February 18, 2013
We
knew it was going to be a long day in the car – 12 hours – so we began our
journey at 7AM. The border crossing
between Paraguay and Brazil went quickly, praise God. For a family of 8 that is no easy feat. We carry a suitcase full of all our documents:
birth certificates, marriage certificate, Paraguayan identification cards, US
passports plus Paraguayan passports for some of the kids, car registration and
license, plus our last fast food receipt.
Once
in Brazil we were flying down the highway....or so it seemed to us. The smooth roads with brightly painted lines
allowed us to travel at speeds we never could attempt in Paraguay for fear of
hitting a cow or running over an ox cart.
Adventures in Odyssey, books, games, and lunch in the car allowed us to
pass the time without hearing too many, “Are we there yet?”
At
7PM the end was in sight if we only stayed on the loop around Curitiba. Instead, we found ourselves thrust in the
middle of downtown. Partly due to poor
road planning and partly due to our complete ignorance of the town, we drove
and drove and drove in circles going every which direction but the one we so
desperately needed. We went wrong way do
one way avenues ran red lights (because our eyes were on street names) and
drove through a pretty shady neighborhood as the sky was getting darker and
darker. An hour and a half later we
finally were back on the loop heading out of town.
At
9:00 we exited the highway and drove 2 kilometers down a narrow road overgrown
with trees and vines, not a life form or light in site. This time we were following signs to a location
we found on the internet: a water park with chalets to rent. Now I have travelled in a developing country
long enough to not get hopes set too high when we start off on adventures such
as these. In the car we tried to prepare
our kids for a possible let down – the waterpark may not be open, there could
be no water in the pool, a waterpark in South America may consist of just one
tiny slide into a 3 foot pool. And when
the advertisement said “chalets” available, even though my mind envisioned
scenes of Switzerland, I tried to be prepared for anything.
We
reached the front gate; it was closed and frankly looked like no one had
entered in a year, but then again it was completely dark. Jeff clapped and clapped, honked our horn and
yelled and still no one came to let us in.
There was no plan B. Well, I
guess technically plan B was to sleep in our car – a very real possibility and
one that we had to resort to last year.
No one was in favor of that, so Jeff clapped, honked and yelled some
more. After 30 minutes the care take
opened the gates. The park closed at 6,
but he let us in anyway and showed us to a chalet.
Remember
the thing about not getting hopes up, because you really don’t know what to
expect in a foreign country? Well, let’s
just say that even though my expectations were low, I was in shock as I looked
at the prospect for the evening. The opening
of the door sent 5 big, black tarantula-like spiders scurrying to all corners
of the room. The thin sheetless
mattresses were set upon rotting plywood and precariously balanced on the metal
bunk bed frame. Ants covered the walls
encircling their prey. Dirt and grime
screamed out from every surface.
Regardless
of dirt, first thing is first when you are 8 months pregnant – the
bathroom. Nothing could have prepared us
for this bathroom. The smell was horrible. The sewage which abounded in and around the
toilet had obviously been stagnant a while.
I immediately had to rush outside to wretch in the bushes. The kids, catching a whiff of the smell that
was now hovering over the entire chalet, began making gagging sounds as
well.
If
we were willing to sleep among dirt and ants and spiders, we drew the line at
sewage. Jeff immediately set off on foot
in the pitch darkness (why does this place have no lights?) to find the man who
had checked us in. Did I mention that it
is pouring down rain? Jeff has no
umbrella and the kids and I have no shelter. We were standing outside getting absolutely
drenched because it was better than being inside with “the smell”. It took a while for Jeff to find the man and
for him to declare our place unlivable.
We
loaded all our bags back into the car (which got drenched in the processes) and
drove to the next chalet. Praise God,
this one was better (not good, just better), but we were all willing to stay
the night knowing what the alternative was.
We stood in the little room wet, shivering, hungry and very tired. It was the beginning of a wonderful
vacation....after all, it could only get better.
