Wednesday we wanted to get an early start, so after we ate breakfast, packed our bags, checked under the hotel beds and in drawers, did last minute potty breaks, filled our water bottles, gave the keys to the front desk, we (Jeff and the guys) loaded our suitcases on top of the car and wrapped it like a Christmas gift with our blue tarp….the hotel worker noticed a puddle under the car. Jeff investigated and found that the car was losing its radiator fluid. There was no way we could drive it like that. So, we unpacked all our things and rechecked into our hotel rooms. Jeff took the car to a mechanic who, once hearing our plight, worked on it all day (‘til 9 that night).
It was raining cats and dogs outside so we sat in the hotel room ALL day …thank God for high speed internet connections, a kids’ game room, pool, Scum, The Office and funny hair styles.
Today, Thursday, we got an even earlier start to make up for the lost day. After 11 hours on the road we arrived at the Asuncion guesthouse. We did take a couple potty breaks, went off-roading because protesters blocked the highway, had a little hang up in customs*, saw inside a church in Caacupe, went shopping for silver and stopped to pick up some Paraguayan souvenirs.
We just got back from a wonderful evening - various harpists (of various ages) serenaded us as we ate tasty Paraguayan food and watched typical Paraguayan dances. We all agreed it was the perfect way to end the trip.
*instead of getting a multi-entry visa, the students had a single entry visa. We realized the error at the Paraguay/Brazil boarder. The officials said, “Don’t worry, we’ll be here when you cross back over and we will work with you.” So we passed on through. Three days later we got to the border and the official told Jeff that we would have to pay $60 per passport to make the situation right. Just then we saw a friend from San Francisco who is a police officer, whose job happens to be protecting tourists. We told him our problem and he signaled to the guys behind the desk that he knew us. Suddenly the price of the visa went down to $30 per passport. We thanked our friend and went on our way. Later he called to ask Jeff’s full name because he was turning those border workers in for being corrupt.
Cultural dinner
Julia getting some lessons on the harp
Cristobol and his son Kike playing together
Famous Paraguayan bottle dance
Alyssa practicing the bottle dance
1 comment:
Great pictures!! I'm glad your friend was there to handle the border situation. There's nothing like someone in the right place at the right time! :)
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