Volume IV: The South American Journals
Brazil - Argentina - Paraguay
November to December, 2018
Objective:
With the Iguaçu Falls as the focal point, the aim is, in the space of one month, to explore adjacent areas of Brazil and Argentina and to take a quick trip through Paraguay.
Finance:
We decided to travel with some cash [we were unable to acquire, surprisingly, any Argentinian Pesos and, not so surprisingly, Paraguayan Guarani – even Brazilian Reais were not as easily come by as we had expected!] We carried with us £400 in US dollars and £500 in Brazilian Reais – usually I would have obtained the currency from Money Corp’s office in Shaftesbury Avenue but, on this occasion, having consulted Travel Supermarket.com I went with Thomas Exchange Global Ltd [Ludgate Hill] who were efficient and seemingly offered the best rates of exchange.We shall hope to pay for much of our accommodation with our Nationwide Select Credit Card which makes no charges for foreign transactions and we shall replenish our cash stocks using our Barclays Platinum Credit Card which charges no commission on foreign currency and imposes no ATM fees [also there are no interest charges on cash withdrawals provided that the sums involved are paid off in full on, or before, the statement due date.]
Apart from the above-mentioned cash and cards,, we also took with us a pre-loaded FairFx. dollar card which we envisaged using in Paraguay where the US dollar is widely accepted and dollar ATMs can be found.
Travel arrangements:
Most of our travelling would have to be arranged on the spot; only flights were pre-booked.
We wanted to see a little of Southern Brazil whilst avoiding the two megacities which meant that a city like Curitiba, with links to the coast and good communications to the north of the state of Parana, was the ideal starting-off point. Accordingly, using Travel Supermarket.com’s flight-finder, we found reasonably priced return flights with KLM from London via Amsterdam/S. Paolo or Rio to Curitiba [£1404.20]; we also used Alternativeairlines.com (another very efficient organization] to book flights with LATAM from Iguazu back to Curitiba at the end of the holiday [£184.57]. For all other journeys, and there would inevitably be quite a few, we envisaged using the local bus services.
Final flight itinerary:
KLM/GOL: London-Amsterdam – São Paulo-Curitiba [Monday 12 Nov.].
LATAM: Iguazu – Curitiba [Saturday 8 December.]
GOL/KLM: Curitiba-Rio de Janeiro-Amsterdam-London. [Monday/Tuesday 10-11 Dec.]
Accommodation and other considerations:
Thanks to the invaluable Booking.com it is a relatively simple matter to book all necessary accommodation in advance – gone are the days when I would end up in some out-of-the-way location wondering where, or whether, I would find a place for the night!
As usual, the South American Handbook proved a vital source of information concerning logistics, attractions etc. (Especially valuable is its information on distances/times between destinations.)
As Wi-Fi is widely available in S. America it was essential to take chargers for ‘phones and I pads plus, of course, plug adaptors which could be used in any of the countries visited. For non-speakers of Spanish/Portuguese, a dictionary/phrasebook (in either hard copy or in electronic format) would be useful, if not positively essential!
We were travelling at the beginning of the summer season – the climate was generally warm (30c+) and dry – sports clothing that wicks away perspiration and is easily washed and dried proved invaluable (cheap, rapid service laundries seem to be in plentiful supply in major towns).
We carried with us the usual stock of remedies for stomach upsets (happily, never needed), sleep-aid tablets, antiseptic creams and sun-screen.
The envisaged itinerary was as follows:
[1] Curitiba 12 Nov. – 16 Nov. Laron Hotel, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, Centro. [Rs.342.86]
[2] Morretes 16 Nov. – 19 Nov. Pousada e Hostel Vovó Idalina, Rua Adolfo Werneck. [Rs.333]
[3] Curitiba 19 Nov. – 20 Nov. Novo CWB, Av. Visconde de Guarapuava, Centro. [Rs 110.04]
[4] Foz do Iguaçu 20 Nov. – 22 Nov. Bogari Hotel, Avenida Brasil. [Rs.306]
[5] Ciudad del Este 22 Nov. – 25 Nov. Hotel Miraflores, Av. Cruz del Chaco. [US $115.50]
[6] Concepción 25 Nov. – 27 Nov. Hostal de las Aguas, Mayor Julio Otano Av. Pinedo [US $72]
***Night of 27 Nov. To be arranged.***
[7] Asunción 28 Nov. – 30 Nov. Terrasunción, Cerro Cora. [US $54]
[8] Encarnación 30 Nov. – 2 Dec. Casa de la Y, Carmen de Lara Castro. [US $73.70]
[9] Posadas 2 Dec. – 5 Dec. Mimi House, Republic del Líbano. [US $87.12]
[10] Puerto Iguazú 5 Dec. – 8 Dec. Petit Hotel Caraguata, Caraguata. [US $58.41]
[11] Curitiba 8 Dec. – 9 Dec. Laron Hotel, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, Centro. [Rs. 90]
[12] Curitiba 9 Dec. – 10 Dec. Caravelle Palace Hotel, Rua Cruz Machado. [Rs. 92.70]
Day 1. Sunday, 11th. November 2018. Ilford/Heathrow
Everything having been packed days ago, I was able to enjoy a pretty leisurely day. Got up at 6:15 am to feed the cats and print the boarding passes, having selected our seats [16A & B to Amsterdam and 34 J & K to S. Paolo] after which I returned to bed and snoozed, with limited success, for a further two hours.
Spent the rest of the morning doing various chores around the garden and then, in the afternoon, set off for the Emirates for a 4:30 kick-off against Wolves. Game proved highly entertaining with Wolves looking decidedly the better side – I was obliged to leave a few minutes early and so missed the AFC’s equaliser!
Back to Redbridge for an evening meal and then left at 9:30 pm for Gants Hill; arrived at Holborn in time to catch the last train to Terminal 4 at 10:30 and, within an hour, we were comfortably ensconced within the Terminal supping the wine that we had brought with us.
Leaving home
The first bus of many!
Day 2. Monday, 12th. Nov. 2018 London-Amsterdam-S. Paolo-Curitiba
Well, the airport was quiet, the seats were not too uncomfortable and, all things considered, we were able to relax/doze surprisingly well (much better than in Terminal 3 last year!) Quick wash at 4:15 am and then a hassle-free bag-drop before passing through the usual formalities. Once again my cabin bag was diverted to a side this time because I had not put my 75ml. container of shoe polish in the same little plastic bag as my toothbrush! My two spare airport plastic bags were confiscated!
Passing the night away at Heathrow
Found our way to Gate 15 and had a relatively short wait before boarding a packed Amsterdam-bound 737-700. Slight delay in take-off but the time was made up and we actually arrived at Schiphol a few minutes early – in spite of the flight being so full we had to reflect upon the fact that a flight from Heathrow with an established carrier was far preferable to the budget experiences of which we seem to have had so much of late!
Arriving at the vast and highly sophisticated Schiphol we had to seek guidance as to how to find our onward flight. A short wait ensued at Gate F6 before entry on to another full aircraft (Boeing 777-300) and a departure scheduled for 9:55 am.
In transit
On the whole the flight was not too bad bearing in mind its duration; we had an inner and window seat which though fine at first eventually became somewhat uncomfortable largely owing to a lack of leg-room – vowed that on any future long-haul flight I would opt for an aisle seat. Hospitality aboard the plane was fine – two good snacks (cream cheese and chive wholemeal sandwiches and an afternoon ice-cream cornet) and the lunch of meat balls and red cabbage accompanied by an excellent green salad was perfectly satisfactory. On-board entertainment was good – saw a particularly interesting programme on Jackie Kennedy and Civil Rights.
Arrived on time in S. Paolo and then a lengthy delay at Immigration with hundreds of passengers and just a couple of officials! Thence to Baggage Reclaim and a desperate watch of the bags going around on the belt before eventually realising that our bags had been taken off the conveyor and were waiting in a corner for us!
Picked up the baggage and made for the Transit Area and the GOL desk where we had another substantial wait but, by 7:50 pm, we were free of of luggage and able to go up to Terminal 2 and a rather dingy Gate 202 to await our 9:55 departure. Managed (just) to get a couple of seats in the waiting area and sat out the rest of the remaining time until our flight was called, more-or-less on time. As I expected, S. Paolo airport is absolutely huge with vast numbers of passengers seemingly going in all directions!
In the GOL Departure Lounge
Boarded a GOL 737-800 and had seats on the very back row (33A & B) but there was a lengthy delay for reasons unexplained and we did not finally leave until 22:30 meaning that we would be arriving at our final destination much later than we would have liked. Never clear what caused the delay but groups of passengers kept coming aboard long after we were seated so can only conclude that there must have been problems with connecting flights. By the time that we were finally airborne the plane was ram-packed but the 45 minute trip was uneventful with just a suco and salgado to help pass the time!
Found on arrival in Curitiba yet another large and modern airport (enhanced, one imagines, for the 2014 Mundial); no Immigration to pass through and we were reunited with our baggage in double-quick time. In the baggage-reclaim hall we noticed some smartly uniformed young women touting the services of some organisation offering transport to town and claiming to be both safer and 30% cheaper than a taxi…took them up on their offer, collected our bags, paid Rs.49 and were escorted out of the terminal to the roadside where we were met by a car driven by a most personable individual, Norberto Meira, who drove us the 25 minutes to our hotel (Laron) but not before making a detour so that we could see the Botanical Gardens!
Friendly reception at Laron – paid the full rental for four nights [Rs.360], bought a couple of cold Brahmas from the hotel fridge and then repaired upstairs to a pretty basic, but quite acceptable, room. Drank our beers and then went to bed at 1:15 am.
Laron bedroom
Day 3. Tuesday, 13 Nov. 2018, Curitiba
M’s birthday!
Apart from feeling a little cold initially, I had an excellent night, Woke at 7:15 am but managed to get a little more sleep before rising at 8:30 for a very warm shower.
Laron’s road, Rua Barão do Rio Branco, leads directly to the city centre; we had just started off when we came across a snack-bar selling a variety of Middle-Eastern goodies and we stopped to enjoy a chicken pie, a meat patty and a curious (but delicious) fiambre and queijo tart plus bottles of cold agua mineral com gas enhanced with slices of lime [Rs.16].
Outside Damascus Food
Breakfast in Damascus Food
Thence up to the heart of Curitiba, Praça Tiradentes, where we paid the Cathedral a cursory visit before queuing up for the half-hourly Tourism Bus.
Paid Rs. 23.50 each (amazing value) for a three-hour tour of Curitiba and its environs;on this occasion we did not alight (hence the knock-down price) but vowed that tomorrow we would return and get off at various points.
Curitiba bus tour map
Arrived back at Tiradentes at 2:30 pm and repaired immediately to a nearby lancheria (Bob’s) where we consumed a couple of litres of icy Brahma and then meals of steak, chips, salad, beans, fried onions and noodles! Once again, excellent value for a total of Rs.49.
After eating we went in search of a supermarket which we found with some difficulty; took our purchases back to Laron and then went out in search of the Rodoferrovíaria using the town map in the S. American Handbook; bus station proved to be within fairly easy walking distance of the hotel.
Made my first objective to find out details of buses, times and prices to Foz do Iguaçu next week (quite pricey ca. Rs.195 each for a ten hour journey.) Made enquiries about buses to and fro Morretes and ended up buying ida e volta for Friday/Monday (Rs.94); the train is reputed to offer a spectacular experience but is much more expensive and, besides, I could not quite see where exactly the station was!
Back to Laron stopping only for another cold Brahma and to buy some Syrian snacks before going up to our room.
The day has been mostly sunny and, at all times, very warm – last night’s taxi driver predicted a temperature of 28c for today but it has clearly been warmer than that – at one stage I did see a roadside sign proclaiming 36c.
Back in the room we showered and I then went downstairs to buy some cans of cold guaraná. Ate the snacks and set about the fruit that we had bought earlier – three packets of strawberries and a bag of a very juicy local fruit (Jabuticaba) which looks like a very black grape and has flesh akin to a lychee.
The TV in the room had good picture quality and a number of channels so we lived in hopes of finding something at least vaguely entertaining – we were, alas, to be disappointed! Lots of adverts, numerous incredibly tedious “news” programmes and the occasional evangelical offering!
Luckily, with our stocks of cachaça and guaraná we were able to pass the time pleasantly enough! Put on the fan at a low speed and retired to bed at 10:00pm having taken a “sleep-aide” tablet in the hope of getting another good night…
Day 4. Wednesday 14 Nov. 2018, Curitiba
Yet another excellent night, not waking before 6:30 and then lying comfortably until rising at 8:00am for a hot shower on another warm and reasonably bright morning.
