The Missions of Paraguay or 90.1 Jesus FM

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My overnight bus ride from Asuncion passed uneventfully. After signing off the internet cafe last night I wandered around the station to grab a bite before hopping on the bus. There were several places selling empanadas (food of the gods for long bus trips in south america). I bought two, ate them, then went back and bought two more :D. yummy stuff. The bus finally showed up, a big double decker deal with almost lie flat seats. The bus filled up pretty quickly and I slept most of the 5 hr trip to Encarnacion, we arrived just before 6 AM. It was freezing cold this morning and I wanted to get a quick start onto the Jesuit ruins which was the reason for my trip to Encarnacion.

There are a dozen or so Jesuit missions in Argentina and Paraguay, the ones in Paraguay are World Heritage status. The Jesuits built many missions in this area to convert the natives before getting kicked out in the 1700s. The reason they were kicked out is the Jesuits had the odd idea that actually being nice to the natives and supporting freedom for them might be better than trying to convert them by force or slavery. The colonist-conquistadores would have none of this, so out went the Jesuits.

I hopped on the first bus leaving at 6AM, at 5000PYG (under $1) it was quite cheap. There were not many people at first but the bus kept picking up people as we went along and by the time we left town the bus was full. It was quite chilly this morning! We soon left the town and the view out of the window could have been Ohio or North Carolina, gently rolling hills dotted with farms and nice houses. Paraguay seems very clean and people seem to take pride in the country, everywhere you see people sweeping and working. You wouldn´t necessarily know it´s the 2nd poorest in S. America. Even the secondary roads are paved with broken stone, not dirt. And the few ones that are dirt they were in the process of paving, this seemed to be a hugely work-intensive effort as the paving stones had to be broken up and were laid out in rows. As we were going along, suddenly there was a loud bang from the back of the bus, the bus started shaking violently and a burning smell arose as the driver pulled over. People from the back of the bus started jumping towards the front, I wisely decided to get off the bus as well! Everyone was milling around outside when another bus passed by and some of the passengers flagged it down. Our conductor was telling people to stay, but many got on the new bus, myself included. It was standing room only, but it was very close to the Trinidad ruins by this time.

The bus driver stopped at the turnoff to the ruins and I walked the half mile or so to the ruins. It was a gorgeous sunny day but still quite chilly. The ruins were supposed to open at 7 AM but they don´t get many tourists visiting, I arrived at 7:30 to find the gates locked. They must have seen me coming though as the guard arrived just a few minutes later. 5000 Guaranis (under $1) admission fee, they can´t be making much off that! The ruins were huge, spread out over several buildings, the main church and college and the houses where the natives lived. There were some 'alarm' birds flying around, not sure what they were, but they were noisy! The dirt here is a dark red and it really contrasts with the bright green grass and blue sky. There are palm trees growing around the ruins which gives it an odd tropical feel. There are many elaborate carvings still in the ruins, mostly lots of rose symbols and carved monks and figurines. I wandered around for about an hour before stopping at the restaurant just outside the ruins where I had a quick breakfast. There were two backpacker girls sleeping in a tent nearby, the only tourists I had seen, but didn´t get a chance to talk with them.

I next headed off to the Jesuit ruins at Jesus. This involved walking back to the main road and up to the next intersection and waiting for another bus. Luckily one was due in less the half an hour, indeed showed up after about 15 minutes. This fare was 4000PYG, and it was just me and a mother and daughter in the back of the bus, looking at me and giggling. Silly foreigners. It was only 12km to the ruins, while walkable the bus fare was like 80 cents, so taking the bus was a no brainer. I arrived at the Jesus ruins about 10:00. On the way in, we passed the local FM station, 90.1 Jesus FM! This seemed like a sleepy little town. There were a few other (German) tourists here on a private tour by the time I arrived. Jesus wasn´t as large as Trinidad had been, but the main church was a bit more impressive. The ruins were ontop of a hill with a great view out over the countryside. It only took about a half hour to see everything without a guide. The carvings here weren´t as elaborate, possibly due to construction still in progress when the Jesuits were kicked out. The bus back to Trinidad wasn´t leaving until 11, so I walked into town a bit and just watched life go by. Kids were coming home from school, a farmer was digging a field, just very peaceful. The bus came by eventually and we headed back to the intersection at Trinidad. I had to wait probably 30 minutes for the next bus to Encarnacion, and there was quite a crowd gathered by the time the bus came by. I had to stand most of the way before enough people got off to allow me to sit.

After arriving back in Encarnacion I had a quick lunch of grilled meat and snausage at the bus station, it was only 1:00 and my bus to Asuncion doesn´t leave until 6! The bus company wouldn´t refund my ticket (there are other companies leaving before then and I debated taking an earlier bus) so I decided to go wander around town. Paraguay is an odd mix, with Arabs, Germans, eastern European and natives all combined. It´s a good mix, that makes most of the women easy on the eyes, although not much as in Argentina.. 😊 There is a Japanese consulate here and a Ukranian church. I wandered around town awhile longer before heading back towards the bus station to catch the bus back to Asuncion. Most of the eateries near the terminal were closed by now (5:30 PM) but I ate at the Andes Cafe where I had a huge bowl of yakisoba for $1.50. The restaurant owner was a very old Japanese man, I was afraid he wouldn't make it out of the kitchen.

After boarding the bus, a cute girl sat down next to me. We started talking awhile later after I learned she knew some English. She was a Paraguayan of German descent, heading back to work in Asuncion after visiting her family nearby. She spoke German, Spanish and a little English. My Spanish was still rusty at this point, but as we talked I kept improving. I joked that it took me a few days to hear/speak Spanish properly, and by the time I had to go home I would finally understand everything! Miriam had been drinking mate throughout the trip and she shared some with me. Surprisingly, this was the first time I'd tried mate, it was very refreshing and the mint made my lips numb! When we finally arrived into Asuncion she found that her bags had gone missing, including her insulin (she was diabetic)! We weren't sure what had happened to her bag as we were one of the first people off the bus.. someone must have snatched it while we were back in Encarnacion. We said goodbye and I headed towards the first hotel nearby to crash, it was almost 11:30 PM and my flight back to Buenos Aires was early the next morning. The Yasr hotel was super basic, at 40,000 ($7.50) and it wasn't worth a penny more. Very thin walls and the noise from the street was still loud even though the room was towards the back. I finally wrapped my head in a towel to drown the noise and was able to sleep through the night.


Fund breakdown (all in Guaranis, 5400:1$)
Taxi airport to Asuncion center, 80,000
Taxi center to bus station; 50,000
Bus ticket (round trip to Encarnacion): 130,000
Taxi bus station to center: 40,000
Taxi center to bus station: 40,000
Empanada (each): 2,500
Fanta: 3,500
Bus Encarnacion to Trinidad: 5,000
Breakfast (egg, coffee, bread): 20,000
Trinidad entrace fee: 5,000
Bus Trinidad to Jesus: 4,000
Jesus entrace fee: 5,000
Bus Jesus to Trinidad: 4,000
Bus Trinidad to Encarnacion: 5,000
Lunch: (Grilled meat, salad) 8,000
Dinner: (Bowl of Yakisoba) 7,000
Hotel Yasr: 40,000

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Photos

Broken down Bus
Milling about after the bus went boom