Week 34 - Paraguay

Itaipu Dam, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

I think this is Iguazu Falls, but can´t say for sure.. :D

Pool Time!

Who is hungry for dinner?

Hola chicos!

So Paraguay is not the vast land of travel opportunities, but it is certainly worth a week or two to see the place! We have had a great time in Paraguay and its been a bit of adventure and fun. The place has been very easy to travel, but there is not a hostel scene, so its not common to meet backpackers.

Paraguay has quite a few European influences, from people who escaped persecution and also persecutors who had escaped facing their crimes. Many Russians have settled here from the Soviet time and you will see quite a few Orthodox churches with Russian words on the outside. From what I´ve read, Paraguay was also a haven for Nazis as well, but that wouldn´t be so obvious. However there are a lot of blue eyed and blond haired German looking people, but I´m sure its just a recessive gene that the Indigenous Paraguayans carry :D One other interesting part of Paraguay is that their traditional music is Polka!

So where have we been this week; Encarnacion > Ciudad del Este > San Bernardino > Asuncion

Sunday - Travelling to Ciudad del Este: The buses in Paraguay are amazing. They are not always super comfy like in Argentina, but they are VERY frequent. I think only one time thus far we have waited for a bus and it was 20 minutes. We are usually hopping on long distance buses as we go. As we caught the bus with no food that day (being 1pm) we were hungry. Paraguay is fantastic for quick eats. I don´t mean burgers and fries like back home. Ladies come on the bus selling fresh cheese bread. When the bus stops you can run in a shop and get grilled meats - beef, chicken, sausage, and also the delicious empanadas. You certainly won´t go hungry in Paraguay and the food is very cheap as well.

Monday - A tale: To start the day, Marina and Dan went to see the world´s second largest dam, the Itaipu dam. The thing is so massive that it produces 80% of Paraguay´s power demand and 25% of Brazil's! It was a pretty cool sight, especially as the water was flowing through! Now let me tell you a tale, which cannot be told in the first person for legal reasons. Lets call the characters Darina and Man, or to simplify - Mandarina. Mandarina was required to have a Paraguayan visa, unfortunately Mandarina only had a single entry visa already stamped thus unable to leave and come back. Since Iguazu Falls (one of the world´s premier waterfalls was only a few miles away in Brazil) Mandarina was sad. Then using the melon, Mandarina realised that crossing boarders in South America is as chaotic as a Texas rodeo. This was a big scary decision, but finally Mandarina built up the courage to cross the boarders and successfully passed the Paraguayan and Brazilian check points. The Waterfalls were phenomenal and brought Mandarina great joy! Upon returning to the boarder crossing a great rain poured down on Mandarina creating further anxiety by delaying the return. As Mandarina tried to cross the boarder, the first of the two crossings proved impossible due to a certain vigilance conveyed by the boarder staff. Mandarina successfully backtracked without delay and was not questioned by the guards. Mandarina walked up the street a ways and boarded a shared taxi. This taxi did not arise any suspicions and swiftly drove Mandarina back into Paraguay w/o any legal ramifications. Mandarina smiled with joy and thought.... NEVER AGAIN!

Tuesday - Poolside BBQ: We took the 8am bus to San Ber (as Paraguayans call it) and jumped off our bus in the middle of nowhere and within 5 seconds our connecting bus was there. We crammed into the packed bus with a chaotic driver with our big backpacks on our shoulders. Within 10 minutes we were there. San Ber is the typical weekend destinations for people from Asuncion. The main draw is the huge lake and many relaxing activities. We checked into one of the two hotels in town. As its a bit late in the summer, no one was in San Ber and we virtually had the hotel to ourselves. For $35 we were given a suite, which was bigger than most London apartments, lake view balcony, and most importantly access to the pool and BBQ below. Needing my BBQ fix, that is for cooking, after seeing everyone else BBQing all the time, we went to the store to get supplies, with a bottle of wine, beer and a few steaks we were livin!!

Wednesday & Thursday: With a chauffeured ride to our hotel in Asuncion from a nice manager at our hotel in San Ber and once we settled in were sightseeing. Based on our time, the sights are limited in Asuncion, but its a nice enough place for a night or two.

What`s in store for us next, well, chaos, major and utter chaos! Its called Carnival, but this time its the real thing in Rio de Janeiro! We fly there today and spend 5 nights trying not to have party overload and then fly to Florianopolis to relax, but will probably be further carnage!

Hasta Luego,

Dan and Marina