Walked up the road to repeat yesterday’s breakfast at Damascus Foods and pressed on to Praça Tiradentes where a very amiable policeman directed us to the Tourist Office in the nearby Centro Historico. Acquired some maps in the Turismo and details on how to plan tomorrow’s activities and then returned to Tiradentes to await the next departure of the Linha Turismo.
Curitiba street mural
Bright and warm, we were able once again to sit on the top deck (which ominously had a tarpaulin roofing) and take the first short leg of the journey to the Jardim Botanico where we alighted.
Entrance to Jardim
O Jardim proved to be a very pleasant space – colourful flower beds, a fine glass house (on a smaller scale to Kew’s Tropical House), a garden of the senses and a couple of picturesque lakes with an abundance of geese, ducks, wading-birds (Quero-quero) to say nothing of a number of turtles on the shores.
Left the Jardim at mid-day and took a bus as far as the Opera de Aramé, a quite spectacular venue:a theatre of metallic construction, situated on an island in a gorge and surrounded by water. While we were there a small musical combo played modern jazz from a floating stage. We explored the theatre and the woodland paths surrounding it.
Parque Tanguá is another attractive space of flower beds (particularly colourful beds of snap-dragons), fountains and lakes.
We had reached the bottom of the park when the sky began to cloud over causing us to hasten back to the covered bus-stop which we reached just as the heavens opened! By the time the next bus pulled in the rain had ceased and we embarked for the next parada on the itinerary – Parque Tingui which is apparently dedicated to the memory of the indigenous tribes of the area (notably the Guaraní).
The extensive park comprises a lake bordered by a 1.3km footpath which we duly followed…we were within some 330m of reaching the end of the circular route when a ferocious rain storm erupted! Luckily we had our plastic macs with us so, by and large kept mainly dry but our footwear took a soaking.
Tingui Park
When a bus came by we crammed ourselves onto the lower deck where a man was good enough to offer M his seat – M found herself sitting next to the man’s wife and it transpired that the couple were from S. Paolo and had come to Curitiba (for the first time) to celebrate the wife’s birthday on Nov 12th!
Arrived back at Tiradentes at 5:00pm and returned slowly to Laron stopping at a couple of dried fruit/spices/nuts shops for a couple of purchases and thence to Damascus Foods (seemingly no restaurants open at this time for full meals) where we had a couple of excellent mixed meat kebabs and Brahma stout.
Back at Laron we tried drying our shoes using our hairdryer (worked reasonably well) and then relaxed with a big bag of the Wotsits (or rather the local equivalent) and generous draughts of guaraná and cachaça. Did manage to find one vaguely entertaining TV channel but soon gave ourselves up entirely to drink before retiring to bed to read for a little – overcome with fatigue, our lights were out by 9:00pm!
Day 5. Thursday, 15 November 2018, Curitiba
Yet another good night though peppered with some vivid and alarming dreams! Is this the effect of cachaça? – if we were in Ghana or the Amazon I’d blame it on the Lariam!
Left Laron at 9:00am; happily shoes and socks had dried sufficiently to be wearable. On walking up the road we were struck by the quietness of the area and noticed that, apart from the Loja Chinesa, all the shops appeared to be closed; by the time we reached a shut-up Damascus Foods the penny finally dropped – today must be a public holiday! Did manage to find a lanchonette that was open (and thus doing a roaring trade) and bought a couple of snacks and some agua mineral for Rs.11.
Retraced our steps and proceeded to the Rodoferrovaria where, at the Princesa dos Campos office we booked the last seats on the 10:30 am to Ponta Grossa [Rs. 41.93 each) -had two aisle seats and asked the driver to put us off at the Parque Estadual de Vilha Velha. Very comfortable coach; M found herself next to a very personable PE student, João Manoel and we spent much of the trip talking to him – apparently my accent is akin to that of a native of Rio!…
[For Parque Estadual de Vilha Velha see South American Handbook 94th. edition, 2017.]
Dropped off at the entrance to the park at 11:50 am. and enquired first of all of the man in charge of the gate as to when there would be a return bus to Curitiba – apparently there is just one afternoon bus which stops directly across the road at 3:45 pm, meaning that that we would not have quite so much time at our disposal as we might have wished… Made our way up a 600m. drive to the Reception [Rs. 10 each for entrance – the idoso rate!]where we learned that to visit both major sites of interest would require at least three hours and that we would not be able to go anywhere until 1:30pm!
We chose to limit ourselves to the Furnas tour leaving at 1:30 pm and scheduled to last no longer than 90 minutes; spent the intervening period in the on-site lanchonette which offered some very tasty snacks.
1:30pm (or thereabouts!) we set off on a bus for the Furnas – gigantic water holes of which there are five but only two which are presently accessible to the public. Having trekked around the two water holes we were then taken to the environs of the Lagoa Dourada, a beautiful lake whose waters are linked to those of the furnas and which rise and fall in conjunction with them. All-in-all the tour lasted about an hour and a half which gave us plenty of time to get back to the main road and await the Curitiba bus.
Sat at the bus stop watching a myriad of heavy-duty lorries passing by; a couple of Princesa dos Campos expresses sailed past but, just as we were beginning to get nervous, along came the stopping Curitiba bus! Paid Rs.28.39 each and entered a very plush and half-empty vehicle which gave us a sedate trip back to the city.
Returned to Laron , dumped our bags and then went in search of a beer and a meal. Reached the top of the road at Praça Generosa Marques and found not only Bob’s to be open but also, directly in front of us, the Restaurante Bhau-Ma; as Bob’s appeared to be preparing for a DJ’s performance we decided upon the Bhau-Ma and its very welcoming Chinese host.
Bought a couple of freezing Brahmas and a set meal for two of alcatra (steak, rice, chips, beans, salad, and farofa) which proved to be of a very high quality [Rs.60]. We vowed to return at the next opportunity!
Back to Laron to try out the TV once again (with slightly more success than of late) and to indulge in our nightly cachaça session! TV was hardly exciting but it did show a couple of programmes about fitness and health which was a definite cut above what we’ve been subjected to the last few nights!
Made a change to our travel plans and arranged for us to stay in Laron for the last two nights prior to our return to Europe.
Went to sleep rather satisfied with our day as the trip which could have proved tricky in the end worked out rather well, particularly given the fact that the S. American Handbook, on this occasion at least, was not particularly helpful.
Day 6. Friday, 16th. November 2018. Curitiba/Morretes
[See South American Handbook, 94th. ed., pp. 496-99]
Cannot remember when I have ever had a run of such good nights as I have enjoyed here in Hotel Laron! By 9:00am we were packed up and seemingly moving on with more baggage than we began with!
Having charged-up the phones and found a map of Morretes, we set off at a leisurely pace along Rua Guarapuava in the hope of spotting the hotel that we shall stay in on Monday night; had almost reached the bus station when we came across the place, Novo CWB, bright and modern and, of course, wonderfully situated for our purposes!
Reached the Rodovaria with a couple of hours to spare which gave us the opportunity to book our trip to Iguaçu next Tuesday; most helpful ticket clerk advised me on the best seats to purchase [Rs.193 each].
Iguaçu arrangements made, we crossed over to Departures and waited at Gate U to leave at noon. Already sure of our seats we made no haste to board when our bus docked but, however, having checked-in our bags and having entered the coach in anticipation of dumping ourselves in the prize seats (3 & 4), we found a bolshy woman ensconced in seat 4 claiming that she had booked it and would not be moving! This all seemed very odd as a computerised booking system surely would not/could not double-book!…
Company staff took it upon themselves to resolve the dispute and it soon became clear that our tickets were kosher and the interloper was obliged to alight…we believe that the woman’s ticket was actually for a Sunday (past or future, who can say?); having been removed the woman did not return and we eventually set off some ten minutes later than scheduled. No sooner had we got going than we came to a halt – someone had spotted that the cursed woman had left her handbag on the luggage rack above the seat!
Morretes is 64 km. from Curitiba via a picturesque route that features one of the longest hills that I have ever encountered! We came in to the little town at 1:30 pm and then, thanks to M’s I Pad (fortunately, for no-one we asked seemed to have the faintest idea as to where the road might be!) managed to find our way to Rua Adolfo Werneck and the Pousada Vovó Adalina.
On arrival at the pousada we were disconcerted (to put it mildly) to find a notice on the office door saying that Reception was closed and that one should call a variety of numbers – hardly a practical proposition in our circumstances! Hung around discussing our limited options when the proprietress emerged from a nearby house, took our payment and then led us to a little chalet.
Settled into the room and then set off to explore the town; crossed the railway lines and soon found ourselves in a bustling trendy area full of shops and stalls all adjacent to a pretty river – all very lively!
Walked along both banks of the river and stopped for a while to listen to a band playing old favourites like Guantanamera. Although we had been told that 10:00 pm was the standard dining time, by 6:00 pm we were pretty hungry and decided to go in search of any eating establishment that might be open. Passed by an attractive-looking restaurant, Mak Tub, whose proprietor invited us in and, before too long, we were on the balcony upstairs dining on churrasco, chips, salad, rice and potato salad (which had M in ecstasies!) Meal plus beer came to Rs.70 and was much appreciated.
Walked home calling in on a large supermarket on the way to purchase guaraná and cachaça and by 8:20 pm we were in the chalet supping our sundowners with doors and windows wide open and the fan full on as it was still rather warm. Directly outside our little dwelling the residents of the two other chalets were shooting the breeze in animated fashion which soon became highly irritating!…
First impressions of Morretes? A charming little tropical town with touches reminiscent of such places as Mauritius and, more particularly, Amarante. Surrounded by mountains and choc-a-bloc with tropical vegetation and bird life it would appear to be an ideal place to stay for a few days….
Day 7. Saturday, 17th. November 2018, Morretes
Last night we actually found an interesting programme on TV to watch dealing with the Amazon – trouble was, by the time we found it, we were too tired to watch! By 10:00 pm we were asleep.
After another good night, we got up at 7:30 am, showered and re-packed our bags before crossing the courtyard for a most acceptable breakfast of pão integral, presunto, queijo, melon and papaya washed down by unsweetened juice of maracujá.
Breakfast at Adalina
After eating we hurried down to the Rodovaria to catch the 9:25 am to Paranaguá and a pleasant trip of about an hour.
Morretes bus station
The outskirts of Paranaguá seem to stretch for miles and can hardly be called attractive; at least the bus station was in the very centre of town.
A warm but heavily overcast morning, I cannot say that our first impressions were particularly favourable – all seemed faded and drab. Walked the few metres to the docks/waterfront, looked around and then crossed over the bay via a bridge and followed a multitude of people thinking that there must be some major attraction to be seen – there wasn’t!
Crossed the bay back to the main town thinking that we would exit the place very shortly but, in the meantime walked the length of the waterfront, noticing as we did so, a number of attractive, if faded, buildings and facades.
Reaching the end of the waterfront walk we turned up the hill stopping first at an attractive old church undergoing refurbishment and then, a little further along, the Municipal Theatre which seems to be very much of a going concern with productions of one sort or another most nights (they’re putting on Dracula next week!)
Now past mid-day we proceeded along the high street into to the main body of the town and encountered Lanchonete/Restaurante Guloso which offers a lunchtime buffet (charged by weight); we spent a total of Rs.38.90 on beers, rice, beef,chicken, fish, salad etc and concluded that it was money well spent!
Heading back to the Rodovaria after lunch we popped into the Municipal Aquarium, paid the idoso rate of Rs.15 each, and enjoyed a pleasant interlude looking at well-maintained tanks of assorted South American fish.
Took a bus to Praia de Leste at 2:00 pm – exceedingly crowded we were lucky to get a couple of seats together. Journey of an hour’s duration but at least we passed through some beautiful countryside and arrived in full sunshine.
It is a walk of some ten minutes from the bus-station to the front which we interrupted by stopping at a sorvetaria for some brilliant ices (I had, cherry and grape and cream!).
Praia turns out to be a vast expanse of flat sand – completely free of stones and litter! Lots of people around but such is the vastness of the expanse of sand that it did not seem in the least crowded.
We enjoyed a lengthy walk at the water’s edge – didn’t bother to change but contented ourselves with paddling. Took my first ever selfie! before hurryin back into town to be sure of catching a crowded 4:40 pm back to Paranaguá.
My first ever “selfie”!
Arrived back in Adalina to find the room very stuffy because, although we had been told that there is no need to close windows such is the tranquility and safety of the area, nonetheless all our windows had been firmly closed! Perhaps what struck us as most odd was that, although someone had taken it upon themselves to enter the chalet and close the windows, they had done absolutely nothing else! Beds unmade, towels unchanged and waste-bin unemptied! (in fairness, I should add that we subsequently saw a notice on the door requesting guests to notify management if they require room-cleaning.) It was at this point that Four in a Bed came to mind!… Adalina certainly has its good points but we would most probably not choose to return!
