Doing that was very enjoyable thing to do, and very rewarding.

I left to head back to England after nearly two years in 2004. By then the project was running down and would shortly come to it’s natural conclusion.

Back in England I took time to consider what to do next. Looking around I could see nothing that particularily appealed to me. Two years of freeedom living in South America did not make the prospect of returning to an English office overly exciting.

As it was I stayed in the UK for just three months whilst I decided what to do next.

In the end I chose to return to Paraguay and to see if was going to be possible to build a life there.

By the time I arrived back the school had long gone and all the buildings it had used were being reterned to their original farm yard purposes.

It made sense to me to start my search for a home in the neighbourhood that had housed the school. I had got to know the area and made a number of local friends.

Whilst I took the time to see if my idea was a feasable one I lodged with a local family. That gave me a base and people nearby to asssit me in my quest.

Over the next couple of months I looked at a number of possible properties. Mostly nearby, but a couple a little more distant.

One of my greatest troubles was that no one seemed to have a piece of land avalible that was just big enough for a house and garden. Everything on offer was far larger.

That has now changed as selling large properties as small individual plots is now very much the fashion.

However in the end I did find something that appeared suitable. A plot of land covered with sugarcane only about half a mile from where the school had been.

It represented far more land than I really wanted, but I was convinced to buy it by the cheapness of the land.

Also I saw it’s potential. It was on land the rose gently away from the road and faced a horizon to horizon view of rugged hilltops.

The property covered an area of 8.5 hectres and I dicided I would leave the problem of what to do with all that land for another day.

I am not the only foreigner to come to Paraguay and after being amazed by the apparent cheapness of land ended up buying too much of it.

The actual purchase of the land was simple and straight forwards. Back then I did not yet have a Paraguayan ID card. Using my British passport was sufficient for identification.

Most important of all was making sure that the property deeds to the land were all in order and in the name of the person who was selling it to me. They were, and so the purchase was trouble free.

When buying property here in Paraguay a notary is required to action all the legal processes.

I was told of a good, reliable, and trustworthy one in Piribebuy. She turned out to be all those things and processed the land purchase for me without any trouble and surprises. I have used her several more times over the years and am always happy to suggest people use her as a notary when they require one.

When purchasing properties in Paraguay the usual practice is to have the notary draw up a private contract between the buyer and seller before the legal processes begin. At this point it is normal to pay a deposit to the seller of 5% or 10%.

That done I had nothing more to do than wait for new title deeds to be drawn up in my name.

Doing that only took about a month and so then after paying the balance of the purchase price the land was mine.

Having now bought the land the next item was to get a house built.

With the freedom you have on your land in Paraguay when it comes to building I was able to walk around a little looking for the spot with the best view. Once I had found a view I was happy with I then simply stuck a stick in the ground to mark where the house would be.

Next I had enough sugarcane cleared away for a spot for the house to be built on and a working area around it. Whilst the house was built the rest was cleared. I suspect some would have been taken and sold, but that did not bother me.

As for the house itself. I did not want anything fancy. Just a box divided into rooms that was large enough to never feel cramped.

So simple was the house design that I was able to draw it up myself.

I then hired a team of locals as my builders and after giving them the plan I had drawn they set about house building.

Many of the materials came from nearby, such as the bricks which arrived by ox cart, or as with the rooftiles, direct from the factory. Other items on the whole came from a building suppliers in Piribebuy and were send out bit by bit on the bus. Even bags of cement arrived that way.

The actual build took several months as once the structure of the house was finished the pace at which everyone worked slowed. It did though get finished in the end I was able to move into my new home and look out over my own personal bit of Paraguayan countryside.

It soon though did become clear that 8.5 hectares was far too much for one person. Even after lending out land for cattle grazing or crop fields there was still far more than I could ever get any use from.

Things continued that way for a few years. All along I tried without success to thing I some way I could use and manage it.

Eventually it became clear that the only option was to get rid of some of it buy selling it.

Looking at the shape of the land and thinking of how it would better be shaped what I chose to do in the end was sell off 6 hectares and keep 2.5 hectares for myself. The portion I kept would then be a square block with the house at it’s center distant from any of the fences.

