WEATHER: 30C at 6am – I think it will be a scorcher today
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Crossing into our next country - Paraguay
BUMMER OF THE DAY: IT’S TOO BLOODY HOT
WORD OF THE DAY: POOL!!!!!!!!!!
DISTANCE TRAVELLED:
OMG – it was so HOT in the tent last night. It was nearly too hot to sleep, but I did manage to drift off, even when the morning dawned and the traffic picked up on the road that we were camped 50m away from. When we got out of the tent is was 10C cooler straight off. We are going to have to sleep with the fly cover open and if it rains then we can get up and close it, it is just too dang hot to have it zipped up. I have a feeling this is a sign of things to come for the next section and we just need to acclimatize and hopefully it won’t feel so bad after a few weeks. Right?
Today we will see if our kick arse travel day yesterday paid off and we get into our camp site in the early afternoon to make good use of that pool. Everyone is already sweating profusely and it is only 7am when we left the truck stop. Literally beads of sweat were running down my face. Nice look.
Another country means another currency. Paraguay’s currency is called Guarani’s and just to keep us on our toes for 1AUD you get 4980 Guarani’s!!! Now how your 5000 are times tables! I still have about 200AUD worth of Arggy pesos which I can exchange into Guarani’s and that rate would be 1080 per pesos exchanged. I am going to hold onto the Argy pesos, as when we get to Iguassu Falls, we visit the Brazil side and we also spend a day on the Argentinian side, so I will need some local currency for that. I also have some left over Chilean pesos, but I am heading to Easter Island in May, so I will be able to use them there and don’t need to bother getting them exchanged either.
We arrived at the Argentina border control at 11am. It is SO hot! My temperature gauge says 38C and it feels it, add onto that the humidity of 150% and it really is a scorcher. Everyone’s faces are red just from sitting in the truck, it is insane. We had to stand in line to be processed, luckily in the shade, for about 30 minutes and then Mark collected our passports and we could go back to the truck to wait, I’m not sure if this was a good thing or not as the truck has now turned into a travelling sauna, a hot box on wheels. Rosita is bloody hot when she ain’t moving. So we get another Argentinian stamp today bringing our total to 10 and we will have 2 more to go when we cross into the falls in a few days’ time. Luckily I got a new passport when I left home and I paid extra for more pages, as all the immigration guys have been pretty good stamping in page order. There are a few random stamps from Chile, a French stamp and Brazil and Paraguay wacked in their visa’s where ever they wished, but I am definitely not going to complain about those 2 after the trouble and worry that went into them. Speaking of Brazil visas, I am still to hear from Z on how his application is going. Is it in, does he need anything else? He has 12 days till he is here, 11 days till he leaves and 8 working days to get 2 visas. To say I’m a little worried is a MASSIVE understatement, but I have to believe that no news is good news and I will hear from him when he has some news. But it is nerve wracking and can’t wait to just have him here.
With Argentina formalities done in an hour, we then had to drive over the River Paraguay to get to the Paraguay border control. Again Mark took our passports and we were free to wait in the hot box, thank goodness only for 45 minutes and I also gave Mark my Globetrotters book and he also got that stamped with the passport which was nice of them, so another country ticked off in my book.
WELCOME TO PARAGUAY.
After an ATM stop for people to get Guarani’s, we were back on the road for an hour where we stopped for lunch and also got to visit some Jesuit Ruins while Mark and Gray got lunch ready.
The Jesús and Trinidad Jesuit Ruins are a religious mission that are still preserved and that were founded by the Jesuit missioners during the colonization of South America in the 17th century. These religious missions were created in 1609 and developed for 150 years. Both Jesuit missions were declared Historical Patrimony of Humankind by the UNESCO in 1993.
The Jesuit Missions of Paraguay are considered some of the most impressive creations of the religious work of the Jesuit, and are testimony of the historical richness of the country. Alejo García discovered Paraguay in 1524. Its development in political, economical and social matter was a slow process, scarred by armed conflicts between Spanish conquerors and natives, who fought to preserve their territory. Until 1590 the Spanish have founded 10 cities and 40 colonies in South America. The natives were forced to be at their service. The Spanish King tried to improve their quality of life by making some decrees for their protection but it was difficult to have a real system of control to make sure they were obeyed. The system of "Encomienda" gave place to many insurrections of the natives. It was not until the Missions were established that there was a real improvement in the living conditions of the natives.
The first Jesuits arrived in Tucumán in 1586 and in 1587, by request of the Asunción’s Bishop, Alonso Guerra that they arrived to Paraguay too. The Jesuits started the evangelization and building of towns or Missions in the region of Misiones and Itapúa Departments in Paraguay. The first thing they did was to form towns that were self-sufficient in the areas inhabited by the natives and a study of the Guaraní language they spoke to make a writing structure (because the Guaraní people did not write their language). The missioners not only imparted knowledge about religion, but also determined the rules of public order, culture, education and society, fact that had great influence in the later development of Paraguay. The natives, who were nomads and were not used to a structured life, founded themselves gathered in small communities in the forest. Near the Jesuit Missions were formed groups of 2000 or 3000 per town. This group of missioners founded about 30 Missions in territories that nowadays belong to Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Many of the constructions have been preserved and the ones that got damage, rebuilt.
