Asados on the border

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Cuidad del Este - 12th to the 15th of June 2009

Cuidad del Este is a strange place, coming to terms with a strange past - it was previously named after a Paraguayan dictator and has a history of black market activities. It's full of electronic shops and Asian food, casinos and market stalls. It also borders Brazil and Argentina.

It was dark when the bus arrived in Cuidad del Este so we got ourselves a taxi to a place recommended by the Lonely Planet. It was full however, as were the next five places the taxi driver took us too. He finally found the Hotel San Rafael for us. It's at the lower end of Cuidad del Este prices but most definitely at the top of ours at nearly $30 per night. Our room wasn't amazing though we did have an ensuite and TV and beggars can't be choosers. South America and its often relaxed pace of life has made us lazy so we ordered in pizza and settled down for the night, this time without AXN.

The next morning, after a good breakfast, it was checking-out time. We planned on camping in a parkland area so we left our bags in the hotel and luckily convinced the man at reception that we would pay when we returned the next day. We tried to transfer some cash to each other but Halifax were being idiots about our bank accounts and wanted to ring us. Richard's phone had no credit and I wasn't able to ring them or my family from the phones in Cuidad so the next hour was spent unsuccessfully trying to get some cash. With little or no cash to our names, we bought some water, 20 bananas ($1 for 20 bananas!) and five loaves of bread and set off for Itapu Dam using the local bus system.

We arrived there too late for a tour of the dam but the very helpful lady at the desk organised permission for us to camp in Tati Yupi, a parkland that the dam management had to build as a compensation for destroying animal habitats. There is no transport between the dam and the park, except private taxis (which we couldn't afford) but our sad faces resulted in the lady arranging for one of the rangers to bring us there for free.

The park itself is lovely, very well organised and best of all free. Our visit coincided with a scout visit and I recon every scout in Paraguay was there or at least it sounded like that. The guys in charge of the park were really nice and even apologetic for the noise. Not many Western tourist go to the park so we very much a novelty and the rangers were very helpful. We were giving a site, well away from all the noise, that looked out on the lake. After setting up our tent, we wandered around the park, petting down the horses and admiring the views, until it got dark and then returned to the tent for banana sandwich after banana sandwich.

The next morning, we were up relatively early and went for a ride in a paddock on a large white horse. We had hoped to make the tour of the dam at 10.30am but we couldn't get any transport. Luckily, they did offer to bring us the whole way to the Cuidad del Este terminal at mid-day (for free) and we gladly took up there offer. Although the vehicle we went in was very new and shiny, I still got car sickness. Before he even stopped the car at the terminal, I was opening the door and running across the road to get sick. Yuck.

Once recovered, we got a local bus back into town and went in search of food was turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find. Cuidad del Este was deserted. There was about five people on the streets and no restaurants or shops open. And I was starving. Bananas only suffice for so long, you know? We went back to the San Rafeal and checked back in, even though we still had no cash. This room was much better and the guy on reception recommended one of only two restaurants in the town that was open.

It was down by the lake and we arrived to see that they accepted mastercard. Great news. The restaurant was called Buffolo de Oro and I can´t recommend it enough. It really did provided one of the best meals of our lives! We were handed plates which we piled our high with various salads, olives, cheese and eggs from the buffet. We didn't even have room for the hot food on the other side. We began eating our salad and we quickly approached by waiters with various cuts of beef, lamb and sausages - all cooked on asados (spit roasts). There was literally an unending supply of meat, all beautifully cooked. Yum. We were confused about pricing but we were told everything was included in the price (except drinks) and it was all-you-can-eat. And eat we did. I even ventured to the hot food and got some lasagna but the asado meats were the best. Dinner was followed by slices of about ten cakes each and ice-cream. Amazing and $10 each for everything, including tip!

After playing on the swings by the lake, Richard and I went back to the hotel for the evening. The next morning, after another good breakfast, we checked out and left our bags again. Luckily Dad had transferred cash to my account so we were able to pay. After a long chat with the man on reception, we made our way by local bus to Itaipu Dam again for the tour. The dam, a joint project between Brazil and Paraguay, is the longest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world and it is second only to the Three Gorges Dam in generating capacity. It was an interesting tour (though full of PR) and we even went under and over the dam to the Brazilian side for a few minutes. That evening after bad chinese food, we had another chat with the man on reception (where he told us we were on of the few Western tourists that had ever stayed in the hotel) and then took a local bus to Puerto de Iguassu in Argentina, our third country in one day! Both of us really wanted another asado dinner though.

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