So I put the land up for sale in about 2010 and as is nearly always the case it took a few years before I found a buyer.

That brought me to 2013 and left me with a much more managable 2.5 hectares to live in.

Again I used the notary in Piribebuy I had used when I purchased the land in the first place. One more the process was simple and painless.

The buyer lived far away the other side of the country and I was expecting him to have a holiday home built for use during the summer months. Instead a more simple house was built along with various animal sheds. Then a groundsman was installed to look after everything.

Over the following years I saw the owner no more than two or three times and there was a stready turn over in groundsmen with several new ones being installed and then replaced.

It seems that the whole business was deemed impracticable by 2023. The last groundsman left and the property was put up for sale.

So it is now sitting there abandoned becoming everymore overgrown waiting for a fresh owner to come along.

Therefore if anyone fancies being my neighbour I know where 6 hectares of Paraguayan grassland can be found.

The post Land I bought for my home in Paraguay appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

Before I describe where that is and what it is like I think some background is needed.

When I first came out to Paraguay it was to teach English in a little school that was being set up in the countryside to do just that. It was a voluntary project set up to benefit the local children and not tied to the national education system.

That school was in the rural countryside outside the small town of Piribebuy. Down the dirt track that runs along the Naranjo valley.

The school ran for about 18 months and was a very enjoyable place. Both for those like me who taught there and for the local children who came every day for a couple of hours of English classes.

School is half day here so those with school in the morning came in the afternoon and those with afternoon school in the morning.

Once the project came to it’s natural conclusion I returned to England for a few months. Whilst there I decided to try making a home for myself in Paraguay.

So I returned and for a while lodged with the family whos land the school had been on and looked around for a place for myself.

Knowing the local area and having made many friends while the school had been running I did not want to look elsewhere and set up home where all would be new to me.

As it happened I did soon find some land no more than a kilometre from where the school had been that seemed to be just what I was looking for. Amongst people I knew and with a nice view across the valley.

That then I bought and placed a house upon, but more about that later.

As I mentioned above the town in Paraguay where I live is called Piribebuy.

It is a small country town. Famous for two things, history and tourism. The town has an important place in Paraguayan history. It is tourism though that draws the most visitors.

Piribebuy is in the Cordillera hills which are the nearest upland to the capital. That in itself draws many people as in summer up in the hills it is just that tiny bit cooler.

The area is very picturesque. All around Piribebuy are green fields and tree covered hills that extend right up to edge of town. In amongst those hills run many crystal clear streams that run off the hills starting their journey to the lowlands and the great rivers.

A number of properties with streams running through them have been turned into country parks where visitors can come and bathe for an afternoon or camp on a summer weekend.

Even in Piribebuy the stretch of river running though town has been turned into a park. In summer lock gates are closed and the river backs up to become the town swimming pool.

It is a quiet, peaceful town and the surrounding countryside even more so.

A place to relax, slow down and enjoy all that is best in life.

To reach my home from the town centre it is a 15 km trip past sugarcane plantations and open countryside.

In Paraguay it is just the principal roads that tend to be paved. So my journey from town is 10 km along a paved road and then 5 km along a dirt one.

The Naranjo valley is well known for it’s scenery and draws summer visitors every year. They come to bathe in cool streams, walk in the hills and generally enjoy all that nature has to offer.

Those like me who live here can enjoy such pleasures all year round.

Turning off the paved road onto the dirt there is at first little indication of what lies ahead.

For the first couple of kilometres the track makes it’s way past cattle pastures and the occasional homestead with few views to be seen beyond the endless green of trees and grass.

Then after a few turns the track dives down towards a small river. This these days is crossed by a bridge but when I first came to Paraguay there was just a ford and a steep climb. Almost impossible for something heavy like a bus to make after heavy rains.

Next to the bridge is a small country park waiting for summer visitors to come and barbecue meat and play in the river.

Over the bridge and the road rises up once more. Passing the local school and small family stores selling basic provisions. These little shops are common all across the country and exist to serve the local communities. They do a good trade saving people what in many cases would be a long trip into the nearest town.

