refunds our money and lets us out.

We’re confused and stop inside the building to ask the guards there what we might be able to do. Could we walk to the trail head? I suggest hitch-hiking. In the end, I text my contact and he tells us he’ll be there in about 15 minutes. We wait.

The sun has managed to punch a hole through the clouds and so I stand outside and let it warm me.

Ramon pulls up soon and we climb into his car. It’s still some 12-15km to the trailhead and as we drive past valleys and mountains I’m glad we didn’t try to walk it.

Ramon drops us off at a parking lot that marks the trailhead. A number of taxis have collected, waiting for people to finish. Private automobiles crowd the lot, their owners off on the hike themselves. Ramon tells us we can text him when we’re nearing the end and he’ll come back for us. We thank him and tell him we’ll see him later in the afternoon.

A sign in a corner of the parking lot points the way to the trail and we descend into the woods to start our hike.

It’s cool in the shade and muddy. It’d been raining and the path is wet. We pick our way gingerly through the mud, trying our best to keep our shoes clean and dry. Occasionally we have to balance ourselves on branches and logs that have been placed by previous hikers to help us ford some of the bigger pools of water.

On the other side of the woods we come towards a clearing. In the distance we can see a mountain capped with cloud. And as we emerge fully from the woods we’re awarded a beautiful view of the peak and clouds reflected in a pond that buts up against our path.

On the far side of the pond we end up in a slightly more forested area. We cross a small stream and then emerge once again into a clearing, on the far side of which is a wooden bridge that crosses the marsh.

On the other side of the walkway we head once again into a forested area. A bright blue river fed by glacial waters runs alongside the path, the sound of its rushing accompany us as we walk.

We’re back in the woods and climbing up and over a hill. We leave the sounds of the river behind as we head further away from the roads and civilization. We cross another wooden bridge and start to catch sight of our destination, a ring of snow-dotted mountains not so far in the distance.

Crossing another small ridge we find ourselves in a rocky plain. Glacial melt feeds streams that run alongside the path and we step lightly where the water overruns its banks. We’re close, the lake blocked by a small hill we must climb.

Just over the hill we’re rewarded with views of the lagoon and its emerald waters. Mountains rise up behind it, shielding it from a storm that appears to be threatening just beyond and offering a dramatic backdrop for the calm waters.

We decide to try circumambulating the lagoon and set off along the northern edge. Two men are stripped down and we try to decipher whether they’ve already gone for a dip or are planning to.

Along the way we run into Ellie’s hostel friend. She’s found a trekking partner from France and we catch up briefly as they’re heading back. They had thought to try to continue on to a glacier further ahead, but the afternoon calls for rain and they want to be back before the storms start.

We walk a little futher on before deciding to turn back ourselves. None of us want to be caught out in the rain again.

We retrace our steps, admiring the landscape that had been behind us on the way to the lagoon. It’s every bit as beautiful as what we had seen on the way there.

Back at the parking lot we text Ramon. He tells us he’ll be there as soon as he can. As we wait we watch people come and go. I’m surprised at how late some people are deciding to start their hike. The weather looks like it’ll hold and I quietly wish them luck on their journeys.

We hadn’t brought lunch with us and I’m looking forward to heading back to town for a snack and then dinner. We’ve decided to meet at Augusto. It’s the first place I ate when I arrived in Ushuaia, and it’ll be the last before I leave. I love the way it bookends my trip and I look forward to trying their risotto. I also look forward to my eventual return to Ushuaia. I’ve really come to love this place at the end of the world, and have told myself I’ll be back. 🇦🇷