Asuncion is a pleasant enough place in a slightly dull way, at least by the second day you feel you´ve seen everything there is to see. Paraguay is really not geared up for tourists at all (which we knew) but it´s as if they don´t really know what to do with us. When we can stand the 38 degree heat, there are some nice colonial buildings to explore, and it was nice to walk through the market without being hassled - there is some lovely paraguayan lace and weaving. There is a lot of poverty yet also many mercedes benzes whizzing past. The shanty towns are quite extensive and rather sobering to see and they are overlooked by the Presidential palace... a study in contrast. It´s a wonder he hasn´t ordered their removal. One night we were approached by a street kid who was very interested in our bread rolls. I offered him the basket meaning him to take one but he ran off with the lot (though not before I had made him say gracias).
Guns are *everywhere* on the street. On almost every corner there is a frowning policeman stroking his gun. I can´t decide whether that makes me feel more or less safe but they were happy enough to pose for a photo with us yesterday, one of them even cracked a smile! But when we inadvertently went too close to the revered presidential palace, they were quick to blow their whistle at us and I wasn´t about to argue .
Paraguay is like stepping back in time, there are internet places of course but also quite a lot of typewriters around the place and most of the shop windows don´t look as if they´ve been updated in 30 years. But we have eaten well here, first time so far on the trip that we really felt hungry, we had a slap up meal for about US$30 last night, sometimes we disagree with Lonely Planet recommendations but they were spot on with the Bar San Rocque.
We are gearing outselves up psychologically for our trip up the Gran Chaco highway tonight. The GC is a very large flat expanse of thorny scrub and doesn´t look it but it´s actually the second most diverse ecosystem in South America (after the Amazon basin). Crossing it by bus is probably something you only want to do once in a lifetime!
Ciao for now
Jackie
XX
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Who wants to be a millionaire¿
Greetings from Asuncion, Paraguay!
Iguazu Falls were even more spectacular than we had dared to hope. We visited from the Argentine side where you get so close that at times you are practically in the falls. We spent a fabulous day wandering around the various lookouts and viewpoints, took over 200 photos. The wildlife was lovely too, we saw aligators, coatis (a sort of long nosed possum) and lots of colourful butterflies. One of the best parts of the day was the jet boat ride we took where you go right into the one of the waterfalls, getting soaked to the skin but all part of the fun and in that heat nobody minds. The adrenalin, whilst not quite at bungy jumping levels, was certainly rushing after that. We couldn´t do the kayaking as the water levels were too low but all I can say is if that is low, I can´t imagine what it´s like after it´s rained. The highlight was the Garganta del diablo where you stand right at the top of the highest and widest fall looking down and if you leaned over the railing too far it would be goodbye world instantly. One of the most incredible places I´ve ever been.
While we were there, Sam attracted the attention of a group of giggling 14year olds who followed him round for much of the day, wanting photos taken with him and talk to the "beeyootifuuuull chico". Everything he said was greeted with much mirth and lots of loud giggling. The beautiful gringo speaks! Cual es su nombre¿ "Sam" ... cue hysterical laughter for at least 5 minutes. Given Sam´s lack of Spanish and their lack of English, I can only assume they were talking the language of lerv which of course knows no barriers. They all exhanged email addresses at the end of the day so I expect he will have a south american myspace contingent soon.
Yesterday we travelled by bus from Argentina to Paraguay. Bit confusing with buses jumping on and off to get entry and exit stamps. We had to change buses and money in Ciudad del Este which, if I say is a hot and horrible hellhole I hope I never have to see again, you get the picture. C del E has the wonderful reputation of being the most corrupt city in Paraguay, the most corrupt country in south america, crime corruption, contraband and cocaine! Cdel E is a huge tacky market full of cheap electronics and more plastic swimming pools than I would ever expect to see in one place. Want to be an instant millionaire¿ come to Paraguay! the exchange rate is 4000 guaranis to AUS$1 which is very confusing when you´re told the price of something, if you´re buying anything more than a bottle of water you have to ask them to write the price down and then be really careful to hand over the note with the correct number of noughts on it.
The way of life in Paraguay is very slow, the siesta seems to last most of the day and nothing happens in a hurry. We passed through lots of one horse towns where the most activity we saw from the bus here was the sale of a very large pair of underpants when the bus was stopped which for some reason just tickled us and made us laugh like the girls in Iguazu. Lots of cattle with the biggest horns i have ever seen are grazing by the side of the road, and the Paraguayans certainly have a healthy interest in inflatable swimming pools and blow up animals. I´ve also noticed the Paraguayans are not shy about urinating in public.. at our (outdoor) restaurant last night one man just peed against the tree that was behind his table. Bit like Hunter street on a Saturday night! People are very friendly to us as we are quite a novelty here but it´s harder here making ourselves understood as Paraguay has 2 official languages and most people speak better guarani than spanish.
