Blogs from Paraguay, South America - page 7

Hello, Ok so I have been very lazy and not entered a blog post yet even though I have been here a month now. And yes, that means I have forgotten loads and such but oh well.... Ok so first of all I've gotta explain my mix-up with Para La Tierra (PLT). So I emailed Karina (the girl who set it up) the day before I left saying that I was leaving and that I'd see her soon... The she replied saying that I had said I was leaving on April 12th, not March 12th.... I don't know how the hell I managed that!! I was always emailing her in work when I wasn't paying attention so... Aw I'm silly! But yeah I freaked out a bit because I didn't know if they'd have space for ... read more

And so we ventured off to a land less well travelled. Taking the bus from Puerto Iguazu to Ciudad del Este via, briefly, Brasil and the Amistad (friendship) bridge. The bus driver failed to stop at immigration (think we were the only foreigners on the bus) so we had a trek back to the border to get our entry stamps, the immigration officer had the personality of a breeze block and is our current leader of our most miserable person in South America award. Ciudad del Este is just one big supermarket, we're not saying it's a dump or anything, far from it, but it's absolutley manic, in your face wall to wall shops. You name it you can buy it cheap here, from knock off footy shirts to piglets. Hotel was a pleasant surprise though ... read more

Hello all! This time an update from Encarnacion, Paraguay (Now in Buenos Aires, Argentina), where the people are friendly, Guarani is the shared first language with Spanish, Terere is commonly drunk, horse-and-wagons roam the streets in tiny villages, things are generally cheap, and bribes can be necessary when you´re in the country illegally. Please, walk with me as I explain... I finished my last entry in Porto Murtinho, where I planned to take the boat. Locals told me the boat was to leave on saturday sometime between 6 and 7 in the morning, but that it would be good to get there sometime before in case it arrived early. Accordingly, I got up at 4, took the boat to the Paraguayan side of the river, and sat waiting. As dawn approached about an hour later, a ... read more

Across the river Paraná - nearly a mile wide at this point - from Posadas, in Paraguay, lie the crumbling ruins of missions founded in jungle by Jesuit priests in the 17th and 18th centuries. Here, in the baking heat and sweltering humidity, thousands of indigenous Americans, mostly Guaraní, lived in large communities presided over by Jesuits from Europe. Descriptions of the missions vary considerably depending on the viewpoint taken (from paternalistic Christianisation to philanthropic assistance) but the oddity of finding intricately carved baptismal fonts and large, red-brick churches bang in the middle of the Paraguayan forest is undeniable. The two 'Missionary Reductions' (their official name in Colonial times) we visited - Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe - are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins are well preserved but, unsurprisingly, ... read more

Sur le coup des 8h30, nous quittons, dans un petit bus local, presque à contrecœur, Puerto Iguazu. De folles images de ces superbes chutes hantent encore notre esprit marqué à tout jamais… Destination ? San Ignacio, petite bourgade de 30’000 âmes plus au sud mais toujours dans la très verte province de « Misiones ». Nous y débarquons vers 13h sous une chaleur caniculaire. Porter nos petits bagages par passé 30 degrés ne nous enchante guère. Nous décidons donc de louer le service d’un taxi pour rejoindre notre auberge. C’est ainsi que nous entrons dans la caisse la plus pourrie de notre périple : une antique « Peugeot » des années… voyons voir… 70 peut-être ? Totalement rouillée, bruit d’enfer au démarrage, odeur d’essence, boitier de vitesse se résumant à une simple tige métallique, bref de ... read more