August 7th, 2008 Weylin
No, we’re not pregnant again! Concepción (HERE to find it on a map) is a town in the north of Paraguay where we recently spent the weekend.
Our trip actually began about a week before we left. My profe, Carlos, had invited Katherine and I to accompany him and his novia (girlfriend) on their weekend trip to Concepción. We were up for a change of scenery and so agreed. The first step was for Carlos and I to get our bus tickets. For that we had to drive into Asuncion to the bus terminal. No problem. Our bus was to leave the terminal at 11:15 pm on Friday night, and it would arrive around 5 am in Concepción. We hopped Ofelia would like this plan and sleep through the trip.
On Friday night we woke Ofelia around 8:30 pm (she goes to sleep around 6!) then we walked 20min into Luque to catch the micro that would take us to the terminal in Asuncion. We had to be waiting for that bus early because there is no schedule and later at night it may only come every hour– but you don’t really know because there is no available schedule. We got lucky and only waited for about 20 minutes before our micro came. Then it was a loud 40 minute ride to the terminal. Once at the terminal we quickly found our friends and commenced to waiting. After about an hour our bus arrived at the terminal and soon we were able to board.
The long-distance buses are like tour buses you might see in the states. The passenger compartment windows are curtained and there is a wall between driver and passengers. The result is that you see very little as you ride, except for what you can see from your own window or that of a neighbor passenger. Our night ride quickly left the bustle of Asuncion and began the long journey through thinly-populated Chaco land. We occasionally woke when the bus would veer and bound over the road. It was apparent that parts of this road were “unimproved” but it didn’t seem to slow our driver, neither did the passing of cattle trucks on this narrow two-lane path.
At about 4 am we arrived in Concepción. Carlos agreed to help us find our hotel, Hotel Francés, at this early hour. We set off walking across the large and empty double avenue which had zero traffic and a median populated with some statues and some old machinery (this kind of street decoration is not as common here as it is in the states). As we passed a truck (on display in the median) from the ’30’s or ’40’s, I glanced in and saw that someone was using the front seat as a bed. Twenty minutes of walking through the empty streets, only meeting a few youngsters heading home after a full night of partying, we arrived at our hotel, bid Carlos good night, good morning, and headed for sleep.
We enjoyed a relaxing weekend of just walking around this clean and safe, and quiet city. There are no micros in Concepción so the air is much cleaner and quieter. Also they keep streets very clean and seem to have unusually well maintained streets and buildings– quite a contrast to most other towns we’ve seen here. Another difference is that motos far outnumber cars, it must be like 20 to 1, no joke. And I only counted about 5 helmets all weekend! Concepción has a beautiful river, Rio Paraguay, running past and affords great views and breezes near it’s banks.
On Sunday we headed out to the double avenue to catch our return bus. At the bus stop we shared a shaded bench with a scruffy fellow who seemed to be drinking his terere (tea like beverage) with Caña (alcohol made from sugar cane) instead of water! As we waited for the bus I looked around and saw the antique truck in the median. Then our friend, having exhausted his caña, stretched out on the bench for an early siesta. It was then that I realized I had seen him before– curled up in the truck two nights ago! Small world there in Concepción.
Prior to this trip I had reflected that things here in Paraguay don’t seem to be as crazy or adventurous as they once did. And I didn’t really feel like our journey to Concepción was all that adventurous— but I think that we would have had a different experience of things several months back when all of this was so new. It is comforting for us both to see and feel our continuing adaptation to Paraguayan culture. We have learned, and continue to learn, a great deal about accepting and dealing with whatever comes at us and not wasting time and energy on complaining or wanting things to be different. We value these lessons.
Here are some pics from our trip. Mouse over the image and click on images to make them bigger, and use arrow keys to navigate between them. You can also right-click and select full-screen to see a larger version of it all. Enjoy!
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March 29th, 2008 Weylin
What an evening we had yesterday! An adventure for us, but just another day in Paraguay.