Arrived back just in time to miss the 5:45 pm bus back to Morretes requiring us to wait another 45 minutes or so. Back in Morretes we did a little supermarket shopping and then wended our way home stopping off at a roadside bar, basic but hospitable, for a couple of beers before returning to the pousada, passing as we did so, a large, standing-room only, Pentecostal church.
Finished the night with watching some mildly interesting programmes on TV and sipping our now-traditional guaraná and cachaça; mood of the night rather dampened by the news that M’s friend, Charlotte, has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. To bed at 11:15 pm. – our latest night of the holiday so far!
Day 8. Sunday, 18th November, 2018, Morretes
This is becoming repetitive! Yet another great night – turned off the light, rolled over, opened my eyes and it was 7:00am!
Breakfast the same as yesterday save for the fact that we supplemented it with a couple of maracujas that we bought yesterday. The very pleasant girl who presides over breakfast says that she is going to clean-up the room and provide fresh towels – we shall see…
A dull and cool morning to begin with and then light drizzle.Reached the bus station with plenty to spare and took the 11:05 am to Antonina, a journey of some 30 minutes (although, curiously, the return journey is about 10 minutes shorter.) While waiting for the bus we were entertained by a highly eccentric (to put it kindly) woman who had a remarkable facility for imitating both birds and police cars!
Antonina Bus Station
A pretty journey through the drizzle terminating in Antonina’s rodoviária which is a stone’s throw away from a large and beautiful bay. The centre of town appears both somewhat shabby and yet, at the same time, it has a certain charm. The town, and especially the reed beds adjacent to the bay, both represent a bird-watcher’s paradise.
Braved the light rain and walked to the jetty where we spent a little time; agreed, tentatively, that later on we would take a boat trip around the bay for Rs.50. Quite clearly, on a sunny day, Antonina would be a picturesque gem; even so, with a lot of low mist obscuring the sides of the bay and the constant threat of a downpour, the place was distinctly attractive.
Set about exploring the town itself by walking along the main street (15 Novembro – inevitably!). All around there seemed to be restaurants of one kind or another; saw a sign pointing off 15 Novembro to a certain Restaurante Container [Rua Heitor Soares Gomes, 68]offering buffet meals for Rs.18.90 and, reckoning that this might be our best chance of a meal for the rest of the day, and in spite of the quite substantial breakfast that we had enjoyed not that long ago, we decided to give it a try.
We came away from the curiously named restaurant more than satisfied! The proprietress herself suggested that we use two plates each! Rice, chips, salads, beans, beef, chicken and fish plus a litre of Brahmas each for total of Rs.50! A very friendly owner, we parted as firm friends.
M with the Container‘s proprietor
To aid digestion we walked up through the town and reached the highest point at the attractive Santuario da Nossa Senhora do Pilar; looked around the church and then sat on a bench outside overlooking the bay.
Eventually decided that we would take advantage of the boat trip offer so walked back along the waterfront but, just as we arrived at the pier, the weather took a turn for the worse and it was decided that there would be no more maritime excursions for the rest of the afternoon. Put on our capes and wandered the streets but soon came to the conclusion that that we would be best off returning to the shelter of the rodoviária and awaiting our return bus at 3:45pm.
On arrival back in Morretes we visited the Bola de Neve for some very good ice creams before heading back through the drizzle to the pousada to take it easy only to find that a rather noisy family have moved in next door….After 7:00pm the rain eased off and we went for a short walk going as far as last night’s bar where we had a beer and a salgado before returning home once more.
Unusually there were actually some interesting programmes on the television – notably a couple of American linguistic experts tracking down and recording dying languages in Bolivia and Siberia which was then followed by a programme concerning the effects of drought on Brazilian agriculture. Finished the evening with the familiar guaraná/cachaça combination and then reading for a while before extinguishing the light.
Day 9. Monday, 19th. November 2018. Morretes / Curitiba
Got up at 7:20am and then spent time packing up our baggage while waiting for the breakfast room to open.
As usual, presunto and queijo plus yoghurt, pawpaw and maracujas; all the other guests were breakfasting today so the communal table was laden. Outside conditions were dry but distinctly cool (17c) and if the forecast was anything to go by, Curitiba was not likely to be any warmer.
Left Vovo Adelina at 10:00am after bidding a warm farewell to the proprietress and the breakfast girl. I am still in two minds about the pousada – the people running the place are pleasant and we have to admit that the lack of cleaning on the first day was mainly our fault but, nonetheless, certain improvements could be made – ie bedside table(s), chairs instead of flimsy plastic stools, perhaps even some benches and tables outside the chalets (some sound-proofing wouldn’t come amiss either!)
Ambled down to the bus station stopping on the way to let one of the very longest trains that I have ever seen pass along the tracks (in fact I have only once ever seen anything like this before and that was in Fargo, N. Dakota.) Bus left at 11:00am with us in seats 3 and 4 but this time without any prior argy-bargy!
Journey back to Curitiba took 90 minutes and then just a further five to reach the Hotel CWB, a rather up-market establishment by our standards; we were not able to check-in before 2:00 pm but at least the hotel was happy to look after our luggage in the meantime.
Adjourned for lunch to Restaurante Torres in the nearby Rua Mariano Torres which offers buffet meals at Rs.13.50 per head and then, after a very substantial lunch, we had a brief walk around the neighbouring blocks before presenting ourselves once again at CWB. As we were checking-in a young couple were checking-out but had made the mistake of failing to realise that here one checks out at 12:00pm and checks in at 2:00pm – that mistake cost them a further Rs.75!
We were given a smart card key and then took the lift to room 703 on the seventh floor – all very plush. Put down our bags and then headed out into the city simply to wander around and get a better idea of the place.
Our room at CWB
By 5:00pm we thought that a beer break was in order so wended our way to Bhau-Ma for a friendly reception and some ever-welcome Brahma. Had a long conversation with the Chinese proprietor leaving him incredulous over some aspects of our life! The daughter turned up and set about working on her laptop and, as she had to write an abstract of her project in English we were soon called in for some assistance! The girl is actually pretty good but still required substantial advice – eventually she sent the concluding part for us to consider and polish-up at our leisure! A not insubstantial task!
Returned to the hotel at 6:45 and re-packed so that we would have little to do in the morning when we were likely to be pressed for time. Packing over, we had our usual evening sundowners plus a sleep-aid tablet each but not before sorting out the Chinese girl’s abstract. Set the alarm for 6:00am in the hope that, if we moved quickly, we should be able to avail ourselves of breakfast before departure.
Day 10. Tuesday, 20th. November 2018. Curitiba/Foz do Iguaçu
The ironies of life! By far the most comfortable hotel room since Cologne and quite the worst night I have had for as long as I can remember! For long I was too cold for comfort but still found sleep hard to come by even after M had increased the heating in the room.
By 7:00am we had finished an excellent breakfast leaving us sufficient time to make our objective of reaching the rodoviária by 7:30am. The day began reasonably brightly with the forecast for Iguaçu looking promising (ca.29c).
As planned we had but a short wait before our bus pulled in; loaded our baggage and then went upstairs to seats 23 and 24 at the very front of the bus guaranteeing us brilliant views throughout the journey. Departed on the dot at 8:00am and soon dropped off for the best part of an hour. Passed through very attractive rural scenery – pastures, ponds, fields of soya and maize.
At the short lunch stop at 12:45pm bought some water and some salgados and then returned to the bus which set off again after half an hour. The second leg of the journey involved a couple of brief stops to pick up/drop passengers; progress was slow at times but at least always continuous. I believe that our scheduled arrival time was 4:30 pm but, in the event, we did not reach our final destination until close to 7:00pm.
The main rodoviária is some distance from the centre of town and so we hired the services of what must be Brazil’s most taciturn taxista to take us to the Hotel Bogari [Rs.20] which turned out to be a distinctly up-market establishment. Checked into room 3010 and paid an extra Rs.40 for breakfast; we were even offered a complimentary glass of “champagne” in the hotel bar!
Deposited our goods and chattels and then visited a near-by supermarket. Returned to Bogari to put our purchases in the room fridge only to find that the card would not let us into the room! Called Management up but they too were thwarted! Eventually a carpenter/technician had to be summoned to sort out the lock!
Locked out!
After an hour or so, we got back into the room, stowed the drinks in the fridge and then went straight out. Went just a few metres to the right of the hotel entrance to a bar/restaurant with tables on the pavement where we ordered beer and then succumbed to the temptation of a meal as well – chicken wings, chips and fried tilapia and two litres of Brahma [Rs.46]
Returned to Bogari and to a major panic on realising that we seemingly had not got our entry card!…To cut a long story short, the card was eventually found in one of my pockets…
Upstairs to room 3010 to watch TV (we’ve even got CNN here) and to refresh ourselves with cold drinks from the fridge.
First impressions of Foz do Iguaçu?
Very lively street life – our street is lined with pavement cafes.
Very warm climate.
Lots of visitors.
Probably a very prosperous city – the supermarket that we visited earlier was probably the largest of its kind that I have seen anywhere!
Lots of people road running/jogging (saw more in an hour than I have seen in the last week.)
With the Hotel Bogari we have most definitely landed on our feet!
Day 11. Wednesday, 21st. November 2018, Foz do Iguaçu
Due to one thing and another, our evening started later than usual and then, when we returned to the room, we discovered that we could watch CNN which resulted in us not actually getting to bed until midnight.
Enjoyed a beautiful sleep not waking till 6:00 am and then dozing on until a warm shower at 7:15 am.
Down to breakfast at 8:15 am which, as was to be expected, was extensive – ingredients much like anywhere else but on a grander scale! We made sure to consume a substantial amount thus obviating the need for lunch later on in the day.
Over to the close-by local bus terminus and waited in a large throng for a Bus #120 to the Falls – a crowded bus cost us just Rs.3.50 each. Stood during a journey which took the best part of thirty minutes.
Arrived at a smart and well-organised Visitors’ Centre where we purchased entradas for Rs. 69 each and then , after waiting in line for a while, were taken in an open-topped double-decker some 15km. to the start of the 1.5km trilha to the Cataratas.
Start of the trilha
One can see some of the river and some of the smaller waterfalls at the beginning of the trail but, the further that one progresses, the more amazing the whole area is and, at the end of trail we found ourselves confronting absolutely gigantic falls (Garganta do Diablo ).
Having walked the trail we had a quick look in the souvenir shop where we managed to find some cards to buy and then took the trail back to the Visitors’ Centre, the whole visit having lasted about a couple of hours. As we came out of the souvenir shop which is adjacent to the falls we were astonished to see some young Chinese doing handstands and other contortions on one of the walls overlooking the viewing stands! Needless to say, an official pretty soon called a halt to the entertainment!
Incidentally, the trilhas were populated by numerous coati – generally digging for grubs, climbing up on rubbish bins or just running hither and thither along the railings.
As we had time to spare we decided to visit the near-by Parque das Aves but, tempted by the prospect of empanadas, stopped at a roadside stall run by a couple of very friendly Argentinians. We ordered frango and carne con queijo empanadas [Rs.10 each] and then waited while they were made from scratch in front of us! When they finally arrived we found them exceedingly appetising – something akin to a very exotic Cornish pasty!
Just as we were finishing our snacks the Chinese acrobats turned up! We had a quick chat and expressed our admiration before taking a communal picture and then progressing to the bird sanctuary.
Paid Rs.45 each to enter the Parque and then spent the next three hours and more following the trails in an immaculately laid-out forest setting; saw all kinds of birds at close quarters as well as lizards, iguanas, constrictors, anaconda, and jacarí. There was also an amazing butterfly house to visit full of many different and highly-coloured species.
Left the sanctuary at 4:00 pm and took another very crowded #120 back to the terminal where, before going for a much-needed beer, we made enquiries about buses running tomorrow to the Friendship Bridge although, in view of the demand for buses, we wondered how we would cope with all our baggage.
Had a Brahma at a pavement cafe close to Bogari and then walked the length of Av. Brasil in search of a Correo where we could post the cards that we wrote yesterday. Having posted our cards we returned to the familiar environs of Bogari and the Cantinha do Brasil and ordered an excellent meal of double cheese steaks, fries, rice, salad and feijão – Rs.48.
Back to the hotel to shower and then to go to the bar to enjoy our complimentary glasses of “demi-sec”after which we returned to the room to watch a National Geographic documentary on survivalism in Florida whilst enjoying the customary guaraná and cachaça. To bed by 11:15 pm.
Day 12. Thursday 22nd. November 2018, Foz do Iguaçu / Ciudad del Este
Amazing to think that fifty-five years ago today my mother attended a Parents’ Evening leaving me at home to watch the television…sometimes I think that nothing has ever been quite the same since!
