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Published: October 7th 2012
Encarnacion
Beach on the reservoirDay 354 Saturday 29
th September
Breakfast at 6.45am as we are hoping to catch the 8.30am bus to Encarnacion but we have nothing booked. Checked out and got a taxi which was possibly the slowest taxi ever and the time was ticking away and we were nowhere near the terminal. Finally arrived at 8.20am and run upstairs as fast as we could with all our bags to buy tickets and tried to work out if there is a departure tax here, thankfully no so run out to the bus….we had the last seats. This bus is really nice and clean like the rest of Paraguay, so we were set for the journey and the bus left at 8.35am. Asuncion spreads out for ever and then we were into the countryside which is totally flat, it is so unusual after so long in the mountains to be on a straight flat road. The trip was very uneventful the type you hope for with stops to pick up and drop people off and one half hour lunch/toilet stop although there were two working toilet on board. The trip took longer than we thought and we did not arrive till 3.00pm
Trinidad Jesuit Mission
Door at the side of the altar we avoided all the taxi drivers who were pushing different hotels and decided to walk into town only a few blocks. We have no accommodation booked so we were on the lookout for something cheap because the only recommendation we have is expensive. We passed the Hotel Cristal and then decided to go back and were shown two rooms one a broom closet for $AUD 33.00 complete with stains on the bedspread that I do not want to know about and no window. The second room was slightly bigger with a window for $AUD 47.00 and because we have heard this town is expensive we took it and had to pay one night up front.
Next was hitting the town it is now late on a Saturday afternoon so we were ready for action and we got a big fat nothing everything in town was closed. We walked the whole centre of town and this is the most boring town I have been in but I guess we are not here for the town but the nearby Jesuit Missones. The only tourist information office we could see was closed and tomorrow being Sunday which is usually quieter we were
Salto Del Monday
Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink starting to worry about organising getting out there. We walked down to the water and saw the Hotel De La Costa which we had considered and decided to check the rooms and price I must have had a premonition to leave the other hotel. We were shown three rooms ending in a suite with a balcony overlooking the water and Posada in Argentina and it was offered to us for $AUD 100.00, I know we shouldn’t, but it is so nice. We both looked at each other and said yes for two nights starting tomorrow. Went back to the hotel for an hour before heading out again hoping at least some restaurants maybe opened and found a café nearby which was funky looking but had prices to match this town is way overpriced for what it is. The food was OK and the service was good but we sure paid for it, tomorrow we will buy supplies from the supermarket and eat dinner on our nice balcony.
Back at our lovely room with no bloody WiFi, the mustard toilet suite and dirty looking bin in the bathroom we watched some TV before turning in for bed. It is a
little chilly tonight so I grabbed one of the cleaner looking blankets from the cupboard and to my horror when I unfolded it there were suspicious brown smear marks all over it and that is all I will say. I can’t wait to get out of here it just gives me a bad feeling.
Day 355 Sunday 30
th September
Breakfast was OK and I just could not wait to get out of this dump and into our decadent room if only for two nights. We walked down to the new hotel dropped the bags off as we could not check in till 12.00 noon and the South Americans are sticklers for this rule even if the room is available. So we re-walked around the town again and picked up supplies at a supermarket for dinner and then checked in. We discovered that the power is out in the town till 5.00pm so nothing else to do but go back out walking, I think we know the centre back the front. Since dinner is light thought we would go back to a restaurant we saw and checked if they still could cook
Encarnacion
Break glass in case of emergency? and got the thumbs up so had a cheap and simple lunch. On the way back to the room we wandered down to the shore line where we discovered a sandy beach and so we rolled up our pants and went for a paddle. The whole time we were walking in the shallows we were thinking “we could be drinking this water tonight”. We had read that Paraguayan tap water was okay and so have been drinking it without dramas but watching people swimming in the reservoir made us think that maybe we shouldn’t be.
Haven’t splurged on an over priced room for a long time so we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the room and taking in the great view across the lake to Posada. It was sort of strange being in Encarnacion looking across at Posada when back in February we had been in Posada looking over to Encarnacion. Being Australian, borders always seem rather strange to us and in this town it was odder due to being on both sides at different times of the year with so many travelled miles in between. The two cities used to be only separated by a
Encarnacion
The Beach with Posada Argentina on the otherside river but a dam was built that inundated large parts of both cities and created a huge lake that now separates them. Our hotel was once in the middle of town but now has uninterrupted (except for power lines) view across the lake…….good planning or luck?
Our blackout persisted beyond 5 till 6 and the WiFi remained down for the rest of the night so I couldn’t call my parents as planned. We spent the time waiting for the power and then the internet to return by watching the sunset and view from our balcony whilst feasting on Salami, olives and cheese and knocking back some great Argentinian wine…life is tough.