Yesterday afternoon we drove Ofelia into Asuncion for a doctor visit. As we were pulling out of the parking lot there was a loud noise and ‘clunk’ type of vibration from the front of the car and it began to seriously wobble. Explicatives were uttered and curses were issued at our Hyundai. Katherine asked what I thought it was and I confidently drew upon my extensive Car Talk auto knowledge and offered my assessment that we had a flat tire. She tried to question me but I wouldn’t hear it and urged her to pull into the nearest available spot. As Katherine gingerly pulled our limping stead into the Kia lot I formed images of myself dutifully changing our flat in the intense heat and humidity– valiantly rescuing my wife and daughter; then I wondered if our spare was good, or if we even had a spare!
I got out of the car to locate the problem tire, only to find all wheels properly inflated! ‘What the….?’ I wondered. I took a look under the car but saw no obvious hanging parts. I then directed Katherine to slowly pull forward. Two feet later the problem was revealed– the left wheel was perfectly straight while the right one had turned sharply on it’s own accord, independent of the other! All the Car Talk listening in the world wouldn’t fix this.
I remembered that our new friends here had recommended their mechanic just a week ago and had noted that he had a tow-truck. We called them, got his number, and then Katherine made arrangements for him to come get us. As we settled in for our wait, the dealership security started worrying about what we were doing, and we realized that this would likely take some time and Ofelia would soon need to eat- something we weren’t prepared for. After some hesitation we decided to send Katherine out on a baby formula store-run while I stayed with Ofelia and our junker. Katherine had to travel quite a distance to find a farmacia but eventually returned before anyone tried to have a conversation with me.
A while later, 20 minutes before the lot was to be locked up for the night, our mechanic arrived. We were feeling good, though we noted he had neglected to bring a tow-truck. As we went about introductions, the mechanic glanced at our car and noted that he knows Osmar, the slithering rat who sold us our problem prone car, and ripped us off in the process– not a confidence-inducing credential. We were stuck and at his mercy so we went with it. Mr. Mechanic produced some pliers and wire and went to work- using his cell phone as a light. It seems that our tie-rod end was missing it’s nut, and was now stripped as well; just the kind of thing that wire is good for fixing, right?
We were now glad that the mechanic was going to drive us in our car home, rather than us driving. But as we began down the road I thought that the car was doing very well and wondered if we would have been better off without this Osmar-knowing man driving our car. Well, it wasn’t long before I was glad a mechanic was drivng….
As we rounded a turn from one street to another, the car lurched and the tire squeeled– guess that wire wasn’t a complete fix! Then as we made another turn the car stopped. This time the guy had to redo the fix. This seemed like it could be a very long drive. We went along a bit further, the car occasionally lurching left or right from the free-willed tire. Then it stopped us again. This time we needed new wire. I watched as the mechanic asked a nearby guard if he had any wire, he said no with a look that said “Why the hell would you think I have wire?” But then he turned and walked with the mechanic to the fence and removed a random piece of wire– just what we needed! If only we had had some duct tape, chewing gum, and a length of rubber hose!
We made it safely home without further incident via the winding and vastly under-improved back streets of Asuncion. Our mechanic assured us that the car would be ready by Noon the next day. At 10am this morning our mechanic pulled up with our fixed car and the old part to prove it! What service! AND, it only cost us about $25! That included him coming to get us! We were relieved and began thinking that we had found ourselves a new favorite mechanic….
That was until we drove our car. Turns out the problem “fixed” wheel is still intent on going its own direction, always just a little off from where the other wants to go. That guy was cheap but I don’t want to get to know him as well as I would have to if we keep going to him. So, turns out we got home safely for $25 and we’ll have to spend a bit more to have our other mechanic take a whack at it. With our car, you can never have too many mechanics in your cell phone!
Just another day in Paraguay. We’re learning to take it all in stride and to have Paraguayan expectations. Things always take longer than expected, things always get more complicated, and everybody knows everybody.
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