Had another great night’s sleep and got up, reluctantly, at 7:20 am for a warm shower and to find that I now have 777 followers on Instagram!
Breakfast at Bogari
Had breakfast and then spoke with a taxi driver who offered to take us to the Ponte de Amistad for Rs. 20 thus making it hardly worth thinking of the bus. Left Bogari at 10:00 am and took a taxi to the bridge some 5km away. Needless to say, there was a lot of traffic crossing over into Paraguay, both vehicles and pedestrians.
Friendship Bridge: River Paraná
Obtained our saidas and then walked the 600m over the Friendship Bridge to receive our entradas from the Paraguayan authorities and also to make enquiries and obtain a map from the adjacent Turismo. Against my better instincts I was obliged to use a street dealer to get some local currency – cashed US $20 at a rate of 5800 to the dollar and incredibly the shark tried, unsuccessfully, to give me 114,000 as opposed to 116,000 guarani!
Not having the faintest idea of the geography of Ciudad del Este (in spite of Turismo’s map) we thought it best to engage the services of a very willing taxista who likewise seemed to have little idea as to the location of our destination – the Hotel Miraflores! Never mind, we got there in the end and I paid the man US$4 for his troubles.
A little too early to check-in, the welcoming proprietress let us deposit our bags, marked various sites of interest on our map and asked us to return in an hour.
Hotel Miraflores
Out on to the main street to find ourselves almost directly opposite the main bus station! I had dreaded having to tramp the streets in search of the bus station so to find it so close at hand was very much a prayer answered!…Made enquiries at the terminus about buses to Concepción on Sunday and encountered a very jovial clerk – tickets for the 12:30 pm bus are priced at G 110,000 but, as the company doesn’t accept cards I had to seek out a money-changer in the station and trade US$ 200 (@5800 to the $) and then return to the kiosk to secure our passages.
Had a Brahma and an empanada at a little snack-bar nearby and then returned to Miraflores to check-in (still unaware of the one hour time difference between Paraguay and Brazil!).
We were allocated a very pleasant little room (#1) on the ground floor opposite the office and comedor – room included bathroom facilities, a fridge , a/c and fan and a TV with, seemingly, dozens of channels.
Unpacked our bags and then relaxed on the bed in the cool while reading minute-by-minute reports of the Brexit deal that has just been agreed and which Mrs May will shortly present to Parliament…
Around 12:30 pm we left Miraflores in search of a laundry and then lunch; soon found a laundry and arranged to bring some of our dirty clothing tomorrow and then retraced our steps to the Comedor Na Reina (“Donde comes como en casa”) where for G33,000 we had a very substantial and tasty meal ( I had stewed liver, rice, salad plus mandioca and orange segments).
After the meal we set about walking off the lunch by following the map to the Lago de la Republica – apparently the lake is home to jacarís but we saw none although we did encounter a number of creatures which we took to be guinea pigs!
On our way back from the lake, which had proved a lengthy excursion, we came across Fastway, a vast restaurant cum bar cum leisure area which was open (though absolutely devoid of any customers) and was plastered with Brahma adverts – in fact they don’t stock the stuff, only a number of foreign and expensive brews! A most charming CR7 look-alike went out of his way to make us feel at home and we ended up enjoying a couple of litres of an exceedingly good Argentinian beer – Patagonia [G 46,000!] whilst sitting outside the air-conditioned lounge , in the open, in arm-chairs with a wind machine directly behind us to keep us cool!
Revived we followed the map to what proved to be a vast supermarket where we spent G 94,000 on assorted odds and ends ( bread, tomatoes, cheese, red and white wine etc). The check-out staff were exceedingly friendly and seemed to get a big kick out of serving such exotic visitors!
Spent a very pleasant and warm evening sitting outside our room eating bread and cheese and tomatoes and drinking good-standard Chilean red and white wines. At 9:00 pm we moved back inside the room to explore the TV channels.
Relaxing outside our room with Toffee in the foreground!
Day 13. Friday 23rd. November, Ciudad del Este
Yet another great night! Woke up to a very gloomy morning which soon deteriorated into a stormy one: loud thunder, flashes of lightning and torrential rain.
A substantial breakfast comprising the usual ingredients and then to wait a while for the weather to ameliorate. Once we were fairly confident that the rain had blown over we took our dirty clothing to the little laundry receiving the promise that it would be ready to collect before closure at 7:00 pm.
Returned to Miraflores, gathered the bare essentials and then, passing by the supermarket first, set about the day’s objective, the hydro-electric complex at Itaipu; we were given explicit instructions as to where to find the appropriate bus so all we had to do was to follow our map…
Well, we started off OK but soon began to have doubts as the map and reality increasingly seemed to diverge! Eventually resorted to asking a couple of young women working in a pharmacy if they could help but they seemed to have no more faith in our map than we did! Decided to follow our hunch and set off up the road but had not gone far when a car pulled up beside us – it was mid-day and one of the pharmacists who was off for her lunch-break offered us a lift to where we might catch the appropriate bus and, when we arrived at the designated spot, she waited with us until the bus appeared.
Fifteen minutes later and we were at the outskirts of Itaipu and faced a walk of perhaps a kilometer up to the Reception Centre where, we were informed, we were just in time for the next guided bus tour (free). Had a fascinating trip up to the dam and the vast Itaipu lake (350 sq. km.) – the figures involved in the whole venture (a joint enterprise with Brazil) are staggering.
Returning from the tour, we lunched at a roadside Pescaderia on fried fish and yucca and a couple of cans of beer – G 60,000, OK, but nothing to write home about, and then made our way down to the Guarani Museum (free of charge) which houses an excellent display of interesting material. We were still looking around the museum when we were asked to leave as it was 3:45 pm and, theoretically at least, the building closes at 3:30 pm!
4:00 pm. saw us waiting with a number of others at the roadside awaiting a bus to town; conditions had, for a while, been bright and sunny but cloud began to predominate and once back in the city it was a race to get back to Miraflores before the rain – we lost narrowly!
The sharp shower was at least short-lived and we were soon able to venture out once more – this time to pick up our clothing from the Lavandaria (G 40,000) and to have a beer at a neighbouring bar before returning for a meal identical to yesterday’s.
On the tour at Itaipu we found ourselves sitting very close to a young oriental couple (laden down, I need hardly add, with what must be some of the most expensive and sophisticated camera equipment available); later, when we were eating in the Pescaderia, they entered but did not stay to order, and tonight we have come across them again – they are our neighbours in Room 2!
One curious aspect of life here that has struck us concerns traffic control – it seems to be conspicuous by its absence! There are a few traffic lights here and there but, by and large, traffic seems to be completely unregulated, even at major junctions! That said, traffic flow does not seem to be in any way adversely affected!
Day 14. Saturday 24th. November 2018, Ciudad del Este
Reasonable night but had to get up at 3:00 am to seek some indigestion remedy – I blame the green pepper at supper! Got up at 7:40 am and this time put on the hot water switch – it made not a jot of difference! Outside the day was once again cool and cloudy.
Enjoyed a substantial breakfast and then , having been briefed by our hosts, set off down the road to the junction to catch a bus to Presidente Franco armed with the knowledge that the appropriate bus would be either green and white or red and white! Unfortunately, as we were crossing the road we just missed a green and white vehicle…Had a long wait at the roadside during which time it began to rain and sundry buses (none of the right colour-scheme) passed along but none going our way. Finally, a taxista who had been observing us for a while offered his services for G 40,000 and we were happy to accept!
Waiting (in vain) for a bus…
A ride of some 10 km. took us to the Turismo precinct of Salto de Monday, a little distance outside of the town of Presidente Franco. Paid a fee of G 70,000 and were given a very personable and informative guide to ourselves, Mirta, to show us the sights – and spectacular sights they were too! Descended 250 steps to the waterfall and then a walk to an artificial lake from whence the rocks were extracted to build the infrastructure around the Salto.
Eventually left Mirta and walked the 1 km into town in the hope of both getting a meal and of finding a bus to take us to Las Tres Frontieras. Soon found a roadside restaurant (Moncho)at which to eat – rice, beans, yucca and meat both stewed and Milanesa-style – together with a couple of small beers we paid G 38,000 which was very reasonable.
Took lots of advice along the road concerning buses to the frontiers and, for a change, everybody seemed to agree on the general direction that we should take but, yet again, there seemed to be a chronic lack of public transport! Once more a taxista came to our rescue and offered to take us for G 30,000 and, once again, we jumped at the offer! Curiously, although the man had been plying his trade for twenty-seven years in the area, he had never been to the Hito de Las Tres Frontieras!
Suffice it to say that we reached the entrance to the park, paid G 10,000 entrance money and then wandered down the well-maintained path to the headland at the junction of the Monday and Paraná rivers where we looked across to both Brazil (on our left) and Argentina (on our right.)
Frontier on Paraguayan side
Brazil and Argentina in the background
Returned to the main road at 3:10 pm and waited by the park entrance for transport to Ciudad del Este – after some 20 minutes we were picked up and taken all the way back to the bus station close to Miraflores.
Living in hopes of a bus….
Another evening meal comprising the same ingredients as previous nights. Sat outside the room drinking wine on what had turned into a very pleasant evening and, it being Saturday night, music from beyond the hotel filled the air.
Day 15. Sunday 25th. November 2018, Ciudad del Este / Concepción
Had a reasonable night in spite, once again, of indigestion which, as last night, I attribute to the peppers in our salad. Up at 7:40 am for a vaguely warm shower and then some bag-packing before breakfast. Comedor was packed as there was a contingent of youths staying at the hotel who are linked to some environmental project concerning the Salto de Monday.
Looking ahead to the end of our trip obliged us to consider our last couple of days which would be back in Curitiba; we liked Laron well enough but, quite frankly, Novo CWB was a class apart and so, I logged-in to Booking.com, cancelled the Laron reservations and booked Novo CWB for our final two nights.
11:30 am, took our leave of Miraflores and its proprietors (and their dog, Toffee!) and walked across to the bus terminal (what an advantage having the hotel quite so close – but not too close!) Changed US $50 and then sat around for a while until our bus was called.
Farewell to Miraflores
Departed on the dot at 12:30 pm with most seats taken; we had seats 15 and 16 but, happily, after a couple of hours, some of the passengers alighted and we were able to commandeer seats 17 and 18 as well!
Reached Coronel Oviedo at 4:00 pm and then turned north – pleasant journey through vast fields under cultivation and well-cared-for cows everywhere (including by the roadside!) Day was bright and sunny and yet most of the passengers preferred to travel with the curtains fully drawn and either snooze or stare vacantly into space!
Next stop Concepción…
Our arrival in Concepción was scheduled for 9:30 pm and we actually arrived just 15 minutes late – a pretty good achievement. We alighted and were immediately accosted by a taxista offering to take us to our lodgings for a hefty G 40,000! Well, it was dark and we did not know the city at all so had little option but to accept, albeit a little reluctantly!
Arriving in Concepción we were astonished by the vibrant night-life! Hundreds, if not thousands, thronging the streets with bars and restaurants doing a roaring trade at well past 10.00 pm on a Sunday night! According to our taxi driver the city is alive until about 2:00 am every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night!
The bright lights of Concepción
Arrived at Hotel de las Aguas only to find that the room we had booked was unavailable and that we would have to spend a night in a miserable ground floor room which was cramped and devoid of most facilities (e.g. fridge, TV etc.) – however, it did at least boast effective A/C.
Deposited our luggage and then went up to the bustling main road in search of food and drink. Stopped at a Lomitaria where we satisfied our hunger with a generous Arabic-style meat wrap before crossing the road for a couple of litres of Brahma and then finally home for a cachaça night-cap. In many ways the room was unsatisfactory but it was at least cool and the beds seemed comfortable enough…
Lomiteria Arias
Day 16. Monday 26th. November 2018. Concepción
Maybe it was the Sleep-aide tablet, perhaps it was the substantial quantity of cachaça consumed – whatever the cause, I had an amazing night’s sleep! The alarm failed to go off (think it’s defunct) and did not rise till 8:00 am.
We were about to go for breakfast when we were informed that our room upstairs was ready so, hastily packed up our scattered belongings and took them upstairs to the kind of room that I had expected – spacious with a high wooden ceiling, large adjacent bathroom, cavernous storage space and a substantial balcony! An improvement of 100% on last night’s room!
Outside Hotel de Las Aguas
Breakfast itself was no great shakes – uninspiring rolls, cheese slices and guava jelly. Had an informative chat with the owner – apparently there is no boat to Asunción or, if there is, it is very infrequent; given this information we decided on the spot to stay in Concepción for an extra night.
