From San Blas, Melchor accompanied us to Santa Rosa Cué (his old community for approximately 20 years). John and I did not live in Santa Rosa Cué when we were Peace Corps volunteers – we lived in Curuguaty – but I visited (and often spent the night in) Santa Rosa Cué at least one time a week. It was the site of my main project.
After the long and relatively expensive bus trip to Cnol. Oviedo, we decided to take a taxi. It cost more money but was not prohibitively expensive, and it was much more convenient and faster. The trip from Melchor’s house took 2-3 hours. It was very nice to ride in our own taxi!
After the long and relatively expensive bus trip to Cnol. Oviedo, we decided to take a taxi. It cost more money but was not prohibitively expensive, and it was much more convenient and faster. The trip from Melchor’s house took 2-3 hours. It was very nice to ride in our own taxi!
When we were Peace Corps volunteers, the pavement ended in Mbutuy. From there, our bus had to travel for about three hours more on a dirt road. As a result, the buses were always dusty, dirty, and a bit decrepit. There certainly weren’t any coche cama buses! The buses never had air-conditioning, and if you traveled by day, they always stopped whenever anyone flagged them down. Whenever possible, we always took the overnight bus because it stopped less and was less hot. The bus would pick us up at our house around midnight and we would arrive in Asunción around 6:00AM.
Several years ago, the road from Mbutuy to Curuguaty was paved, as was a more direct road between Asunción and Curuguaty. Now, the bus trip from Asunción to Curuguaty takes around 3 or 3 ½ hours and of course there are coche cama buses too.
The pavement has led to huge changes. The economy of the region has grown tremendously. Curuguaty is pretty much unrecognizable now, but communities all along the way have changed too. Capiibary was the main community between Mbutuy and Curuguaty, and it was the site for a couple of our Peace Corps colleagues. It has boomed since we left; it even has an official highway road sign.
The pavement has led to huge changes. The economy of the region has grown tremendously. Curuguaty is pretty much unrecognizable now, but communities all along the way have changed too. Capiibary was the main community between Mbutuy and Curuguaty, and it was the site for a couple of our Peace Corps colleagues. It has boomed since we left; it even has an official highway road sign.
The approximately one kilometer from the highway to Santa Rosa Cué still is not paved, but I barely recognized anything for that last leg of the trip. Before, most of that strip didn’t have any houses, and instead, trees and plants had taken over. This is no longer true.