Beyond the school the track drops one final time and swings sharply to the left.

Now at last the hills are visible running from horizon to horizon a little way back from the track. These hills are steep, rising straight from the valley bottom. Although mostly coated by a thick layer of trees there are bare rocks to be seen where it is too steep for vegetation to get established.

Amongst the rocks hidden pathways run leading to the summit if the hills. From up there the view is of a land of almost unbroken green as far as the eye can see.

It is these hills I see when I wake every morning from my house on the gently sloping land on the other side of the valley.

The view was what sold the land to me.

When I bought it the ground was covered with sugar cane which needed clearing. I chose a spot raised up high enough to look out upon the hills and not the track and had my house built there.

Choosing the location for the house wisely as I did I am far enough back from the road to hear hardly any of the occasional traffic that passes along it.

All day long it is the sounds of nature not man I hear. The singing of the birds and the chirping of the insects.

Then at night I can sit out on the back porch and look up at a starry sky undisturbed by a single artificial light.

It is truly a fine place to be.

From my YouTube channel I have here a short video that adds a few pictures to the words.

The post Where I make my home in the Paraguayan countryside appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

In Asuncion I can do a little sightseeing around the city or visit one of the modern shopping malls. Visiting anything even vaguely resembling a shopping mall out in the countryside is just not possible.

So a trip into the big city is something of a treat for me.

This week was my birthday and that seemed like a very good reason for a day out.

With travel to and from Asuncion taking several hours a trip to the city is always a long day. It is also a day that must start very early so as to allow the maximum time there.

I have travelled the route often enough to know how much time to allow for the journey.

Accordingly it was a far earlier start to the day than I would normally make.

Leaving home after a quick cup of coffee I was in Piribebuy by 7.15. Once there I dropped my motorbike off at the petrol station and strolled casually to the bus stop. There was ample time to get there before the 7.30 bus arrived.

My motorbike was quite safe at the petrol station. It would sit there untouched until my return later in the day. Seeing that rain was forecast I made sure to park it somewhere that was covered by a roof. No point in leaving it out in the rain if I did not need to.

Over at the bus stop the Asuncion bus came past pretty much on time. Well, not exactly a bus stop. Instead I just flagged the bus down as it came along the street.

Then I got settled in my seat and was on my way to Asuncion. It is only 80 km but does take a while.

Fortunately with it being mid week the bus was not too crowded. The roads for the most part were also not too crowded. Traffic was fairly light with few hold ups.

This was how the journey was though Caacupe and then down from the hilltops and through the lowland towns of Ypacarai, Itaugua and Capiata. Capiata being the last town before we reached Greater Asuncion from there onwards to traffic started to build.

Onwards then into Greater Asuncion. There as we travelled through San Lorenzo and Fernando de la Mora forward movement often slowed to a crawl. Nothing unusual, that’s just how traffic always is though Greater Asuncion.

I have on many occasions seen it much worse. The last 10 minutes as the bus slowly creeps towards it’s destination are always the longest 10 minutes of the journey.

With traffic out in the countryside flowing well we made Asuncion in good time and after 2 1/2 hours were pulling into the bus terminal.

As I and the only other passenger left on the bus disembarked I was fresh, rested and ready for a day in the city.

Just one more bus ride. Though the bus terminal and into the streets outside and I was soon seated on a local city bus.

That took me directly in about 15 minutes down to the Villa Morra district that was my finally destination.

I had come to Asuncion for a day in the air conditioned delights of a modern shopping mall. I would be spending the day in Shopping Mariscal, the largest of the malls in the area. Just a short walk from my final bus stop.

In the end though I got off the bus a stop early to stretch my legs a little before heading into the shopping mall.

Nothing like this can be found in Piribebuy or any of the nearby towns. So a trip to a shopping mall is always a bit of a treat.

Inside the shopping mall I looked around a few shops and purchased a couple of things before remembering that one of the items I wanted was to be found elsewhere.

That elsewhere was the large department store Feria Asuncion. Three floors of interesting things.