Set ourselves two main objectives: to visit the Turismo and to return to the bus station and secure seats on an Asunción-bound bus on Wednesday. Found the Tourist Office in amongst some picturesque local government buildings; it consists of a large airy room, a desk with a p.c., a cupboard with a few brochures (seemingly none relating to Concepción) and a most friendly and personable young woman. I asked for the impossible (ie., a map) which the poor woman could not accommodate but she did promise that she would try and drop some information off on us tomorrow morning…
A long, hot walk to the terminal ensued (Concepción seems a particularly hot city) with all the myriad little bars along the way being closed (because it was Monday? Were people still recovering from Sunday night?) We were glad to reach the station and find an adjacent snackbar which was open and where we were able to avail ourselves of a couple of litres of Brahma and a few empanadas.
None of the buses to Asunción start from here at what I would call an ideal time – in the end we paid G 90,000 each for seats on the 9:35 am which was scheduled to arrive around 4:00 pm and thus unlikely to leave us any time for sight-seeing that afternoon.
A friendly young man at one of the ticket booths got talking to us and ended up taking us, one by one, on his motorbike to the port of Concepción (gave him G 30000 for his troubles).
There was not an awful lot going on in the port – a couple of very decrepit ships loading up ( they made the Gran Diego look like the Royal Yacht Britannia!), and a few locals sitting around in the shade shooting the breeze. I enquired about swimming beaches but was told that at present river levels are too high; one old boy was intrigued to learn that we came from England and promptly divested himself of the only English that he knew: “David Beckham”!…
Saw a girl throw a plastic bottle down the steps to the river and told her off and instructed her to go and pick it up and put it in the rubbish bin provided – she did as she was told!
Chaco War Memorial at the port of Concepción
Walking away from the puerto we ambled along in the blazing heat (34c.) along a never-ending street lined with banks and cambios – after a struggle managed to draw both G 300,000 and US $160 but had to pay a hefty ATM charge on both transactions.
Returned to the square near where we found ourselves yesterday evening and stopped at Tia Ani which is run by a very genial old chap and where we had a couple of beers all the while casting covetous eyes at some of the meals being dished up!
Paid a visit to a near-by supermarket to buy fruit, wine and water and then succumbed to the thought of Tia Ani’s dishes and returned for two bottles of Sprite and two plates of milanesa, rice, fried eggs and salad [G 54,000]. Feeling very warm, fatigued and dehydrated we returned to our room for drinks of cold water, a shower and a rest before rinsing out a few items and hanging them out on the balcony to dry.
Went out again to the supermarket and bought large bottles of water and fizzy pomelo and then sat at last night’s bar and consumed another couple of litres of Brahma before returning home to sit in air-conditioned comfort to drink some of our Argentinian wine. Saw the proprietor and paid our bill – US $77 for three nights! Did not quite understand how he arrived at that figure when, according to Booking.com, two nights should have cost us US $72! perhaps we were given the first night free in view of the confusion! Anyway, everybody was happy!
Drank wine, listened on our radio to some local stations and then watched a number of musical items on YouTube – finally went to bed at 1:15 am.
Day 17. Tuesday 27th. November 2018, Concepción
Another very good night; got up at 7:40 am for a warm(ish) shower and then down to an apology for a breakfast. Met a chap in the dining room who hails from High Wycombe (but was actually born in Paraguay) – a passionate Brexiteer!
The main objective of the morning, a cool and cloudy one, was to visit the Cathedral and the adjacent Plaza de la Libertad and to revisit Calle Pr. Franco to change some more US dollars.
Found the Cathedral easily enough (seven blocks down and three across from the Hostal) – rather spartan and of no great antiquity whose main feature of interest is a picture of the Madonna produced in Poland and given by John Paul II when he visited a few years ago. As for the cambio – took the advice of the S. American Handbook and cashed US $50 at the Cambio Pr. Franco/14 Mayo (at a rate of G 5840 per Us $).By now lunch time was approaching and, attracted by its pristine table-cloths we fetched up at the near-by Restaurante El Palacio de las Milanesas.
A very attentive patron saw to our needs; we had chicken accompanied by chips and a rather tasty cabbage salad. Meal came to G 66,000 so was not exactly given away but, on the whole was quite good…what, however, I was not keen on was the fact that I had two pieces of milanesa and, having enjoyed the first piece, was disconcerted by the unusual texture and taste of the second – finally came to the conclusion that, in fact, I was eating fish (or at least, I hope I was!).
Returned to the town centre, admiring the rather eccentric street furniture as we did so; felt like having a dessert and so visited Tia Ani for very generous portions of ice-cream and to bid farewell to Emiliano, the owner. Walked off our lunch by going down to the river; by the end of Pr.Franco, and on an idyllic spot on the front, we came across a mighty ruin of a Hotel Piscis – God only knows what catastrophe must have led to its abandonment for it is situated, one would have thought, in an absolutely prime location.
Paid another visit to the puerto and sat on a bench for a while looking at the river before slowly returning to Las Aguas where we glad to get back to a cold room. After a couple of hours though, we ventured out again, retracing our steps to the puerto in order to capture the setting of the sun over the River Paraguay; of course, as might be expected, the sunset was nowhere near as spectacular as it had been last night!
It turns out that the puerto in the evening is a popular attraction- lots of people sitting around looking at the sunset and a number (largely men) who appeared to be members of a swimming club who used the Paraguay for their exercise; all wore vests emblazoned with a slogan exhorting people to “conquer their fears by swimming.“
Returned to the town centre and patronised Lomiteria Arias where, in fact, we had eaten when we first arrived – yet again we had a very satisfying Lomito Arabe washed down with Sprite (G36,000). Had a beer elsewhere and then headed for our room to consume a bottle of exceedingly cheap (and surprisingly good) Argentinian wine.
By now we were effectively packed-up meaning that we would have little to do in the morning when the proprietor has arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 8:45 am. Some sort of demonstration kicked off in the quiet of the night with occasional outbreaks of fireworks and crackers. To bed at 11:30 pm.
Day 18. Wednesday 28th. November, 2018. Concepción /Asunción
Yet another good night! Well, the weather forecast was wrong by about eleven hours – instead of storms at 3:00 pm in the afternoon, they arrived at 2:00 am in the morning! Torrential rain ,thunder and lightning! We woke to find a a large pool of water on the bedroom floor (and indeed, scattered throughout the hostel!) Breakfast as usual was pretty poor and we relied mainly on items that we had bought yesterday.
By 9:00 am we were at the bus terminal awaiting the NASA 9:50 am bus to Asunción; had expected to arrive by taxi but the proprietor kindly dropped us in his car (only later did I wonder whether he expected any remuneration for his efforts!) The rain dropped off in intensity but, just as the bus began loading the heavens opened once again and I got soaked just carrying the bags a couple of metres to the hold!
Our bus was very definitely past its prime but there were only a few passengers so we were quite comfortable; we started off in seats 19 and 20 but soon moved to the very front (1 and 2) for a better view. Bus turned right over the new bridge spanning the Paraguay and we then entered the Chaco…at times the road was paved and at other times it was just a dirt track; palm savannah on one side, vast estancias on the other, with a wide variety of bird life of which storks/cranes seemed to be in particular abundance.
Rainy Chaco highway
We had travelled along the highway for a couple of hours or so when the body of the vehicle became pervaded by a smell of burning! Shortly thereafter we slowly came to a halt and the bus officials got out their lengths of cardboard, slid under the bus, and attended to the engine problems….We had visions of being stuck by the roadside for hours but the tinkering under the bus seemed to work and, before too long, we were back on the road!
Actually, the trip to Asunción, apart from the bus travails, was nothing out of the ordinary, km. after km. of straight, narrow road with very few occasional (and exceedingly poor) settlements to the side. In spite of the delay we made good time and only heavy traffic on the outskirts of the city prevented us from achieving our projected arrival time (ca. 4:00 pm) and added another hour to the journey.
On arrival at the terminus I made the first priority the booking of onward passages to Encarnación; purchased two tickets for the 8:30 am bus on Friday [G 75,000 each]. Went outside the concourse in search of a taxi but all the taxistas seemed indifferent! Eventually found a driver who looked as if he might have a vague interest in securing a fare and he turned out to be a pretty decent, welcoming sort – had a lengthy ride to what seemed like the other end of the city and, on arrival at our destination, we booked the taxista’s services for Friday morning.
Terrasunción turned out to be a very attractive, villa-style corner building, open and spacious; we were given a warm welcome and shown up to a pretty little room (no TV but did at least have a/c) with a near-by shared bathroom. One very great boon – the establishment allows payment by card!
Terrasunción
Quickly made ourselves at home and then went down Calle Eusebio Ayala to a main junction and then walked up a block to the SuperSeis supermarket to buy some wine for the evening. Shopping completed we returned to Calle Cerro Cora and found a very smart cafe, Bar Rocco, where we had been assured one would be able to buy a meal. Bar Rocco must be one of the cleanest establishments in the Western Hemisphere and is blessed with ultra simpatica staff! Admittedly the food wasn’t given away (our relatively modest repast set us back G 79,000) but everything was of the very highest quality.
Returned home to sit in our room, relax and drink wine before retiring a little before midnight.
Day 19. 29th. November 2018, Asunción
Pretty good night and then a very warm shower at 7:40 am. Down to breakfast at 8:20 am to find the place like the Marie Celeste! Wandered around, seemingly for ages, looking for breakfast! Eventually found an unlocked door which led on to a patio and small pool but, of actual life, there was no sign! We were on the verge of giving up when the proprietress materialised and mentioned something about desayuno – in fact, after the last few days, breakfast has ceased to be of any consequence to us, nonetheless, we did eventually get some toast and strawberry jam together with freshly prepared mango juice. During the meal the proprietress joined us for a chat so we were able to take directions to some of the city’s main attractions; transpired that this very hospitable woman is Jewish (the community in Paraguay is, apparently, very small.)
Breakfast at Terrasunción
View of Asunción from our room
Began the day with a lengthy walk to the Cementario Recolete – a bizarre City of Sepulchres with some tombs elaborate beyond imagination! We sought out one tomb in particular, that of La Irlandesa, Eliza Lynch.
At the tomb of La Irlandesa
Having explored the cemetery we walked on to highly fashionable district of the city where we changed some US dollars and then took bus #12 back into the heart of the Asunción. Walked up Mayo 14 and, just past the Casa de la Independencia, to which we promised ourselves to return, we found a promising little Italianate restaurant _ La Cacerola, where, for a total of G 45,000 we had an excellent meal of meat stew, rice, yucca and a large plate of salad.
Satisfied, we went in search of the Plaza de los Heroes and its centrepiece, the Panteón; the latter is treated with the utmost respect with a military guard of honour outside which is changed after every so many hours. From the Panteón we returned to the Casa de la Independencia, a very-well organised museum which is clearly another source of national pride, and thereafter to a very fine heladeria.
Visited the nearby Turismo, a large enterprise which even featured a live (and very loud) band where, wonderful to relate, we were able to buy some postcards. Having bought the cards it seemed only sensible to seek out a correo and buy some stamps…found the post office OK but, when we learned that a stamp for a postcard to Europe cost the absurd sum of G 2000, we had second thoughts!
Feeling thirsty we stopped at a near-by bar for a litre of Pilsen; as we were draining our beer we were conscious of a woman hovering nearby and eventually we broke the ice – transpired that she was German, Ingrid, a Jehovah, who has been resident in the city for the past twenty years; through a mixture of German, Spanish and English we enjoyed a happy conversation!
Refreshed, we made our way down towards the river to take in the government buildings, the river and the Cathedral (which, as the S. American Handbook warned would likely be the case, was closed.)
In front of the National Congress was a tent city made up largely of indigenas and several irate groups of protestors complaining about some new public health legislation – just around the corner we saw police water-cannon vehicles…
Having taken in the protests we walked past the defunct railway station and then, bizarrely, a large building housing the Diana, Princess of France, Foundation!
Moved on to the Jewish Museum but found that closed so contented ourselves with another visit to SuperSeis and then home to the hotel to relax in the garden and chat to the proprietress and a Colombian guest from Bucaramanga.
Later in the evening we went out again, this time to El Nono, a pizzeria – bought a pepperoni pizza and took it back to eat in the garden. A fellow guest joined us for a chat, a local who, due to marital difficulties, was staying at Terrasunción for a while – he proved to be a very interesting and well-travelled individual who was employed at the office of the EEC.