It was pretty cool to walk around the ruins. They have been well maintained and they have looked after the grounds to keep the grass all lush and green. You could see that they had some spotlights set up around the ruins and I rekon it would look amazing lit up at night time. The only downside was there was no shade, so after around 45 minutes walking the site we headed back to the truck for some lunch and then it was only a 10 minute drive to where were camping for the night at Parque Manantial and its much talked about pool.
Parque Manantial was opened in August 1997 by Ruben and Carla Pretzel and their sons, a Paraguayan family with German heritage who still retain close cultural links with their homeland even though the sons are third generation Paraguayan. This effort to sustain the links with Germany is quite normal in the quaint and picturesque German Colonies of Hohenau, Obligado and Bella Vista which were founded over a century ago by German pioneers. Parque Manantial began life as a campsite but due to demand for more luxurious quarters they have added an air-conditioned dormitory which sleeps six and a bungalow for four people. Carla Pretzel describes her creation as a camp ground, country club and holiday park. The facilities at Manantial are top class boasting no fewer than three swimming pools, a picnic and BBQ area, a floodlit volleyball court, bar and pizzeria, and a mini-market. Additional services (available at an extra cost) include eco-tours, horse riding and a transport service to nearby cities. The campsite is able to accommodate up to 100 campers and there is currently one dorm and one bungalow with plans for more in the future. They also describe their park as family friendly, a feature that is clearly evidenced by the kiddies pool, abundance of games and the ever-popular pony rides.
Mark had warned us that the last time he was here there was no water in the pool, but when we pulled in we could see people swimming and diving which we saw as a good sign that there was water. If it was at all possible I think the day was getting hotter. So after breaking into a mass of sweat putting up the tents, you could count on one hand how many people were left at camp, the rest of us had bathers in hand and were already walking to the pool. They had a slide and also a diving board in the main pool and the water looked divine. So after getting a ticket to get us in, changing and showering before we could even get to the pool, we jumped straight in and after the initial shock of the cool water it was heaven. I am sure my body temperature must have dropped 10C straight away. It was a busy little place with other campers and lots of kiddies all enjoying the late afternoon sun and pool facilities. It really is a great campsite and it did have the feel of a country retreat. They also had pool tables, ping pong tables, a fooze ball and free Wi-Fi. What more could a caper Want?
The afternoon was spent by the pool, blogging and then when my laptop went flat, I went back up to camp to find that another Tucan truck had arrived. Malagay. These guys were just setting up their tents and their group looks a whole lot younger than us. We met Ben and Leah the driver and leader from Malagay and they seemed really nice. We also met one of their group members that will be joining us after Rio, Cam. They also have another 2 people Dom and Jade but we didn’t get to meet them. I am sure there will be plenty of time. I went onto their truck and it is a mirror image of ours. Literally it was exactly the same except they had a whiteboard at the front as well, their library was shambles and they had head rest covers on their seats, which apparently we have but we are keeping our clean by not using them. Makes sense!
Group B aka The Banditos have been so lucky with our jobs for, well just about the whole trip. We were on cooking today, but Gray and Mark did lunch while we walked the ruins, dinner tonight was supplied by the camp so we weren’t required again, tomorrow we are on washing up but we are in a hotel for the next 2 nights so we also miss truck cleaning and then when we get back on the road on Tuesday it is our day off! Woo Hoo – Go Team Bandito! Love it when a plan like that works out. It’s like a public holiday falling on a work day – love it.
Dinner was amazing with 4 kinds of different meat and a billion salads, a great spread. After dinner the guys played Texas Hold Em and I joined the party with my laptop as they all tried to play with their poker faces. It was nice to do some socializing and have a few laughs. It was a nice night. There was one black mark and just when you think we are all getting along fine something comes and smacks you over the head. There are some dramas over the truck keys. At the start of the trip 2 keys to the truck door and lockers were given out, one went to Kate and the other to Paul. These keys were to be used if Mark couldn’t be found and people could still get in and out of the truck. Well sometime over the last few weeks the keys have become a bone of contention and it blew up tonight in a verbal crossing of words. I won’t go into too much if the details as both sides of the story have valid points, but we are right of course, and I don’t use my blog for naming people and having whinges, but let’s just hope that it settles down as this school yard bickering is actually quite pathetic at the end of the day. I couldn’t get to sleep straight away as my mind was ticking in addressing the problem and people in the morning, keeping in mind I still have 3 months with some of these people, we have to try and live in harmony …somehow…..
Good night from the oven called Trinidad……..
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