It was only a 10 minute walk away so Headed down there to pick up something I had spotted, but forgot to buy a few months before. That accomplished I headed back to Shopping Mariscal.

By now it was lunch time so my next destination was the large food hall. Plenty of options to choose from and I settled for filling a plate with the offerings of one of the buffet restaurants. A good filling meal and enough to fuel me for the rest of the day.

Once lunch was over I had a relaxing hour wandering from shop to shop looking for anything interesting to add to my list of purchases.

None of the Asuncion malls are huge so that was long enough to see everything. That done I popped out into the street and to the smart supermarket next door.

I had been watching the sky get darker for a while and while I was in the supermarket there was a heavy shower that filled the store with noise. The sound of water beating on a tin roof.

When there is one heavy shower there is always another. So I finished my shopping and then rather than returning to the mall headed to the bus stop to start my journey home.

There was no sense in pushing my luck by staying away longer. It was a 5 minute walk to the bus stop and had it been raining I would have got soaked just catching a bus and had to travel home in wet clothes.

As it was I got back to the bus terminal without incident and jumped on a bus back to Piribebuy just as it was pulling out. The short run across the platform was far preferable to waiting half and hour for the next one.

Travelling through the streets of Asuncion and into it’s suburbs I could see that we were heading east behind the storm. It may not have been raining but there was a lot of water in the streets.

By the time the bus reached San Lorenzo wide rivers of flood water were running down the roads. The water was deep, muddy and fast flowing spilling out in places across the pavements. To save passengers having to swim across to the bus the driver a number of times pulled up onto the pavement to let them board.

All the while I could see dark clouds out in front which we were chasing across Paraguay. For the most part the storm stayed in the distance and we passed though just a couple of light showers.

That was until we reached Caacupe where the driving rain greatly reduced the visibility of the world outside the bus.

Caacupe is the last town before Piribebuy and I was a little concerned that after staying dry all day I might arrive there while the storm was at it’s heaviest.

However I was in for a surprise when I got there. Not only was it not raining but there was far less water in the roads than I had seen in other towns. It appeared that no more than the edge of the storm had been through Piribebuy.

As a result of the weather it was a slower trip back taking a little over 3 hours. However it was still light, which was good.

After picking my motorbike up I then had to travel the final 15 km back to my house and as the last 5 km was along a dirt track I wanted to travel in daylight so as to avoid any muddy ditches the rain had caused.

I found the track to be far less muddy than I was expecting. The bulk of the storm must have gone elsewhere,

Back finally home I checked the time. It was just gone 6 pm.

A day trip to Asuncion is enjoyable but it is always a long day with at least 6 hours spend on buses.

But I had a very good day out and look forward to doing it all again in a few months time.

The post Taking a day trip by bus into Asuncion appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

It all began one afternoon at the beginning of the week when the speedometer stopped working. The needle swung back to zero and decided to stay there.

Fortunately I was in Piribebuy so I could head straight to the little garage I always use. Not so fortunately there was already someone there having a fairly major repair done. All I could do was sit and wait my turn.

There was little point in heading home and returning another day. I was next in the queue and if I did go home and come back another time may well have had to wait anyway.

So I made myself comfortable on a chair and sat back to watch the world go by.

Eventually after a couple of hours it was my turn. It seemed that the repair that needed doing before I could be dealt with was a more complicated one than I had first thought.

While I had been sitting there I had been hoping the the answer to my problem was that something had become disconnected. Had that been the case I envisaged a quick repair.

Unfortunately it wasn’t.

The verdict was that the speedometer unit had broken and would need to be replaced. This would need the entire dashboard removing and replacing. Again not a huge issue as surely one dashboard could be removed and a replacement connected in it’s place.

Before that was started to front wheel came off to check the bearings. I knew they would need replacing shortly, so having them changed now before work started on the dashboard was just fine.

That was swiftly done and the wheel put aside for later.

Then came the rather more complicated task of removing the dashboard. To do this the headlight first had to come off before various bolts could be removed and a whole host of wires cut.