Just as we were about to head on upstairs, a young couple joined us – a guitarist and Who fanatic and his girlfriend (?) and another lengthy conversation ensued coupled with interludes on the guitar including snatches of Pinball Wizard and the like! We were reluctant to leave to go to bed but, as there would have to be an early start in the morning, we had little choice. Set three alarms for 6:00 am or thereabouts!…
Day 20. 30th. November 2018, Asunción/Encarnación
Slept soundly through to 5:00 am and then got up to shower and to pack. The young couple who we met last night have arranged to have our breakfast ready by 7:00 am and I did not have the heart to tell them not to bother as they seem to consider that their toast and marmelada (strawberry jam) plus fruit juice is the perfect meal for the start of the day!
In actual fact breakfast was an improvement on yesterday – there were some slices of cheese and two types of fruit drink (mango and also a pineapple/milk concoction.) We did not linger over the meal and were waiting for the taxista, by the door, with our bags at 7:20 am…
By 7:30 am we were beginning to get a little worried but our guitarist friend called him up and ascertained that he would be with us within five minutes…At 7:45 am we gave up all hope! The guitarist went out to the roadside and hailed us a passing cab, we said goodbye to him and to Terrasunción and set off for the terminal which we reached in remarkably good time – the driver estimated a fare of around G 40,000 depending on the meter reading but, on arrival, the meter had only clocked up G 25,000! Gave the man a tip of G 5000 for being so straightforward.
Goodbye to our new-found guitarist friend and Terrasunción
Waited some 20 minutes before the bus showed up and we were able to take our places in seats 1 & 2 on the top deck before departure on the dot of 7:30 am.
Asunción bus station
A pleasant, if uneventful, journey ensued through a variety of consistently green landscapes (I had always imagined that Paraguay would be scorched and dusty but nothing, it seems, could be further from the truth!)
According to the booking-office we were due to arrive in Encarnación at 1:00 pm but in the event we did not pull in to the terminal until 2:30 pm; took a taxi for a relatively short ride out to Calle Carmen Laro Castro and a warm welcome at the curiously-named Casa de la Y.
Our room at Casa de la Y
Having been shown to a beautiful room we dumped our stuff and headed out to explore…as usual, our first objective was a supermarket which, after some labour, we managed to locate and where we were able to stock up on wine and snacks, after which we turned our attention to finding the playa.
Headed down towards the river looking, as we did so, for somewhere to get a drink; close to the waterfront we came across a bar and a couple of mobile alcohol sellers where we bought a couple of freezing Pilsens and got into a lengthy conversation with Claudio, an Argentinian, who ran one of the booze shacks (he had a very jaundiced view of his homeland saying that it was not much better nowadays than Venezuela!…).
Claudio in his Drinks Truck
Riverside walkway, Encarnación
We resumed our walk into town along the riverside walkway until we came to a collection of bars and restaurants where we decided to stop for our main meal of the day. Chose to eat at Lemon Beach where we enjoyed a table overlooking the beach and tucked into a fine meal of pollo milanesa con papas fritas (together with 2l. of mineral water: g 60,000)
Made our way back to Casa de la Y to sit in the garden and sip wines both red and white before retiring to our room at 10:30 pm. We have used the fitbit to keep a count of our daily step totals – yesterday we racked up 23,000 steps – today we were down to 14,000.
Reflecting on our accommodation so far this holiday gave us some cause for self-congratulation: all the B&Bs/Hostels we have stayed in during our trip through Paraguay have been little short of superb!
Day 21. Saturday 1st. December 2018, Encarnación
Today marks the official start of the Paraguayan summer and, by all accounts, they make a bit of a song and dance about it!
Woke at 7:00 am and then, after a hot shower, to a breakfast of juice, bread and dulce de leche, chipé ( a herb and cheese flavoured roll) and maté. (Maté I found perfectly drinkable but not radically different from a number of herbal/green teas that one can encounter in the UK – quite why it is an obsession in these countries is beyond me!).
Took a Tesco carrier full of dirty clothing to a little lavanderia down the road – G 34,000 to be ready by the evening, and then did a general shopping tour of the neighbourhood visiting a breadshop, the supermarket and finally, the vegetable market (where many of the stalls purvey maté and nothing else! Arranged with one of the stall-holders to make us up a herbal/maté concoction for our flask.
Took a lengthy walk in search of a bank with an ATM and, when we eventually found one, withdrew G 600,000 (G360,000 being for our rent); resumed the lengthy sojourn to the Playa San José stopping off briefly at a quaint roadside cafe for refreshments (Copetin Doña Elena, Calle Msgr. Wiessen).
Cautionary road poster….
Reached the beach around 1:00 pm and splashed out G 45,000 for a couple of chairs and a parasol. Sat in comfort while we ate our modest lunch of rolls, cheese and tomatoes and “christened” our maté equipment! A hot and sunny afternoon, we spent a fair while in the water and otherwise just took it easy under the sunshade.
Left the beach at 4:30 pm for a long, hot (and very windy) walk back to the Y, collecting the washing on the way. Playa San José is very well run with a lot of lifeguards who patrol the beach as well as keeping an eye on the welfare of those in the water; at one stage, after a patrol across the sand, a couple of burly policemen entered the scene, walked to the water’s edge where two salvavidas were talking to a man, and then escorted the aforementioned individual off the premises! (Given that the coppers seemingly had to support the man up the beach we could only assume that he was a borracho!).
As we walked back to the Y we had to cross an extensive expanse of short grass and, as we did so, we were accompanied by a number of Southern Lapwings who became increasingly agitated to the extent that, at one stage, it even looked like they would attack us! One can only assume that they had nests nearby although we could see no signs of any and the grass really was very short.
Later in the evening, around 6:45 pm we returned towards town along the main road in search of a suitable eating place and ended up at Empanadas Julia where we ordered a litre of Brahma and papas fritas together with their much-advertised super lomito – suffice it to say that their lomitos were indeed super and the fries were pretty good too! Finished with another litre of beer and ended up paying a total of G 84,000 feeling that it had been worth every cent!
Slow walk back to our lodgings to, once again, sit in the garden and drink wine before retiring to watch a little local TV and thence to bed.
Day 22. Sunday 2nd. December 2018, Encarnación/Posadas
Reasonable night; got up at &:40 am and showered. Breakfast same as yesterday (ie not wholly to my liking! Bread and dulce de leche…). Beautiful bright day – killed time by walking around the neighbourhood and found a collection of little shops and bars no more than a stone’s throw away. Sat in the sunny garden relaxing.
We were in no hurry to leave the Y as our destined lodging in Posadas, the Mimi House does not, apparently, check-in until 3:00 pm. Our host was most helpful in providing us with a map of Posadas and arranging for a taxi to come and collect us at 11:00 am. The taxi fare is scheduled to set us back G 120,000 which is a great stroke of luck as we have exactly G 125,000 left in the purse!
Taxi arrived at 10:55 am; the driver was a very friendly sort who spoke the most easily comprehensible Spanish of our trip!
Crossing into Argentina
Casa de la Y is no distance from the border bridge and we were quickly through Paraguayan procedures – at the other end, however, it was a completely different story where we found ourselves in a queue that moved at a glacial pace! Having received our entradas we found ourselves shunted into a Customs’ bay where eventually, a lady officer stirred herself from her easy chair and asked us to take all our bags into the Customs’ shed! All belongings were put through the X Ray machine but, seemingly inevitably, my bag was taken aside for further investigation (which again, inevitably, yielded no incriminating evidence) although one of my packets of Paraguayan salt came in for extra attention and had to be put through the X ray machine individually (funnily enough, they didn’t detect the other packet of salt at the bottom of the rucksack!) To be fair though, the Customs lady was particularly polite and friendly.
I was interested to note that immediately on crossing onto Argentine soil the first thing that one encounters is a large placard featuring an outline of the Falklands with the motif Las Malvinas son Argentinas (sic).
Once past officialdom we were rapidly into town and obviously quite close to Calle Republic del Libano and the Mimi House; we found the road without too much trouble but trying to find the guest-house (#2679 Libano) was an absolute nightmare and we seemed to go around and around in circles! The taxista stopped and asked passers-by and various local taxistas but we got nowhere until we positively crawled down the road checking the number of each house as we passed by.
Entrance to the Mimi House…
At length found our destination (a number but no name) and received a warm welcome from the lady of the house (Mimi) and her elderly husband, Zyndal; gave the taxista US $10 as a reward for his patience and he was clearly as pleased as Punch!
Chatted to the owners (not the easiest Spanish in the world to understand) and was very kindly lent one thousand pesos as we had not a cent of local currency (pesos having been unavailable in London when we left.) [£1 = P 48 and US $ = P 38].
After depositing our bags in our room and having been recommended a nearby restaurant (Mendieta), we set off for a meal. Arrived at Mendieta to find it packed to the rafters with a long queue of would-be customers waiting for tables to become free. Happily, there is a large restaurant just around the corner (and also very popular) Restaurante Kingdom which was offering a meal for two people including wine which, given the quality, was a very reasonable P 550. Sat at table a fair while before our meal arrived but it was worth the wait – steak, chimichurri sauce, chips, huge dish of salad and half a bottle of an excellent tinto.
Armed with a little map we followed the city’s grid system and walked into the city centre primarily in search of an ATM – finally found one, Santander, on the corner of the main square, Plaza 9 de Julio, and managed to withdraw P 6000 (and paying an extortionate P 387 in commission!).
9 de Julio Square
Plaza 9 de Julio is a very attractive square fronting the pink cathedral but which has been taken over by protesting rural workers demanding a monthly wage of P 6000 (the very same amount that we had withdrawn to last us a couple of days!…) and has turned, in places, into a rather sordid tent city.
Heladeria Zorba
Took a break at a heladeria at the bottom end of the square and then, map in hand, set off for the costanera, passing, en route, a large memorial and homenaje to the combatants and fallen of the Guerra Malvinas (the province of Misiones lost ten killed out of approximately four hundred called to the colours.) Also along the route a 15 metre statue honouring the native peoples of the region.
Malvinas memorial
Monumento Andres Guazurari
(in honour of the Indigenous people of Misiones)
Walked along the costanera looking across to Encarnación as we did so until we passed the headland, and reached, finally, the Posadas playa..
Had a short break by a crowded beach and then made our way uphill and then on to a long stretch of road which took us all the way back home stooping only once, in Calle Ayacucho, at a roadside bar for a litre of beer.
Arrived back at the Mimi House and were soon engaged in a lengthy conversation with our hosts, learning a lot of information which should stand us in good stead over the next few days and enjoying a Maté session (this was hot although in summer it is usually taken cold when it is known as Terere).
8:15 pm and having finally managed to disengage ourselves from the old couple, we went outside – the town which had earlier seemed quiet and closed had come alive! We sought in vain for a Chinese restaurant that we had noticed earlier on our taxi journey but could not find it – we did however come across an attractive-looking enterprise quite close to home – El Libanés, an up-market burger joint which offers, amongst other attractions, the largest burgers that I have ever seen in my life (up to 2 kg!…) We chose “gourmet” burgers and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, both of the highest quality and served by scrupulously professional waiters – total cost was P 530 for an outstanding, if simple, meal.
Returned to the Mimi House to watch some TV and to drink some more wine; got news of the Arsenal vs Tottenham fixture: 4-2 to the Gunners! Went to bed happy!
Day 23. Monday 3rd. December 2018, Posadas
Slept well, woke at 6:30 am and took a warm shower an hour later.
Breakfast of fried egg and tostadas plus some very good, freshly-made orange juice – can’t remember where I read that the Mimi House offers both English and Irish breakfasts but I know that I was sceptical at the time! That said, I prefer today’s offering to our recent experiences. Needless to say, breakfast was accompanied by a discussion about matters geopolitical – EEC, China, USA etc etc!
Margaret and Zyndel outside the Mimi House
With Zindel’s help we took a Colectivo to the bus terminal which proved to be some distance away from town. Went over to the long-distance bus section and found an appropriate company to transport us (Crucero del Norte) to San Ignacio paying 190 pesos each way for ida y vuelta tickets to leave at 10:15 am with an open-ended return. It transpired that the San Ignacio bus runs on to Puerto Iguazu so took the opportunity to make reservations for the 10:15 am bus on Wednesday [515 pesos each]; pleasantly surprised to find that card payment was possible.
Got to the platform a little before 10:15 am and waited no time before the bus pulled in – seats in the middle of the upper deck (but for Wednesday we have secured the front seats!) and we set off pretty much to schedule. Interesting to see quite how large Posadas actually is as it took us a good while to clear the outskirts and get into the countryside.
Arrived in San Ignacio at 11:30 am and had a warm walk up the main road to San Ignacio Mini and the entrance to the ruins.
Bought entry tickets for 230 pesos each (tickets also give entry to three other Jesuit reductions in the vicinity) and then decided to go for lunch at a restaurant across the road before exploring the site. paid 520 pesos for a litre of Brahma and plates of pollo milanesa, papas fritas y ensalada – it was all OK but am beginning to feel that I have had my fill of milanesas!