Day 356 Monday 1
st October
Was woken at 6am by a howling wind and when we looked outside the sky had gone red. A huge red dust storm was blowing across the lake blotting out Posada completely and the wind was the strongest we have seen since Torres Del Paine, with trees out the front of the hotel just about horizontal. Black storm clouds rolled in over the top of the dust and before long it was pouring rain. Due to the
Encarnacion
View from our balcony at 5.30pm on Sunday noise we just opted to stay up and have breakfast and whilst eating we watched as 6 large cargo barges went careering down the lake out of control. Thankfully they didn’t hit anything or run aground but just went flying past and out of view and about 30 minutes later a tug went chasing after them.
Our plan today was to go out and visit the Jesuit missions but we weren’t about to head out the door till the weather eased. By 10 the rain had stopped and the wind abated so we went downstairs to reception where they organised for a taxi to take us out to the Jesuit missions of Trinidad and Jesus. As stated before, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of tourist infrastructure in place in Paraguay and because we hadn’t spotted any tour companies doing day trips out to the ruins we had to rely on getting a taxi. It cost 250 Guaranis ($54) for a taxi to take us out to the two missions and bring us home again. When we asked the guy at the hotel how long we had each site he told us as long as we liked, which
Encarnacion
View from our balcony at 7.40am on Monday morning as the dust storm approaches sounds good but gave us the feeling that there wouldn’t be a lot to keep our attention long. The cost of this taxi was a bit steep but we really wanted to see them and it was the main reason we had come to Paraguay so we had to do it.
Our taxi turned up and he took us on the 28 kilometre ride out to the Jesuit mission of Trinidad first. This mission was one of the last missions built and was laid out almost identically to the ones we had seen in Argentina. There was the large central plaza with the cathedral dominating one end and housing surrounding the other 3 sides. The grounds also had the ruins of another church, a college, workshops and cemetery, plus numerous other buildings. The Jesuits were expelled in 1776 and without their drive and determination the missions were slowly abandoned and allowed to decay and what is left today is a rather fascinating and sad set of ruins. Trinidad because it was one of the last is regarded as one of the largest but the ruins didn’t appear to be as vast as the ones we had seen in Argentina.
Encarncion
View at 7.40am as the storm hits and Posada disappears We only really needed an hour to walk the site and we were then back in the taxi who drove us the short distance to the Jesuit mission of Jesus. This was the very last mission built by the Jesuits and in fact was never completed. The church was only half built when they got the boot and if it had been finished would have been the largest church of all the missions. Other than a few house foundations and the huge incomplete church there is next to nothing else at this site. What there is of this church is really impressive and what makes it extra beautiful is having the grass growing through it. Again we only had about an hour on this site before heading back. We had heard that the Paraguayan Jesuit missions were the best in South America and can’t say that we would agree with that as we thought the Argentinian missions were far grander. What makes the Paraguayan missions worth visiting is the fact that you have the place almost entirely to yourself. We only came across one group of school kids, who were at a distance and didn’t hang around very long,
Encarncion
Barges on the loose in the storm but other than that saw no one else on the sites. The Argentinian ones however are generally overrun by tourists and large tour groups. Trinidad and Jesus are also very well maintained and are beautiful to wander around so we are glad we made the effort.
The taxi took us back to the hotel where we paid him and then we wandered off down to the bus terminal where we picked up our tickets out of town. All through town were the shredded branches and leaves from trees that had copped the full fury of the wind storm this morning…it was quite a mess. Because it was mid afternoon most of the shops were closed so it was a fairly boring window shop and so we just made our way back to our room. Gave Mum and Dad a call in the afternoon before heading out to find food. Encarnacion isn’t exactly a “foodie town” with the choice being either overpriced touristy joints all greasy local kebab/hamburger places. We wandered around for nearly an hour before settling for a local pizza/Mexican place. The one thing that we have found about Paraguay is that it has been really bloody difficult
Encarncion
Sunset falls on the last night communicating with the locals, our Spanglish draws complete blanks and we find it nearly impossible to understand them. The locals tend to talk very fast and/or mumble and we get the feeling that the local lingo is a mash up of Guarani and Spanish. Ordering dinner tonight was an exercise in exasperation and we had to resort to just pointing at the specials menu to get what we wanted. It was fairly obvious they don’t get many gringos in this neck of the woods and I am sure our waiter will not want to see another after us.
Day 357 Tuesday 2
nd October
Our bus today is at 9.55am so there was no rush and gave us time to slowly pack while taking in the view. Arrived at the bus station early so sat and watched the locals pass us by, as all bus stations it was rough around the edges. For the first time in Paraguay we saw children trying to flog stuff this is rampart in Argentina and I am sure there is more around here too it just we have not seen it. Our bus arrived and it was a smaller
Trinidad Jesuit Mission
Stonework in the houses bus but still pretty good we had two seats at the front again with no leg room and we were starting to curse the ticket seller but soon I would be prepared to kiss his feet. The bus started off three-quarters full but by the second stop it was packed and they were still piling on squeezing through the door so I was very lucky I was near the door and did not freak out. The trip was very slow with constant stops and by half way the bus crowd disappeared so by the time we reached Ciudad Del Este at 4.00pm there were only 4 of us left on the bus. Got our bags from the back storage only to discover Scott’s bag was wet at least it was not from the toilet as there was not one and for once it was not mine. Got a taxi to a street that had a few options in it and chose the Hotel Munich which has nice clean large rooms.