A replacement dashboard was purchased from one of the many spare parts shops and connected up.

That however was worse than before any repairs had been started. Now the speedometer worked but the rev counter was leaping all over the place and none of the dashboard lights worked.

Talking to the mechanic I discovered that it was a common problem, Parts sold as replacements were although brand new often of such poor quality that they were worse then the broken parts they replaced.

It had by now got dark. The garage really needed to shut for the night so it was decided best if I headed home and then returned in daylight another day. Then the repair would be tackled once more.

Riding home was not a problem as mechanically there was nothing wrong with the bike. Along the way I did notice the speed was showing as a good bit higher than I knew I was going.

Therefore one morning a couple of days later I returned. Mid morning to allow whatever work was needed to be done.

In my absence it had been decided to make one working dashboard out of the parts of several. My old one, the one I had just bought and another that was lying about in the garage.

That would require opening up all three dashboards to get access to their cogs and dials as well as electrics, such as the gear selection indicator lights.

I would imagine in much of the world the stripping down of vehicle parts to cannibalise their best bits would not even be considered. Especially not a dashboard as very soon there were soon three sets of dials all registering different distances travelled from just a few up to over 30,000 lying on the workbench.

During the morning all manner of combinations were tried. They was a constant stream of components being filed, milled and adjusted. There was no way for me to tell which item had come from where.

By late morning a dashboard had been rebuilt. Then came the complicated task of wiring it in. There were rather a lot of wires. Fortunately they were colour coded to make to job of attaching each to it’s correct partner a little easier.

The various dials had all been tested individually but predictably when they were connected together none of them worked quite right.

There were a number of false starts during the morning.

It was also discovered that the gear indicator lights were not working on whichever of the dashboards was being used as a base. So a light assembly had to be swapped in from one of the others.

As the work continued to get everything into working order midday came and went.

Eventually early afternoon with one more removal of the front wheel bearings to cure a sound the wheel had been giving out for a few months it was decided by everyone that everything seemed OK. Taking the bike for a good ride was going to be the only way to test everything out properly.

Looking down at the dashboard I noticed that although the milometer did not say zero it now registered about 4,000 rather than the previous 30,000. Also the housing was far brighter and cleaner than the old one. That had had several years of exposure. Now the dials stood out brightly behind the perspex.

It happened that I was going over to Caacupe that afternoon. The run there and back would be enough check if everything was in working order.

I got there with no issue. However one the way back after riding for an hour the dashboard started to make a clicking noise and then the speedometer needle started jumping around wildly. Something had broken or was not properly connected.

So nearly had the repair been finished.

Everything else was once more as it should be. Just the small issue of not knowing my speed remained.

Whilst in town this morning I had a quick word with mechanic to let him know.

Once he sources another speedometer unit he said he will give me a call.

So early next week it will be back to the garage to try and fix finally that one last part of the dashboard. Do wish me luck!

With the poor quality of equipment, such as motorbikes, in Paraguay it is not uncommon for things to break and then for the replacement parts to be substandard. However with in ingenuity of the Paraguayan craftsman there is almost nothing that is beyond repair.

The post Ongoing saga of a motorbike repair appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

Being just 80 km away Asuncion is easy for me to reach. The trip inevitably involves large periods of time travelling on buses. That though in itself is a good way to see a bit of the country as it passes by.

A couple of times a year I treat myself to a night or two in a modern hotel. More often though a day trip is quite sufficient.

And so is was that earlier this week I filled my day travelling to and from Asuncion. All for a few hours of city life and a change of scenery.

Asuncion is not far from where I live in Piribebuy. However due to the slow speeds with which buses head towards it always a long day.

One way the journey could be made is by starting the day with the early morning bus from my country district into Piribebuy. Then from there getting a bus into Asuncion.

That though is quite restrictive. There is just one bus a day into Piribebuy and from there I might have a substantial wait for a bus to take me onwards to Asuncion. Furthermore I would have to seek out a taxi to get me home later in the day once I was back again in Piribebuy.

Instead I have learnt it is far better to travel up to where the road to Piribebuy branches off the main east west route across Paraguay and get a bus from there.

