Encarnacion

January 21, 2012

Our computer is acting up, again. So rather than not posting, for another year, I figured I'd just write a few thoughts down and cross my fingers that in another week or so I'll figure out who to call about fixing said computer. As a side I have to say that maintenance, of any kind, is such a pain in the behind in a foreign country. First you have to figure out WHO to call and then you have to pull out a dictionary to try and figure out HOW to explain the problem. Oh and keep the dictionary on hand for understanding WHAT they intend to do about it. But I am whining now. I think in the big picture I'm just too lazy to figure it out. Maybe I'll call a spanish speaking friend and have them figure it out for me :o) Yup, now we are back to the lazy thing...

Okay so we went to Encarnacion, as is the title of this post. Those of you not familiar with Paraguay it is a small city in the south of Paraguay on the boarder of Argentina. We went to a. get away before Mike left us for a week long conference b. to kill some time while the kids are on summer vacation and c. to check out the Jesuit Ruins, one of the few claims to fame Paraguay has.

The drive is not long in terms of distance, 235 miles south-east. However the roads are small and run through towns. The posted speed limit is anywhere from 40 km/h (around 25'ish mph to 60kmh (which is 35'ish mph). Turtle slow. But we fudged that a bit, okay alot, on the open road with no homes or anything in sight. On the way back that is. On the way there the route we chose, okay I chose, was perhaps not the wisest. In my defense the maps in this country leave a bit to be desired and I had no idea the road, named ROUTE 8 for crying out loud, would abruptly come to a halt and convert to a dirt road, then dirt path, then yeah let's not talk about it. The pictures are forthcoming. Suffice it to say that it took us 7 hours to get there and at that we were lucky. Again, photos worth a lot more than words on this one. But it was an adventure and what's the name of this blog? Yup Life is a Daring ADVENTURE or NOTHING at all. We totally proved that!

So we finally arrive at Papillon Hotel, which was much nicer than the photos on-line, got some food and went for a swim. In the morning we checked out 2 of the ruins. It was interesting, nothing that you have to see like Machu Picchu, but interesting nonetheless and well done. We met a friend for lunch and checked out the town a bit. Found an interesting park to visit when we come back and looked in a few shops. The kids and I swam while Mike went to get the mud caked on the car washed off. Yeah that's from the drive up... and we just had a nice relaxing evening playing in the park with the kids. The next day we drove the 40 km down to Encarnacion. The city is small but well kept. As a matter of fact the towns of Bella Vista and Trinidad, where we were the day before, were also really clean and safe feeling. This is noted in travel guides to be due to the German influence (many Germans settled here after WWII). Encarnacion is on the Parana River. The city just built a new road and is in the process of developing the river front. Right now it's just a sandy beach area with some cantinas (like food kiosks). The kids had a great time building sand castles and swimming. Right across the river is Posada, Argentina. If only we had our Argentina visas we would have driven over. We also visited the Plaza de Armas, which has wi-fi and a children's playground. The plaza is surrounded by shops and restaurants. Felt alot like Lima, Peru for anyone who's been there. We will definitely go back to check out the rest the area has to offer. While not alot it was a nice diversion from Asuncion and I do want to see the other ruins, the macademia nut farm, parque manatial, and drive over to Argentina.