Having lunched, we entered the grounds at 12:30 pm paying first a visit to a well-curated museum devoted to artefacts found, pictures of excavations, a model reconstruction of the reduction etc – from here we passed out onto the site itself.
Entrance and museum.
The ruins proved to be extensive, much larger than I had envisaged- the remains of the Church were particularly impressive. Over two hours we explored the site and then decided to see if we could get back to the main road in time for the 2:50 pm Posadas-bound bus – as luck would have it, the 2:30 pm bus was a little late so we actually caught that!
Back at the terminal we gambled on a bus which announced a variety of destinations including Centro but which, on departure meandered along a seemingly out-of-the-way route before eventually turning towards the centre and areas that we recognised. Got off near the Plaza 9 de Julio and set off for yesterday’s ATM to draw cash on my Barclaycard to pay the rent and, as we walked along Bolivar we actually came across a Casa de Cambio, something I had practically given up hope of ever finding and which meant that, instead of using the card, we could actually exchange some of our stock of US dollars.
Presented my dollars at the counter and, after some delay, was told that I must present my passport and that a photocopy of said document would not be acceptable! I was also informed of the existence of another Casa de Cambio who might see things differently (they didn’t!) Visited an expensive supermarket (California) where we bought a great-value 1.5 litre of wine and then repaired to the heladeria for giant ices!
Returned to the B&B and left M with the shopping, picked up my passport and walked back to Bolivar and the original Cambio…suffice it to say that I was eventually able to change US $170 (= 6,120 pesos) but only with difficulty! I really did begin to wonder if the staff had ever seen a foreign passport! The whole procedure took ages and I came away with a detailed receipt which listed my birth month as November, my nationality as Irish, and my country of residence as Ireland!
Back to Mimi to relax before going out to dine; we finally found the elusive Chinese restaurant but, having looked it over, decided that we would sooner return to El Libanés. At the latter we were attended to by a very friendly young waiter from Patagonia – we chose the same meal as yesterday but were dumbfounded to be informed that there was no wine, only beer, and that at an exorbitant price! We decided to “think” about the matter and in due course were informed that perhaps there might be some wine available…a bottle of cabernet sauvignon duly appeared! Another excellent meal [700 pesos] but the bill was odd because we didn’t pay anything like that amount yesterday evening for exactly the same fare!
Returned to watch a little TV but there was little to keep us interested and we called it a day at 10:30 pm.
Day 24. 4th. December 2018, Posadas
Enjoyed a sound sleep and was astonished to wake at 7:15 am. Showered and then went to breakfast on what promised to be another beautiful day. Breakfast this morning was good – cheese tostadas and in abundance leaving us to believe that today we might be able to forego lunch. Ate the meal looking straight ahead into the little courtyard and at the parrot sitting on top of his cage (he never enters it apparently!) – poor creature is as old as the hills and looks, I fear, as if he has seen better days (unlike the resident Yorkie and Tuxedo cat both of which are in fine fettle!)
Took a colectivo to the terminal and then booked with Singer Bus Co. for its 10:30 am departure for Sta. Ana [70 pesos each] which travels 56 km. along the road that leads to San Ignacio. Arrived at Sta. Ana after an hour.
Zindel swore blind that a colectivo runs to the Parque Temático del Parque de la Cruz but, when we asked around, all and sundry said that it was a taxi or nothing!Finally we asked in a cafe and the young woman behind the counter told us that just past the nearby petrol station there was indeed a parada for colectivos but she was unsure as to their frequency. Found the bus stop and joined some others waiting; we endured a lengthy wait but finally, at 12:45 pm a colectivo turned up, charged us 42 pesos and transported us to the Parque.
Paid an entrance fee of 120 pesos each and were then taken on a multi-seated trailer through some beautiful grounds to the centre of the Parque and the Cruz complex.
Parque de la Cruz
We followed a spectacular 600m. path through the forest (which also doubles up as a Via Dolorosa) and which eventually brought us up before the Cruz – butterflies seemingly everywhere that we went. Around the Cruz are two major attractions: an Orchid House, which proved to be a disappointment (perhaps this is the wrong season as the building seemed to be almost totally devoid of orchids!) and a Mariposeria, which, unlike the Orchid House, was positively spectacular with hundreds, if not thousands, of different species of butterfly fluttering around in an attractive enclosure.
All that remained was for us to pay a visit to the Cruz for which we paid another 50 pesos each and were taken up in a lift, stopping at stages 4, 9 and 21 (71 metres high) – it goes without saying that the views from all three pisos were absolutely spectacular!
La Cruz
There were no buses back to Sta. Ana until 6:00 pm and so we asked staff at Reception to call us a taxi which, for 250 pesos, took us back to the ramshackle bus station on the main road where we had a wait of only a couple of minutes before a Singer bus turned up and returned us to Posadas (70 pesos each).
Sta. Ana bus station
From the terminus we took a city bus and endeavoured to locate a correo which, helped by an exceedingly friendly and obliging young police woman who accompanied us for three blocks, we eventually located. Had a long wait in a queue before finally being attended to and then learning, to my stupefaction, that sending a postcard to Europe would cost 490 pesos first class or 350 pesos second class!…
Walked back to the B&B along Calle Ayacucho stopping only for a couple of litres of Isenbeck at the little street bar that we had patronised on Sunday. Before we reached Mimi we called in at a florist and bought a pretty, fleshy-leaved plant as a farewell present to our hosts. Very interestingly, en route to Mimi we passed by an enclosed area which had once been a military torture centre and is now an open space and memorial site.
Returned to El Libanés for our evening meal and simply ordered what we had enjoyed on previous nights – we were given an extra helping of their very fine, olive-oil and herb baked potato wedges (which, ironically, we could not accommodate!) The bill, when it arrived, came to 700 pesos (ie 60 pesos less than yesterday evening! but still considerably more than we paid on the first evening!…) Back at the Mimi House we sat on the patio drinking wine where, for a while, we were joined by Zindel, and a mutual photography session took place. Zyndel presented us with a small bottle of Chardonnay that had been specially produced to mark his eightieth birthday! Interestingly, the Old Boy (Zyndel, aka Zito) came to Argentina as a boy of six years of age in 1939 – he is Jewish and, sadly, those of his family who did not accompany him perished.
Margaret with Zyndel and Mimi
After this pleasant interlude we retired to our room to watch a little television before going to bed at around 11:00 pm.
Day 25. 5th. December 2018, Posadas/Puerto de Iguazu
Another good night. Got up at 7:30 am for another fine breakfast, this time of cheese omelette accompanied by an unusual, but appetising, chicken/cheese/carrot roulade all washed down, as usual, by very fine home-squeezed orange juice.
Bade our hosts farewell and were picked up by a genial taxista and taken to the terminal [150 pesos]; by 9:50 am we were in the terminal preparing to depart at 10:15 am.
Posadas bus station
The day was very warm but our bus ride proved comfortable and we enjoyed good views particularly after the bus emptied out at the town of El Dorado and we were able to move from our seats to those at the very front of the top deck. Trip crossed a number of rivers and scenery was at all times interesting. We were scheduled to arrive at 3:15 pm and indeed arrived barely a quarter of an hour after this time.
We had, of course, no knowledge as to the location of the Petit Hotel Caraguata (#459 Calle Caraguata) and so were obliged to take a taxi [120 Pesos] for what proved to be a very short ride. One thing we did achieve (we hoped!) was to arrange for the taxista to pick us up on Saturday morning at 9:00 am and take us to the airport at Foz do Iguaçu [800 Pesos].
Petit Hotel turned out to be a spacious semi-ranch -style establishment; we were welcomed by a young man who showed us to our room which was pretty near perfect for our needs and which was upstairs and overlooking the pool.
Put down our bags, made some rearrangements and then went out to explore the town. When we hit the main road, a couple of blocks away, we spotted a Western Union office so took the opportunity to change US $90 [rate of US $1 = 36 Pesos]after which we walked the length of Calle Victoria Aguirre into town. Incidentally, the best part of US $60 was used to pay the Hotel [1855 Pesos – we actually got a reduction on the original quoted price as, being foreigners, we were not liable to pay IVA!].
Had an expensive (at least by Posadas standards) beer and then walked around the centre, Plaza de San Martin, before heading back up the hill.
Plaza San Martin
Passed by a restaurant that we had noticed on our way down, Tatu Carreta, and ventured in. Ordered parilla for two [690 Pesos] plus a bottle of Malbec, papas fritas and mineral waters (we also ordered a salad but that never arrived!) Endured a long wait before the meal was served but it was probably worth the wait – a variety of generous helpings of meat and excellent fries – final bill came to 1270 Pesos which I paid by Visa; have to say that we witnessed meat-eating on a scale that we had probably never encountered before!
Restaurant Tatu Carreta
Returned to the Hotel via a neighbouring supermarket where we stocked up on wine -like everything else here, it would appear, prices are much higher than in Posadas.
Sat by the pool drinking wine and being pestered by the establishment’s cat before returning to our room to watch CNN.
Day 26. Thursday 6th. December, Puerto de Iguazu
Had a really good night’s sleep in spite of a bizarre dream/nightmare in which the sky turned purple and a huge orange comet careered hither and thither across the sky portending the end of the world!
Breakfast proved to be about as good as any that we’ve had so far this holiday – lots of fruit, cheese, presunto, breads, hard-boiled eggs etc.
Out to the main road at 8:20 am and was nearly persuaded by a taxista to travel in greater style (ie. with him!) but chose to stay with the bus option. A Rio Uruguay bus duly arrived and we entered a pretty packed vehicle – paid a total of 260 Pesos which, considering that the taxi was only 4 Pesos more made me wish that we had opted for comfort after all!
A ride of some thirty minutes brought us to the entrance to the Iguazu National Park where, using my Visa card I paid an entrance fee of 700 Pesos each with the option of a 50% reduction if we wish to return tomorrow.
Once admitted we visited a shop to buy some bottled water and then set off along the introductory route, the Sendero Verde which, after a short walk brought us to the Estación Cataratas from whence we started upon the Paseo Superior.
Site map
The Upper Trail is 650m. long and takes one along a path which offers sensational views of some of the major water-falls. Retraced our steps to the Cataratas station and then took the little train to the next, and final, station, Estación Garganta, from whence we walked the 1100m. to the main viewing point at the Garganta del Diablo which was indeed truly spectacular. Walking along the trail we saw large numbers of huge catfish in the waters below and, at one point, even a large turtle.
Having completed the Paseo Superior we returned to the rail station and set about exploring the Paseo Inferior which, on its 1400m course brings one up close to many of the cataratas culminating at the Salto Bosselli where, at the end of the viewing platform, one can get a thorough soaking!
During the day we saw dozens of coati, a variety of exotic birds, a large reptile as well as the catfish and turtle. Sadly, we also came across a large cicada close to the Sanitarios which M managed to photograph just before some careless, fat female blundered across the path and trod on the creature!
Coati family
By 2:45 pm we had completed the two major trails and decided to save the longest, if not the most awe-inspiring, the Sendero Macuco, for tomorrow. Did not really want to return to town and simply kick our heels so we killed time by taking a train back to Estación Garganta and then walking down the length of the track to the Entrance.
Arranged for our tickets to be validated for tomorrow before taking the 4:15 pm Rio Uruguay bus back to town and getting off on Ave. Victoria Aguirre close by to our local supermarket. Found a small shop/bar at the side of the road and refreshed ourselves with a couple of litres of Brahma before returning to our lodgings. Checked the Fit-Bit to find that we had done 22,500 steps.
NB Water heater for mate flasks in background!
6:30 pm. and another visit to Tatu Carreta for another extensive (and expensive) meal; last night a neighbouring table almost made us jealous by ordering what looked like very large, succulent steaks and, having ascertained the name of this dish,Vacios, we decided that this would be our choice this evening – in the event we did receive plenty of meat (and even more fat) but clearly not the dish that we had seen consumed last night! Ordered only one portion of papas fritas and only one agua con gaz but, with wine, the bill still came in at 1500 Pesos (Thank God for Visa!).
Walked home and sat by the pool for a while drinking wine before retiring to our room for the night.
Day 27. Friday 7th. December 2018, Puerto de Iguazu
Another good night and a relatively relaxed early morning as we were now familiar with the National Park set-up. Completed check-in for Curitiba flight before setting off for the day – I had misgivings about having to deal with LATAM but have to confess that it all went very smoothly.
Another extensive breakfast spread and then out of the hotel by 10:00 am; day quite different from yesterday being cloudy and distinctly cool. Short wait for bus and then arrival at the Park within half an hour (according to M , by the time of our arrival, there were already some sixty coaches stationary in the car/coach park!) Having registered yesterday afternoon we gained half-price entry and again I was able to pay the 700 Peso entrance fee by VISA.