The town is a shopping mecca for the Brazilians as it has the cheapest electronics in South America but we just wanted to get our bearings and get an
early dinner. We walked and walked but there is not much to choose from we almost settled for some street food that consisted of meat only but decided to check with our hotel for options. They directed us to the hotel next door the Austria who have a good restaurant that is always packed probably because there is nowhere else. We got a good feed me with a huge salad for only $AUD2.50 and Scott with handmade Schnitzel.
Day 358 Wednesday 3
rd October
We woke up to pouring rain we had breakfast and the weather had not changed but this would not stop us. Today we have decided to see what the shopping hype is all about and I need some new T-Shirts and maybe a handbag, new high heel shoes, a watch you know a few necessities for travelling, well OK just the T-shirts. Although Scott says he could see me tottering along in high heels and with my backpack on. I did not have to worry about filling my bag with goodies. I will try and say this nicely, I have never seen so much crap in my life, it is worse
Trinidad Jesuit Mission
Shelley in the doorway of the Cathedral than Parklea markets. The handbags are cheap plastic and the shoes are the same I guess they are waterproof, but just plain ugly. There is not much clothing and it is the same ugly, I think I put that nicely. If you are after cameras, stereos, phones and other electronics you are in the right place but be careful and watch out for knock offs. There would have to be a billion mobile phones up for sale in this town and you do really wonder how all the stalls survive. Scott was looking to buy an MP3 player but nothing has prices shown so you need to find out a price and then haggle hard. As mentioned before we have had heaps of dramas communicating in Paraguay and haggling was just a useless exercise in futility. Most of the prices Scott got were dearer than what you can purchase Duty Free in Australia, so nothing really seemed worth buying. There are just endless stores selling the same, same and all very pushy but I guess you have to be with all the competition. After pushing through the crowds and enduring the rain we just gave up we had seen enough
and stopped for lunch and then retreated to our room while the rain continued. At least I finished the book I have been trying to read for weeks and just keep putting down.
We ventured out a 7.30pm for dinner at the Austria Hotel and it was really packed and the service was slow but we had nowhere to be so we did not mind.
Day 359 Thursday 4
th October
Today is dry so we are going to see the town’s other attraction which is Salto Del Monday an 80 metre high waterfall which is greatly overshadowed by Iguazu down the road in Brazil/Argentina. Note Foz in Brazil is only around 15 minutes from here so you would not come here just to see Salto Del Monday. There is no info how to get out there by public transport and the LP only talks about taxis so that is what we did. The waterfall is beautiful but the Paraguayans who are not into tourism only have a viewing platform on one side and this does not give the best view as from this angle you cannot see the full drop of the falls.
It is a shame because Paraguay used to have a set of waterfalls that rivalled Iguazu called Sete Quedas but they were consumed by the Itaipu Dam. You may ask why they did this but I guess it is called progress and the dam supplies 80-90 percent of Paraguay’s electricity and about 25% of Brazil’s. It is a hard argument to sell to people, you can either look at a beautiful waterfall in a part of the country most probably had never seen or sit in the dark. We were the only non-workers at the falls today I guess on weekends it would be a great picnic spot for locals. It always amazes me that waterfalls produces so most power and noise yet are so peaceful to watch.
In the afternoon we decided to give the shops another go with clear skies and clear minds, guess what? It did not HELP! There was nothing of interest for the average backpacker unless you can install a car stereo with the huge speakers into your backpacks and go BOOM BOOM down the road.
Paraguay why? Well it is pretty and if you have the time and money it is worth
a quick look. The Chaco region is meant to have great national parks with lots of wildlife but the prices of tours we found are very expensive so we missed out but with more planning and research we may have found better options. The main tourists we saw here were other South Americans and Germans not too many other backpackers, and we discovered that the Lonely Planet was right when they wrote that you had a better chance of spotting a puma in the wild than a backpacker on the streets of Paraguay. For dinner we found ourselves back at the Hotel Austria because basically we didn’t have much choice. As we left and came back to our hotel we said our hello to the hotel security guard who patrolled the driveway with his huge pump action shotgun. Haven’t witnessed or seen any evidence of crime in this town but boy do the security guards pack some armour. A simple shoe shop like payless shoes on the main drag has a guy out front with a shotgun Arnie would be proud of and 2 doors down has a bank with a guy with an assault rifle and pistol patrolling like
he is “The Terminator”. We sort of guessed that you would need to be pretty brave/stupid to be shop lifting in this town. Off to Brazil tomorrow but that adventure is for the next blog.
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Para-why, indeed!
You've done a great public service in giving us the best of Paraguay (great photos of the Jesuit ruins), so the rest of us backpackers don't need to go. Americans have to pay $180 US to enter, so I wasn't tempted. Also, good thing you didn't buy that MP3. I met someone who bought a laptop there which turned out to be only the shell--no computer guts inside. Glad you made of out alive!