South America is surprisingly well-traveled. But for some reason when people list the countries they are going to or will go to, Paraguay is conspicuously off the map. I always like the places that most people don’t go the best, so I was really looking forward to a journey to Paraguay. Anywhere that people really avoid makes me curious. It speaks of hidden treasures and friendly locals. And I usually enjoy the places the people tell me not to go the most.
The plan was to get my visa at the Paraguayan embassy in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Then I would go visit my friend Kevin at his Peace Corps site in Paraguay. This is one of the things I have been most excited for. Much to my dismay, the embassy in Puerto Iguazu doesn’t issue visas to Americans. I was really sad I couldn’t go and who has heard of an embassy that doesn’t issue visas?! So I had to settle for just a day trip to the much talked about and supposedly best avoided Ciudad Del Este.
Ciudad Del Este has a horrible reputation. It is infamous for being a bit of a shit-hole. It is one of two places in the country that Peace Corps Volunteers aren’t supposed to spend the night. It is known for being rough, dirty, dangerous and insidious. People equate it with cheap electronics, a huge drug smuggling system, Hamas and crime. With such a strong reputation, obviously the question was not if I would check it out for myself but when and for how long.
I was nervous crossing the border. It turned out to be with due reason. The information was conflicting. Some people said you didn’t need a visa to visit for a day, others said you did. I looked into a boat that takes you across the river, bypassing all the customs and though there was a time in my life where I would have gone just because sneaking into a country is the kind of adrenaline rush that I love, I decided against it, not that I didn’t want to, I just don’t want any reason for the State Department not to hire me if I ever want that option!
So I went the old-fashioned route. I jumped on a rickety bus, stamped out of Argentina, drove through Brazil, not a nice city in Brazil either, hid in the bathroom at customs in Paraguay, and then I was home free.
And I am glad I did, because I LOVED Paraguay. Or what little I saw of it at least. Now, it has been pointed out to me on several occasions recently that I have abysmally, in fact, freakishly low standards. This can be looked at as a good thing or a bad thing I suppose, but either way, after traveling for so long in developing countries, it seems inevitable to me if I ever want to have any fun. And I suppose I am drawn to wildness and chaos in these places that others see as lawlessness and grime.
What is it that makes us like one place over another? I write enthusiastically about Ciudad Del Este, but if one wants to go there, be warned because I have not met a SINGLE other person who has had ANYTHING good to say about it. So no plans should be made based on my reviews.
I have noticed that with everything, I seem to expect Africa. I think that when people say things are difficult, it will be on the Africa scale of difficult. Same goes for danger, dirtiness, chaos, crowds and transportation. I wrote once that Africa is a continent of superlatives and I still agree. To be honest, nothing has compared for me. Iguazu Falls would have been nothing if I had thought too much about Victoria Falls. The poverty in India that people warned me about was nothing compared to places I saw in Ethiopia. People say transportation is difficult or the market is big and crowed or anything along those lines and I expect so much worse. I wonder if my heart will always belong to Africa now.
So I was expecting chaos. But no chaos was found. I found Ciudad del Este to be clean, orderly, full of everything you could ever want, convenient and friendly. The markets are nice and clean and a shopper’s dream. Not being a shopper, I headed farther into the city which was really nice.
I found this sweet little park that was nice and clean and comfortable. It had a huge fountain. There was this great walk/bike-path along the river and wandering around the city there was so much green-space. There is a little forest and a nice lake. It is quite tranquilo. Ciudad del Este has a very undeservedly bad reputation.
Crossing the bridge into Paraguay, I got that feeling I get when I cross a lot of borders: that this is going to be my favorite country yet. I could see the little shacks by the river and maybe I just felt comfortable with it if I can say that. It was familiar. So were the rickety cafes with plastic chairs on sidewalks, hawkers and street food. I can’t explain it, but I know I want to go back to Paraguay and travel around for a while. There is something really enticing about it. And I don’t understand why travelers avoid it but I want to learn more about this place.
I did have an interesting experience. I chatted with a guy from Lebanon for about an hour. He asked me about my wedding ring, (never travel without one, as important as a passport) and we talked for a while. Learning he was from Lebanon I asked him about the war, told him about a guy I interviewed for CBS that summer, etc. Learning I was from the US and after chatting for a while he said I must be pro-Israel being from the U.S.
I told him things weren’t that simple and that we don’t necessarily have a cohesive foreign policy that everyone agrees with, that in some places, I had been talking to Colleen about, the “Free Tibet” bumper stickers might be replaced by “Free Palestine” ones. He laughed once I explained this.
It gave me the courage to flat out ask him if he was Hamas. Now, I know I ask inappropriate questions, this is something else that has been pointed out to me recently, I tend to skip formalities and go to the things people wonder but don’t ask, and people have told me that they have been flabbergasted but I get away with it, usually because I have the voice of a 5 year old and seem harmless. He laughed and said almost the same thing.
“Things are neither black nor white either. But maybe more black than white and yes, there are many Hamas here.”
I sweated it out in the bathroom again while some people got busted on the border, but other than that, it was a very successful day in Paraguay. And I know that is a place I want to return too. I don’t know why, but I know it had potential to be one of my favorite places.
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