We took advantage of Argentina’s winter vacation (the last two weeks of July) to travel to Paraguay, where John and I served as Peace Corps volunteers from 1998 to 2000. We wanted to reconnect with friends, see how the country had changed, and introduce our children to the country where we had lived for 2 years.
While waiting to enter Paraguay, B lost his tooth! The immigration official almost didn’t let us into the country because we didn’t have any official documentation listing the names of the boys’ parents. Fortunately, when he looked at the boys together with John and me, he acknowledged that we must be the parents.
While waiting to enter Paraguay, B lost his tooth! The immigration official almost didn’t let us into the country because we didn’t have any official documentation listing the names of the boys’ parents. Fortunately, when he looked at the boys together with John and me, he acknowledged that we must be the parents.
We had hoped to take a direct bus from Encarnación to Cnol. Oviedo but due to rain, the dirt road was closed. Instead, we had to take a bus that went to Ciudad del Este and get off at kilometer 30 to catch another bus to Cnol. Oviedo. The bus trip was long – 5 hours to kilometer 30 and another 3 hours to Cnol. Oviedo. The distance wasn’t that far. The main reason for the delay was that both buses stopped whenever anyone flagged them down, which was quite often. Of course, the frequent stopping and starting irritated B’s stomach. Since he had vomited on the international flight to South America, we were somewhat prepared. When his stomach started bothering him, we gave him a bag and he vomited into it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it…He also vomited on the floor of the bus while on his way to the bathroom. He wasn’t the only person to do so – when we boarded the bus, the floor in front of one of the seats had vomit to welcome the new passenger. When I asked the bus attendant what to do with B’s bag of vomit, he took it and threw it out of the bus window. I feel sorry for whoever was traveling behind the bus. A lot of people travel by motorcycle. If a motorcycle was behind us, the bag of vomit was a good lesson to wear a helmet and visor!
We had expected that the trip from Encarnación to Cnol. Oviedo would take 5 or 6 hours but a variety of delays resulted in our arrival at around 8:00pm, when it was already dark. As a result, we had to find a hotel in Cnol. Oviedo for the night. There weren’t too many options – especially since we were hungry, tired, and didn’t want to take a taxi. The second hotel had one room available with 2 beds. We were cozy, which was good because there wasn’t any heat. John noticed that there was an air conditioning unit that could heat the room. When he asked at the front desk about it, he was told that the heat did function but that there wasn’t a remote control to turn it on.
For dinner, we ate at a lomito stand that served sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. They were grilled right in front of us. It was delicious. The boys loved the place. I was impressed with the variety of styles, including Mexican and Middle Eastern. The place was only open at night. When we passed the location during the day, we couldn’t even tell that you could buy food there at night.
For dinner, we ate at a lomito stand that served sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. They were grilled right in front of us. It was delicious. The boys loved the place. I was impressed with the variety of styles, including Mexican and Middle Eastern. The place was only open at night. When we passed the location during the day, we couldn’t even tell that you could buy food there at night.