That then was how I made my journey.

It was still however a long day and an early start. I rose at 6.30 to be out of the door by 7.30. Then I travelled half an hour on my motorbike through Piribebuy and up to the main road.

Paraguay is currently on winter time and the clocks have moved back an hour. As such without a very early start I would have had very little time in Asuncion if I wanted to be back before dark.

Up at the junction with the main road (Ruta 2) there is a petrol station. There I could leave my bike all day and pick it up on the way back.

Rather than car parks petrol stations are often used in Paraguay as places to leave vehicles temporarily. They also offer free parking.

When I got there I could see that there were already many vehicles parked there, both cars and bikes, belonging to people who had continued onwards by bus.

I found a space amongst them and parked up. My crash helmet I simply hung on the handlebars and left. It did take quite a while to get used to the idea that I could leave my helmet hanging on the bike and still find it there when I returned. That though was certainly far better than carrying it around all day.

From there crossed the road to wait for a bus. The road lead to Asuncion so I could catch almost any bus as they would almost all be heading that way.

If a Piribebuy bus had arrived I would have caught that. One did not however appear and instead after waiting just a few minutes I boarded the first one that came along.

This one had started it’s journey in Caraguatay. That is somewhere I have been a few times. It is home to the Paraguayan Naval Museum at Vapor Cue.

It was an old bus and slowly made it’s way along with constant stop for passengers to get on and off. I sat back, got comfortable and into that state of mind that lets long, slow bus journeys drift away.

The bus slowly made it’s way towards Asuncion rattling all the way as it did. Then after 2 1/2 hours of stop start progress finally pulled into Asuncion bus terminal. There I left it to continue my journey into the city.

One more bus would be needed to get me to the shopping centre that was my destination. Standing at the bus stop there seemed to be very few around, so after waiting ten minutes I jumped on one that looked to be going in the right direction.

It did head the right way for a while before veering off to the side. A few blocks of that and it became clear it was not going where I wanted to go so I got off before I head headed too far in the wrong direction.

Looking around I did not recognise where I had arrived. However a check of Google Maps told me that I was only a couple of miles from where I wanted to be.

Not knowing what if any bus would take me that way I decided the best thing to do would be to simply walk. It was a hot sunny day but I do enjoy a brisk stroll.

The streets of Asuncion are laid out in a grid so route finding was no trouble. Walking along the shaded sides of the streets it was not long before the tall office blocks near the shopping centre rose into view.

I had finally reached my destination for the day.

Having to walk brought me there a little later than planned. It was in fact almost midday. So the first thing to do would be to have lunch.

The shopping centre I had come to was Shopping Mariscal. It is one of the large modern malls in the Villa Morra district about 6 km from Asuncion old town. It was one of the first large malls built in Asuncion and a few years ago was extended as part of a modernisation process.

Of all the large malls in the area it is my favourite. I find it has a much better mix of stores than the others. Here everything from high street to boutique can be found.

One part of the renovations was the building of a new more spacious food court. It is much better than the old slightly cramped one, but as it is in the new part of the shopping complex I had to walk all the way through the centre to get to it.

The walk was though worth while and I had a dozen assorted dining options in front of me. Browsing through them all I chose Chinese as that is something I am never going to get out in Piribebuy.

As I relaxed over lunch I planned the rest of the day. I would not have much time here so none could be wasted.

Fed and ready to go I headed off to the shops.

There are a couple of department stores but on the whole the centre is filled by smaller shops. It does not take too long to do a circuit visiting all that seem of interest. Furthermore other than the food halls the shopping centres never appear to be very busy. No need to worry about crowds and queues.

After about an hour I had done that little bit of shopping and seen all I needed to. I had come to the city more for a day out than a shopping expedition.

There was just one more thing I wanted to do before starting on the journey back home.

That was to make another circuit of the centre to film a bit of video to add to my YouTube channel. That is also in the name of Simons Paraguay if you would like to visit it.

Everything done I sat down with a couple of empanadas and a bottle of coke before returning once more to the buses.

