Paraguay: Ciudad del Este and Asuncion

We took a bus to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, and inadvertantly crossed the border into Brasil on the way. Unfortunately we haven´t got the passport stamps to prove it, but we were in Brazil, even if only for half an hour!

The border crossing was crowded and chaotic, and very hot. Since Paraguay is cheap for shopping, hoardes of Argentinians cross here and the place was full of billboards and street vendors and cars and noise as far as the eye could see! This didn´t trouble us though, since our bus driver didn´t bother to stop at the border and took us straight in to the bus station. Despite what I had read in ´the Book´, the Paraguayan policeman did not request a bribe and was very helpful, although totally wrong. We took a taxi back to the border and I struggled to fend off an offer of marriage whilst Rich was at the cash point. Eventually we were fully stamped and legal and headed back to the bus station for an onward bus to Asuncion, the capital.

We arrived 5 hours later and rather than drive around trying to find a nice place to stay, we picked the hotel Central next to the bus station, forgetting rule number one, which is never to go to a hotel near the bus station. We got ourselves a thoroughly cheap room which had a double bed and a single. Presumably the extra bed was for all the BUGS! Eurghh.

Luckily it did have air conditioning as outside was around 40 degrees, and also a TV to distract from the BUGS and what looked like chewing gum on one wall!

We put up with it for just the one night and headed to a much nice place with a pool in town. It being a Sunday, the place was deserted but we found a great restaurant full of Paraguayan families enjoying Sunday lunch, and where the waiters wore bow ties and ran around very efficiently - the best service in South America so far. People were very friendly, approaching us whilst we were having lunch. Apparently they don´t have many European tourists here and we certainly haven´t seen any.

We had another good wander around, looking at the Plaza de los Heroes and the old, pink government palace, which apparently we could have been shot for taking pictures of a few years ago. Still, it was too hot to be outside for a very long time, so we retreated to the airconditioned mall to do some updating of the blog and emailing home. We´ll probably have to leave eventuallly. But not yet, not yet...

Iguazu Falls

We got the overnight bus from Buenos Aries to Puerto Iguazu and were served our food on the bus by none other than Gerard Depardieu. (Or a close relative). To top this we were also poured a glass of champagne making us feel rather like filmstars! Very nice!





We arrived in Puerto Iguazu and the next day took the half an hour bus out to see the waterfalls. It was quite busy and very hot but the waterfalls were very impressive and we had a really fun day.



















In the middle of our lovely trip we decided to stop and tuck in to our sandwiches we had clevely prepared beforehand. Unfortunately a group of Coati´s had other ideas and appeared on the scene (they are not shy in the park it seems). We thought we had managed to avoid them and gobble down a sandwich getting up to go when the biggest of the bunch, the mum I think ran up Jodies leg and hung on to her bags with its claws stuck fast until she shook it off all to great amusement of everyone else watching!

Here is one of the before mentioned Coati´s:



Jodie clutching her bag of food tightly:



When we thought we had lost the pack of creatures we found ourselves another picnic spot to finish our lunch but this time looking around carefully as we ate. Luckily too as this chap strolled up then:



He had quite a tongue on him!

Montevideo

The next morning we left early to catch the 7.30 ferry to Montevideo. Newhaven port pales in comparison with this ferry terminal, which was more like an airport terminal and had a fantastic view of the city. Rich was a bit upset that during the 3-hour crossing we weren´t allowed outside, but I think it was because it was a fast catamaran. We sat in our airport-style seats and faced forward, watching clips of the FA cup and staring at the canteen.

We arrived and after looking enviously at the enormous P&O cruise ship in the dock, went to find somewhere to stay, which was pretty straightforward, and then after dropping off the laundry, set off to explore. This was just a two-day visit so we hadn´t got long, not even long enough to get used to the new money, which has been taking several days.



We managed to wear down the shoe leather (and my poor old feet) seeing the sites. We went to the main square and saw the Palcio Salvo, which was built in the 1920s and used to be the tallest building in South America, but which is still worth a look even now. It seemed to have a slightly north-african feel to it, possibly due to the influence of immigration from the Canary Islands. We went to a beautiful park, with huge palm trees, and a strange, french-looking chateau (and some swan-boats!) before going to the beach. Rich went for a swim while I went for a paddle, but it was just too hot to do much, so we walked back along the promenade and then for something to eat and some dinner and beers. We spend the evening lying in hammocks on the roof of the hostel, feeling very traveller-y.





















The next day we went through the Mercado del Puerto )the port market, which is full of Parilladas (these amazing barbecue restaurants where they cook over little bonfires). Shamefully didn´t get any pictures of it, as it was quite a site, but something to do next time we come!