We are spending today and tomorrow here (plastered in insect repellent as dengue fever is rife ) then tomorrow evening we get an overnight bus into Bolivia which will cross the Gran Chaco. Pray for us that it doesn´t rain, as the bus can get bogged in the parts of the road that are unpaved and if that happens the bus can be delayed for days. We´ve been assured that the rainy season hasn´t yet started so we should be all right.
We wanted adventure, we certainly are getting it, can´t believe we´ve only been away for a week! Next update from Bolivia, all being well, adios for now.
Jackie
XX
Iguazu Falls were even more spectacular than we had dared to hope. We visited from the Argentine side where you get so close that at times you are practically in the falls. We spent a fabulous day wandering around the various lookouts and viewpoints, took over 200 photos. The wildlife was lovely too, we saw aligators, coatis (a sort of long nosed possum) and lots of colourful butterflies. One of the best parts of the day was the jet boat ride we took where you go right into the one of the waterfalls, getting soaked to the skin but all part of the fun and in that heat nobody minds. The adrenalin, whilst not quite at bungy jumping levels, was certainly rushing after that. We couldn´t do the kayaking as the water levels were too low but all I can say is if that is low, I can´t imagine what it´s like after it´s rained. The highlight was the Garganta del diablo where you stand right at the top of the highest and widest fall looking down and if you leaned over the railing too far it would be goodbye world instantly. One of the most incredible places I´ve ever been.
While we were there, Sam attracted the attention of a group of giggling 14year olds who followed him round for much of the day, wanting photos taken with him and talk to the "beeyootifuuuull chico". Everything he said was greeted with much mirth and lots of loud giggling. The beautiful gringo speaks! Cual es su nombre¿ "Sam" ... cue hysterical laughter for at least 5 minutes. Given Sam´s lack of Spanish and their lack of English, I can only assume they were talking the language of lerv which of course knows no barriers. They all exhanged email addresses at the end of the day so I expect he will have a south american myspace contingent soon.
Yesterday we travelled by bus from Argentina to Paraguay. Bit confusing with buses jumping on and off to get entry and exit stamps. We had to change buses and money in Ciudad del Este which, if I say is a hot and horrible hellhole I hope I never have to see again, you get the picture. C del E has the wonderful reputation of being the most corrupt city in Paraguay, the most corrupt country in south america, crime corruption, contraband and cocaine! Cdel E is a huge tacky market full of cheap electronics and more plastic swimming pools than I would ever expect to see in one place. Want to be an instant millionaire¿ come to Paraguay! the exchange rate is 4000 guaranis to AUS$1 which is very confusing when you´re told the price of something, if you´re buying anything more than a bottle of water you have to ask them to write the price down and then be really careful to hand over the note with the correct number of noughts on it.
The way of life in Paraguay is very slow, the siesta seems to last most of the day and nothing happens in a hurry. We passed through lots of one horse towns where the most activity we saw from the bus here was the sale of a very large pair of underpants when the bus was stopped which for some reason just tickled us and made us laugh like the girls in Iguazu. Lots of cattle with the biggest horns i have ever seen are grazing by the side of the road, and the Paraguayans certainly have a healthy interest in inflatable swimming pools and blow up animals. I´ve also noticed the Paraguayans are not shy about urinating in public.. at our (outdoor) restaurant last night one man just peed against the tree that was behind his table. Bit like Hunter street on a Saturday night! People are very friendly to us as we are quite a novelty here but it´s harder here making ourselves understood as Paraguay has 2 official languages and most people speak better guarani than spanish.
We are spending today and tomorrow here (plastered in insect repellent as dengue fever is rife ) then tomorrow evening we get an overnight bus into Bolivia which will cross the Gran Chaco. Pray for us that it doesn´t rain, as the bus can get bogged in the parts of the road that are unpaved and if that happens the bus can be delayed for days. We´ve been assured that the rainy season hasn´t yet started so we should be all right.
We wanted adventure, we certainly are getting it, can´t believe we´ve only been away for a week! Next update from Bolivia, all being well, adios for now.
Jackie
XX
Monday, November 26, 2007
Dont cry for me Argentina
Hola amigos!
I´d really like our first blog entry to be one telling you about the many highlights of Buenos Aires. I can certainly report that it is a fantastic city, lots of fantastic colonial buildings, plenty of convivial bars and restaurants on every corner and lots of interesting historical areas. The streets are full of my favourite trees, jacarandas, and for the most part you feel you´re in Paris. In San Telmo market you would swear you´re in Montmartre. BA also has its dark side 0 some of it could be sorted with a BA city council pooper scooper intiative but the extensive and chronic poverty is less easily fixed. Plenty of seedy types appear after dark when they start rummaging through bins . Unfortunately we came a cropper on our second day when we were scammed¨ the boys were squitrted with mustard from a tree, looks like bird poo and a couple of locals then *helped* us to clean them up, meanwhile *helping* themselves to Bruce´s wallet. Honestly, they just disappeared into thin air, it was like something out of Harry Potter! So instead of the tango show we had planned, we spent a fun evening on the phone to Australia cancelleing credit card, but not before a few unauthorised transactions had been made. We also made friends with the tourist police, who see people like us many times every day. Stable door, bolting horse but we will be super super careful from now on, I still have my cards so it is n´t a disaster though if I lose them it will be! At least they weren´t violent, hear plentyh of horror stories of people being kidnappend and driven to ATMs where they hae to hand over their pins.
