So I guess my parents, and possibly friends, have been busy giving out the blog address, so welcome to all the new readers. Hopefully I can keep you relatively entertained with my entries. Just wanted to give you all a quick update on what I have been up to lately. And due to some recent confusion my parents recently experienced (well, they experienced the other persons confusion...they werent confused) when they received a package from me and the subject matter of this post, I just want to inform everyone that there is a country called Paraguay, it is not imaginary, and you can find it on a map if you look in the middle of South America. It is not Portugal. Never was. Never will be. All good? Good. =)
Asunción to Ybybuí - Pretty uneventful bus ride spent looking out the window at some pretty green and beautiful scenery. I arrived at the "terminal" in Ybycuí at about 10, which is really just a covered area with some benches, a hole in the wall (and I almost mean that literally) for an office for a bus company, and couple other holes where you can sit and wait for a bus and buy phone cards. I could rave on and on about Paraguayan hospitality, so I found it ironic that the most serious, unfriendly man of very few words that I have ever met in the world, also happened to run the bus terminal, and was my source of information for incoming and outgoing busses. Awesome.
Ybycuí - There is a city, and then about 12 miles away, a national park. When I arrived I had missed the bus to the park I was planning on taking, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. There is only one bus to the park per day, and the lonesome road to the park has about 3 people that travel on it per day, so getting back would have been a problem. I ended up hiring a taxi to get me there and back. Also, no one was really there when I finally ended up getting there, so it would have been a long, lonely night camping. I ended up checking into an hospedaje, paying $5 per night for a room, and then since it was all of 10:30 in the morning, went to look for something to do. I took a walk through "downtown" where locals sat out in front of their shops or houses drinking terere in groups (typical Paraguayan style) in the 100 degree heat. I came for the park attraction a few miles away, but that day, I was the attraction. Ever want to feel uncomfortable? Take a walk in rural Paraguay and see how many conversations stop and heads turn. The rest of the day passed slowly as I read my guidebook, but at the end I got to talk to a Mexican traveler and also share some terere with some traveling business men, so the day ended pretty good.
The park itself was pretty. All it really had was the ruins of an iron making factory destroyed in Paraguays war with the triple alliance and a couple of small waterfalls. The place was very peaceful, especially since no one else was there, and it was nice to stroll around the area and take a short hike to one of the falls. Good little get away from the chaos in Asuncion.
Ybycuí to Encarnación - From Ybycuí I ventured down south to Encarnación, transferring at the bus "terminal" in Carapegua. Apparently in Paraguay terminal can mean just about anything, and here it meant some bus stops whose signs were lost amongst the clutter and signage of local businesses and shops, and where the three major highways meet. Once on the crowded bus, I stood for half an hour, until finally getting a seat the rest of the way. All in all, it was 6 long hours on a bus without air and full of people. Sweet. But the countryside of Paraguay is pretty, almost always green except for the rare farm field that is a golden brown, which might be wheat. But I am not a farmer, so I cant be sure.
Encarnación and Trinidad - Checked into a little hotel run out of the house of the owner. His living room is one of the common rooms of the hotel, so it has a little homy feel I guess. Encarcion doesnt have a lot for the traveler, and I was there mainly to see the Jesuit ruins in nearby Trinidad. The ruins were pretty cool. There wasnt a lot of information posted and I didnt want a guide. But I walked around awhile under the sweltering sun (I dont think it ever gets below 85 here...ever) looking at the architecture and taking some pictures. I can now say I have visited the least visited UNESCO sight in the world. Check.
Encarnación to Montevideo - Oh boy, this was fun. Want to know how to make a 16 hour bus ride even more exciting? First, buy the bus ticket for an intermediate pick up point, not the point of origin. That way, you do not really know when the bus will arrive, but have more of a window...and in Latin America, windows involving time can be big. Furthermore, the bus only runs once a week...so if you miss it...well, just do not miss it. Next, misunderstand that the bus will be arriving at your location at 12:30. Really, it is leaving Asuncion at this time, and will be arriving 5 hours later where you are, which is the border crossing between Paraguay and Argentina. Having to check out of your hotel at 10:00 also helps. That way, you can arrive early at the border control in plenty of time to catch your 12:30 bus (which, as we all know now, arrives at 4:30). Finally, make sure it is raining, meaning there will be road delays, and now the window just got bigger. Yay for big windows.
So what does this break down to? I got to the border at 10:15 in the morning thinking my bus would be there around 12:30, but it really got there at 5:30. That is about 7 hours of sitting at a border control office without seats. More fun happens getting into Argentina, where there is about an hour long line. Then, finally, when you have got through all that, then, and only then, do you have the privelege of taking your 16 hour bus ride.
Montevideo, Uruguay - Ahhhhhhh, order. The chaos of Paraguay could not contrast more with this city. I loved Paraguay, but also love it here for completely different reasons. There are beatiful, wide-open plazas, great architectural buildings of modern and historical eras, and just an all around cool atmosphere. Plus, I have to wear a sweatshirt here. I dont know if you can understand how happy I am to do this. It is refreshinly chilly here. I have been spending my time with some friends I made on the bus ride here, all south americans, so they are pleasant and friendly, plus I get to practice some Spanish.
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So that is the quick (sort of) and dirty version of what I have been up to. I hope to write more later, but it has been hard to find time to use a computer. Hope all of you are doing great, and feel free to drop me an email anytime. Much love.
was fought over by the Spanish and Portuguese for a time because of its key location on the River. The place is pretty well preserved, but also a little done up in the tourist atmosphere. I have noticed there are some places that are tourist attractions because of their natural draw, interesting simply because they are interesting. Then there are the other places that usually started out this way, but due to early success, have now tried to make themselves all the more attractive by catering specifically to tourists. I personally don't like it, because rather than seeing the place for what it is, you get caught up in this whole other fabricated atmosphere that wouldn't have otherwise occurred if the tourists hadn't started showing up. Not to put this place down too much, it is a pretty cool place to pass through, but in a day you have seen all that is offered. lick to view pictures of Colonia de Sacramento.
A little touristy for my taste, but colorful buildings and tango dancers line the main part, and the stadium for the Boca Junior soccerteam is nearby. It is a little rough around the edges though, and kind of sketchy to walk to and from. I spent the day here with some Brazilians I met where I am staying, so it was a great day. Brazilians in general are very animated, fun loving people. I love the fact that they are unafraid to be themselves no matter what or where, and they are just fun to be around. It was also cool to brush up on some portuguese, and while I started to get back my listening skills, I spoke a lot more portañol than I did portuguese.
