Travelling Takes Its Toll Charge

The first thing that I noticed when I arrived in Asuncion was the kindness and friendliness of the people, the cab drivers would handle our bags even after our attempts to sway them not to and they would open the doors for the lady in the group which was a considerable change from the rudeness of Santa Cruz. Asuncion was once the historic centre of government for the Spanish colonies of Rio De La Plata but declined in importance with the founding of Buenos Aires. The city is laid out in the familiar grid system which is a leftover from the days of the paranoid despot Dr Francia who, convinced of plots to kill him declared that buildings has to be short enough to see if any would be assassins were on the roof tops whilst riding his horse and with this the destruction of any colonial building that didn’t fit this mandate. Asuncion is peppered with some very interesting buildings but like a lot of this capital its upkeep has been limited at best with much of the pavement crumbling away but despite this instantly we could see we were in a more developed country than the last few, just simple things like car show rooms and supermarkets make that little difference. One thing that I have got to like is sachets of powdered flavour that you add to your water to give it the desired fruit taste, they sell these in all manor of fruit combinations.

Our hostel room was one of the worst I have been in, it was very very dirty and due to the style of the beds being boxed in with timber lifting up the mattress was like looking at the insect enclosure at London Zoo so only one night was needed at this place for Jane and I, Feargal on the other hand had a cleaner room and chose to stay whilst we changed just one block away to a slightly more clean abode.

There is not an awful lot to see in this capital city so we wandered around the Plaza de los Heroes a lively and vibrant place with many a market trader trying to sell all manner of hand-made goods. We also visited the waterfront and Plaza de la Independencia and the palace which was the most well kept part of the city. Still throughout this city we were always greeted with smiles and when we were lost or required some assistance people were more than willing to help us and I think this is because Paraguay for some reason is not really on the ‘gringo trail’ its much less touristic than all the other countries in the continent.

On our last night Feargal got robbed again with his first time being in Costa Rica (knife point) with the attacker actually being paid off with $2 which was actually haggled down but this time the scoundrel when presenting his knife to Ferg got a surprise when Feargal bolted like his disobedient horse in Tupiza with his assailant only grabbing his headphones and ripping them from the iPod so all in all he has only lost circa $10. I mentioned to Feargal that on his third time his hat trick he might be able to keep the knife or some sort of memento.

My new travel partner and I left Feargal in Asuncion and we headed on the bus to Ciudad Del Este. This place was a shock to the system with it being a hustling bustling place with many currencies changing hand due to its location bordering two other countries and being a Mecca for duty free electrical items. Folk from Argentina and Brazil flock to this place to purchase all manner of items with duvets and blankets strangley being the main items people were lumbering across the border, I say strange because this place was sweltering hot so what they need a 15 tog duvet in plus thirty degree heat beats me.

Jane wanted an iPod touch so we waited for this place to start our search. It didn’t take long for hoards to approach us telling us they had the cheapest electrical goods and once in the shop the game begins trying to haggle the price down but if this is the cheapest place in SA I don’t want to see the most expensive as we were quoted on an 8 gigabyte iPod $270 which in all cases is more expensive than England which I informed him then this guy got really irate and told me to get the fu*k back to England then. The only stall I was vaguely interested in was the weapons stall with asps, knifes, tasers, batons and knuckle dusters but due to the increased airport security I decided against this, thanks a bunch Bin Ladin. Saying this America is now renowned for its over the top airport security but Jane got through Heathrow and Miami airport with a knife in her hand luggage but my pot of hair gel over 100ml has to be confiscated and destroyed.

Sited 20km north of the city is one of the 7 modern wonders of the world the Itaipu Hydroelectric Project which now thanks to the ………… in China is the second biggest in the world, this dam is part owned by Paraguay and Brazil with construction taking some twenty years. This behemoth can generate 75,000GWh worth of energy per year which provides 20% of Brazil’s energy and 80% of Paraguay’s. We drove onto the dam but due to the torrential rain and lighting it was too dangerous to leave the tour bus. On the upside it was all free.

Another reason people come to Cidudad Del Este is its location to Argentina and Brazil especially in relation to Iguaçu Falls. Before I talk about our action packed day visiting three countries I will tell you why the falls are so special.

The falls are formed by the Rio Iguaçu which has its source near Curitiba. Starting at an altitude if 1,300m, the river snakes westward, picking up tributaries and increasing in size and power fuming its 1200km journey. About 15km before joining the Rio Parana the Iguaçu broadens out, then plunges over an 80 meter high cliff in 275 separate falls that extend nearly 3km across the river. These falls can be seen from both sides, the Argentinean and the Brazilian.

From Ciudad we popped over the Friendship bridge bypassing what could have been a 4 hour queue and once we hit the front put on our ‘Gringo Stupido’* faces and they stamped our passports and let us into Brazil. From here we struggled to find somewhere to change up money into their currency (Real) so we could get the bus another problem was that they no longer spoke Spanish instead it was Portuguese, I say a problem but Spanish has been a problem for me so in all reality its been the same problem continent wide. Once we ironed out all the problems we got to the falls and from this side you get a better overall view that allows you to appreciate the scale of the falls. I was in awe of how powerful and beautiful the falls were even though I was quite stressed throughout this day generally due to Jane’s relaxed approach to travelling but this is fuelled more by the fact that I can not speak to the locals and ask questions so I always have to get Jane to ask. One stressful incident does stand out where we were queuing to take a photo but this Spanish idiot pushes in front to which I push back in front but lose out on prime position on the platform but instead have his friend telling me in Spanish to move out the way of the photo to which I blurt out famous English gestures at him but with us both having limited skills of the others language I could not tell him what I really thought of him.

Paraguay – Brazil – Paraguay – Brazil (illegally) – Argentina. The following was our route into Argentina and technically according to my passport I have not left Paraguay. This is because I did not get the exit stamp and I didn’t get an entry or exit the second time I ventured into Brazil and this is because we were on the last bus and figured the bus driver would not wait for such trivial things as immigration so essentially we were illegal immigrants in Brazil, if it had been England we would have been given a council house, benefits and work the instant we crossed the border illegally.

I am now in Argentina the worlds most meat loving country in the world travelling with a vegetarian. Not much really to forewarn you about here apart from seeing the falls from this side and spending the Christmas period in Buenos Aires.