The prime objective of the day was to follow the 3.5 km. Sendero Macuco and then, conditions being favourable, to repeat the Circuitos Inferior and Superior of yesterday. It soon became clear that it might be easier to get around today – for a start, it was turning into a beautiful day but with a pleasant breeze and without the temperatures of yesterday; secondly, in spite of the crowded coach park, there just did not seem to the number of visitors that there were before.
Found our way to the start of the Macuco Trail and, by 11:00 am we were walking along a beautiful forest path which terminated, after an hour or so of steady walking, at Salto Arrechea, a popular bathing spot (the only one in the Park.) Highlight of the outward walk was seeing a toucan in a near-by tree! otherwise, the only creatures that we observed were giant ants and butterflies; on our return walk we stopped to watch a squirrel but otherwise saw no remarkable fauna – doubtless animals lie low in the heat of the day!
Moved on from the Macuco at 1:15 pm and devoted ourselves to the rest of the Park; unfortunately the boat across to the Isla San Martin was not operating and while there remained one other trail, Sendero Yacaratía, this required being transported in a truck but we failed to find the embarcation point and, in any case, we would probably have been very hard-pushed for time.
Took the little train from Estación Central all the way up the line to Estación Garganta and then progressed along the 1100m. walkway to the Garganta del Diablo. Passing across one of the broad stretches of river we saw, once again, a number of giant catfish but this time we were prepared with bread left over from last night’s meal! Some pious German was kind enough to inform us that feeding the animals was prohibited but, just to be pedantic, although there are notices all around asking visitors to refrain from feeding animals like monkeys and coatis, nowhere are fish mentioned! reached the Garganta and, selfie stick in hand, attempted to take the perfect picture!…
Train back to Estación Cataratas and thence on to the Paseo Superior- the diminished number of people made the trail far easier and more satisfying to follow. We made stops (for picture-taking, inevitably) at Salto Bossetti (really spectacular) and then moved on to Saltos Adan and Eva, Mendez and ultimately, Mbiguá and a sensational view of Salto San Martin (the most impressive falls of all as, perhaps, one might expect given that they are named in honour of the nation’s founding father!) Returned via the alternative route which took us by, or rather, above, the Saltos Chico and Dos Hermanos.
Gone 3:00 pm we finally embarked upon the Circuito Inferior going down first a long slope and then steep stairs before reaching the walkway which led to incredible views of Dos Hermanos, Bossetti, Alvar Nuñez and San Martin – the limited numbers of visitors made the climax of the route, where one stands a few metres away from a thundering torrent shrouded by clouds of spray, far more exhilarating!
We began the walk back to the entrance at 4:45 pm and not only did we come across a family of coatis but also a group of black monkeys and a couple of large iguanas all making their way along the path!
Arrived back at the entrance just in time to catch the 5:15 pm bus back to town where, on arrival, we refreshed ourselves with icy Brahma before returning to Caraguata for a shower and to pack our bags.
Returned for a final meal at Tatu Carreta and sat out in the open at the front – ordered a bottle of Malbec, one agua con gaz, one Ensalada Mixta, one Ensalada César and two portions of Chorizo Beef (sirloin steaks)cooked medium. As usual the meal opened with a basket of bread with a little pot of an appetising garlic and cream concoction which, in due course was followed by the two quite excellent salads; the pièce de resistance came with the arrival of two huge, sizzling steaks which proved to be quite fabulous! The total bill came to 1400 Pesos (again paid on my card.)
Walked home pleasantly full (omitting the potato option ensured that we were not as bloated as on previous nights!) Bumped into a couple of students collecting for some childrens’ charity and, amongst much hilarity, donated 50 Pesos.
Took our wine down to poolside and spent the rest of the evening rather pleasantly , supping wine and nibbling roasted peanuts.
Day 28. Saturday 8th. December 2018, Puerto de Iguazu/Curitiba
After a good night got up at 6:30 am., showered and went down to another excellent breakfast which included a very good fresh fruit-salad.
As all was packed I took the bags down to the Ground Floor and then sat reading by the pool. Looked out on to the main road at 8:55 am. just in case the taxista might think of coming on time and, lo and behold, he was already parked-up outside waiting!
Very short ride to the Argentine Immigration centre [the Aduanas didn’t bother with us at all] and then across the Tancredo Neves International Bridge to the super-efficient Brazilian Immigration and then swiftly on our way. Another short ride brought us to the airport where I paid the driver 800 Pesos with a further 100 Pesos for his help and punctuality.
Entered a modern and crowded airport but, within a relatively short while, we had passed through all the procedures and had moved into the equally crowded Departure Lounge.
We complied with the airline request to passengers to hand in any accompanying luggage thus leaving us with just two small bags to go in the overhead lockers and thus obviated any need for us to get as high up in the queue order as possible.
Boarded at 2:10 pm on to an Airbus A321 which was absolutely packed. Our allocated seats were 36E & F and so it came as a nasty surprise to find someone firmly ensconced in seat 36F! Compared our ticket to that of the incumbent and, sure enough, both specified 36F! A steward was called to adjudicate and, probably on the principle that it was better to inconvenience one person rather than two, he came down in our favour!
Immediately after take-off we flew close to the Falls and then progressed swiftly to Curitiba arriving within sixty minutes. Collected our bags and then used the excellent airport taxi service to secure a cab to take us to CWB and for it also to pick us up on Monday morning [Rs. 94 for both trips, the outward leg being paid by VISA].
Arrived at CWB Hotel and checked-in [Rs.319 for two nights paid by VISA] and then up to our room which turned out to be Room #703 the same room that we stayed in before.
Deposited our belongings and then went over to the Bus terminal to book with Princesa dos Campos for tomorrow’s 9:45 am. Ponta Grossa- bound coach [Rs. 41.60 each] – exceedingly helpful ticket clerk if somewhat(!) difficult to understand!
View from our room
Had a slow wander into town in the hope of buying some drinks for the evening and also to visit one of the health/herbal shops in the centre where we saw loofas for sale – first part of the mission was successful but, alas, the health shop was closed. At 6:00 pm we made our way over to Bhau-Ma for another satisfying meal of alcatra [Rs. 36 for us both plus another Rs 12 each for beer].
Refuse operatives of Curitiba:
Returned to our room and wrote some cards in the hope that, come Monday morning, we would at long last be able to buy some affordable stamps!
Drank 51 with guaraná and watched a couple of incredibly violent films (neither in their entirety) before turning out the light at 11:00 pm.
Day 29. Sunday 9th. December 2018, Curitiba
Had to put an extra blanket on the bed as during the night the room became positively cold. Substantial breakfast at 8:00 am and then hurried over to the Rodováriato arrived in good time for the Ponta Grossa departure which, as usual, left very much to schedule and with nearly ever seat filled.
En route a lorry had come off the road blocking one of the carriageways which made for some delay – as a consequence we reached the Parque Estadual just before mid-day. A gentle walk up to the Reception to pay an entrance fee of Rs.10 each and then straight on to the bus for a tour of the arenitos.
We enjoyed an informative tour with a very jovial and patient guide who did his very best to ensure that we understood everything.
The arenitos are amazing: huge sandstone edifices weathered into all sorts of bizarre shapes – a lion, a camel, a boot, HM the Queen etc etc.! The tour involved a walk of nearly 2km. along immaculately-maintained stone paths passing through ancient forest. We arrived back at Reception at 1:30 pm. just in time to join the tour leaving for the Furnas and the Lago Dourado!
Of course, we “did” the Furnas and the Lago Dourado on our last visit but we didn’t want to have to kill time for some three hours or more so a re-run seemed like a constructive way of passing the time!
As before the tour was interesting, the lake was beautiful, if not exactly “golden”, and we got back to the start in time to buy some very tasty snacks and then to make our way down the drive to the bus stop and await the 3:45 pm. bus to Curitiba.
Bus turned up at 3:50 pm or thereabouts [Rs. 28 each] and was cool and comfortable with only a few passengers aboard. When we reached Campo Largo every single person save ourselves alighted including a young family who were so soundly asleep that the driver had to come and wake them! The rest of the journey (of about 40 minutes) we enjoyed in “splendid isolation.”
Returned to CWB and endeavoured, in vain, to check-in for tomorrow’s flight; finally gave up and went out to Bhau-Ma for the customary alcatra and for our last Brahmas this holiday! Back to the room to pack, to take some Engove and then put it to the test (it passed with flying colours, we later decided!).
Watched some interesting/entertaining programmes – travel in places like Tibet as well as another amazingly violent American drama. Called a halt to proceedings at 11:00 pm., set two alarms for 6:00 am and went to bed.
Day 30. Monday 10th. December 2018. Curitiba/Rio de Janeiro
Well, enjoyed yesterday evening and thought that I could do without a sleep-aide but I was mistaken; I had a very poor night and got up before the alarms. Went to breakfast and managed to force some fruit and a toasted sandwich down my throat although I really didn’t feel like eating a thing. Returned to the room for a short rest before bringing the bags down to the vestibule and to meet the taxista, as arranged, at 8:00 am.
At the airport we learned that due to the interval between flights our baggage could not be sent straight through meaning that we should have to collect it on arrival in Rio and then wait until whenever KLM opened up their check-in…One major achievement realised however, I located the airport Correo and was able to buy some sensibly-priced stamps for our cards! Incredibly, the Post Office had no change at all and so I was obliged to buy the stamps with VISA! [Rs. 11.50]
A full flight [GOL]departed a little later than scheduled but made up the time to the extent that we arrived just past noon. Collected our bags and then sought and found a Depósito de Bagagens, paying Rs 100 for three heavy bags to be stored securely.
Made a number of enquiries as to how best we might pass the hours in front of us and the feasibility of visiting the City Centre but received mixed messages until we spoke to a porter who informed us that the #2018 bus which was waiting outside was safe and bound for the Centre so we paid Rs. 17 each and got on board expecting a trip of perhaps forty minutes…
I must admit that I was never quite clear as to the ultimate destination of the bus but we reasoned that it must finish its route at a terminal from whence we could get a return vehicle…Well, the bus did indeed pass through Rio’s centre and then the length of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches to points further on; we saw, at a distance, both the Pão de Açucar and Christo Redentor…
Sand architecture: Copacabana beach
After a couple of hours we began to get a little nervous as to our ultimate destination! I spoke to the motorista about our concerns re returning to the airport and, at 3:55 pm., two hours and ten minutes after the start of the journey, he put us off with instructions to cross the multi-lane highway to a bus stop on the far side which served as the parada for the airport-bound #2018. We found the stop and were just confirming with a local that we had found the correct place when we saw the bus, not yet scheduled to arrive, bearing down upon us! Mercifully we spotted the bus just in time to flag it down and to enter its highly air-conditioned comfort.Over the next two hours and twenty minutes we repeated the original journey in reverse!
Back at the airport by 6:30 pm. we redeemed our baggage and joined a lengthy queue at the KLM check-in desks. Once the bags had been dropped we went straight through the departure procedures and, once through to the other side, made a point of finding something to eat; we ended up at Subway enjoying a couple of their combo meals – Rs. 35 each but, I have to admit, incredibly tasty!
Boarded just before 10:00 pm and were soon served with another meal! Chicken stew, green bananas and rice washed down with a couple of small bottles of red wine. Thereafter read, snoozed and watched a gripping Spanish language film – El Amparo.
Day 31. Tuesday 11th. December 2018, Amsterdam/London
In so far as I had an aisle seat the flight was an improvement on the outward leg.
The flight came in a little ahead of schedule but this simply meant that we had to wait for a while for the plane to be allocated a vacant berth consequently, once disembarked, we had to make a hasty dash through Schiphol in search of our connecting flight. Finally found the Departure Gate just before boarding began at 1:00 pm.
On this short flight (one hour) we had window and middle seats while the aisle was occupied by a personable young Dutch AI entrepreneur, Rudolf, on his way to a conference in London; we encountered the same bemused and pitying attitude re the UK and Brexit as our previous Dutch acquaintance in Ypres!
Arrived in Heathrow on time and, by 2:30 pm. (UK time) had gathered our belongings and made for the underground; M’s pass wouldn’t open up the gates so an official had to let her through – once on the train we realised the problem: the pass expired at the end of November!
Not having a valid travel pass, we walked from Gants Hill station which at least helped to boost the day’s very low steps total! Arrived back in Brantwood Gardens, opened up the key security box and found it empty! Mercifully, Tom who has a spare set of our keys was at home and so we were spared umpteen freezing hours on our doorstep!
Finally crossed our familiar threshold at 4:30 pm.