Anyway, we put this behind us, went to Evita´s grave & the Evita museum yesterday. Also met Ben´s tennis internet friend Alejandro who I feared might be a pedophile but turned out to be delightful and good fun, cheered us all up. Faith in the inhabitants of BA now restored.
My spanish has been getting a real workout, seemed passable on the commute between Valentine and the uni but it def. needs a bit more polish before we arrive in Paraguay and Bolivia where English isn´t widely spoken. Sam just smiles and says gracis a lot , Bruce uses a lot of hand gestures and spanglish, Ben has learnt all his spanish from Shakira lyrics.
We are now at Iguazu heading to the falls tomorrow which we are really looking forward to. Going on a jungle trek then in one of those boats that take you underneath the falls.
Bruce has just handed me a nice cold cerbeza (beer) and it´s certainly the weather for it here, very steamy. So I´ll say adios for now, next update likely to be from Asuncion so all you Aussies listen up when Anton Enus tells you the temp in Asuncion, likely to be about 4 million degrees.
ciao ciao
Jackie
PS can´t go without telling ou about the 2 tango ladies who jumped on S & B in La Boca, they draped themselves around them, then Sam´s gave him a big juicy kiss right on the lips. Had it been the other one, he woudn´t have minded but putting it charitably, her glory was somewhat faded, in fact she was pushing 60! anyway, got a fantastic photo which if I can hold on to the camera for long enough and can work out how to upload photos to this site, you might see soon.
Adios for now
XX
I´d really like our first blog entry to be one telling you about the many highlights of Buenos Aires. I can certainly report that it is a fantastic city, lots of fantastic colonial buildings, plenty of convivial bars and restaurants on every corner and lots of interesting historical areas. The streets are full of my favourite trees, jacarandas, and for the most part you feel you´re in Paris. In San Telmo market you would swear you´re in Montmartre. BA also has its dark side 0 some of it could be sorted with a BA city council pooper scooper intiative but the extensive and chronic poverty is less easily fixed. Plenty of seedy types appear after dark when they start rummaging through bins . Unfortunately we came a cropper on our second day when we were scammed¨ the boys were squitrted with mustard from a tree, looks like bird poo and a couple of locals then *helped* us to clean them up, meanwhile *helping* themselves to Bruce´s wallet. Honestly, they just disappeared into thin air, it was like something out of Harry Potter! So instead of the tango show we had planned, we spent a fun evening on the phone to Australia cancelleing credit card, but not before a few unauthorised transactions had been made. We also made friends with the tourist police, who see people like us many times every day. Stable door, bolting horse but we will be super super careful from now on, I still have my cards so it is n´t a disaster though if I lose them it will be! At least they weren´t violent, hear plentyh of horror stories of people being kidnappend and driven to ATMs where they hae to hand over their pins.
Anyway, we put this behind us, went to Evita´s grave & the Evita museum yesterday. Also met Ben´s tennis internet friend Alejandro who I feared might be a pedophile but turned out to be delightful and good fun, cheered us all up. Faith in the inhabitants of BA now restored.
My spanish has been getting a real workout, seemed passable on the commute between Valentine and the uni but it def. needs a bit more polish before we arrive in Paraguay and Bolivia where English isn´t widely spoken. Sam just smiles and says gracis a lot , Bruce uses a lot of hand gestures and spanglish, Ben has learnt all his spanish from Shakira lyrics.
We are now at Iguazu heading to the falls tomorrow which we are really looking forward to. Going on a jungle trek then in one of those boats that take you underneath the falls.
Bruce has just handed me a nice cold cerbeza (beer) and it´s certainly the weather for it here, very steamy. So I´ll say adios for now, next update likely to be from Asuncion so all you Aussies listen up when Anton Enus tells you the temp in Asuncion, likely to be about 4 million degrees.
ciao ciao
Jackie
PS can´t go without telling ou about the 2 tango ladies who jumped on S & B in La Boca, they draped themselves around them, then Sam´s gave him a big juicy kiss right on the lips. Had it been the other one, he woudn´t have minded but putting it charitably, her glory was somewhat faded, in fact she was pushing 60! anyway, got a fantastic photo which if I can hold on to the camera for long enough and can work out how to upload photos to this site, you might see soon.
Adios for now
XX
Monday, November 12, 2007
Pre-departure check
Bruce, Jackie, Sam and Ben are off on our South American adventure to celebrate the end of HSC. Only 9 days to go: Just checking to see whether the blog is going to work and what it will look like for your reading pleasure while we're on the road. Have chosen this rather emo profile, hope you like it!
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