Refreshed and ready to carry on I jumped on a city bus to take me back to the bus terminal from where another would take me home.

In the terminal there seemed to be a lack of buses. Not knowing how long I would have to wait for the right one I hopped on one that was just leaving on it’s way to Caacupe. That would at least get me most of the way and I could then change buses there.

Once again the bus made slow progress. It crawled along in search of passengers until we had cleared the Asuncion suburbs.

I made sure I was travelling before the rush hour. Once that starts the streets jam up and everything moves even slower.

So drifting off into that state where time just floats by I watched as the various country towns slowly drifted by.

A couple of hours after leaving the bus terminal I was approaching Caacupe and it was time to spring back into action.

As we passed the first big bus stop in Caacupe I got off to look for a bus that could carry me onwards. I would be able to catch any bus that passed me by as between Caacupe and the Piribebuy junction there was nowhere that one could turn off and head elsewhere.

I did not have to wait long. Just a few vehicles behind was a bus heading to Valenzuela. That is somewhere I have only been once before. To a rodeo many years ago.

I made myself comfortable on the bus and had soon covered the final 10 km to the petrol station where I had left my bike earlier in the day.

As I knew it would be it was still there. Then as dusk slowly turned to dark I rode back home pleased with how well my day out had gone.

It was almost dark by the time I finally pulled up outside my house and the time said 6 pm. For me there is no such thing as a quick visit to the shops.

Having only drunk a couple of bottles of coke during the day I was extremely thirsty by the time I got home.

To cure that an hour of ice cold terere listening to the radio rounded off my day nicely.

The post Making a flying visit to Asuncion appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

Christmas here in Paraguay is in many ways different to that in northern latitudes. The scenery looks nothing like what one would call a Christmas scene. There will never be a white Christmas in Paraguay.

Instead it occurs at one of the hottest time of year. Mid summer when the sun is at it’s highest in the sky. Furthermore falling as it does just after the Summer Solstice Christmas is one of the longest, lightest nights of the year.

However it is still Christmas and there is plenty to be experienced. All without the slightest chance of frostbite.

With the heat and the approach of summer decorations are not needed to bright nights. As such they are few and far between. The majority of houses prepare a nativity scene, a small decorated tree and maybe a few lights. Nothing on the scale that is seen in other parts of the world.

Every year Christmas seems to quietly sneak up on me. If it was not for the displays of decorations in every supermarket it would be easy to forget that Christmas was approaching.

In line with that the decorations in my house are simple these days. Just a small tree, some tinsel and a collection of Father Christmases and Snowmen. I gave up on lights years ago. They never really work and certainly don’t when unpacked again the following year.

For me to get into the Christmas spirit this year I started my celebrations as couple of days before Christmas.

Lights had been put up in the main plazas in Piribebuy. I had seen where they were in daylight but to see them properly they needed to be seen at night.

To do that I waited until it was almost dark and then headed into town. I had been correct. Everything looked much more festive in the darkness.

All the lights were white. That gave the decorations a look of clean simplicity. I was not the only one spending and evening in Piribebuy seeing the lights. Everywhere there were small family groups going from one display to another.

As for the lights themselves. The church was floodlit and in front stood a tall, bright Christmas tree. Then in the other main plaza lights had been put up over one of the pathways creating and illuminated walkway.

Then finally a couple of blocks away at the Paseo de la Memoria a pulsating tunnel of lights had been put up along the bridge. Then finally large numbers proclaiming 2023 had been put up and lit ready to welcome the New Year.

It was certainly well worth the trouble of a night time drive to see the lights of Piribebuy.

On the way back although it was hardly late at night I was alone and in the darkness from once I had left the town limits until I got home. As I travelled along I saw just the occasional set of Christmas lights flickering outside houses.

I then had one more day to spend at home before the real Christmas celebrations. The weather was very hot and very dry so most of my time on the 23rd and then through Christmas Eve was spent trying to keep cool.

Here in Paraguay it is on Christmas Eve that celebrations are held. These take the form of a family party on the night of Christmas Eve running through to the early hours of Christmas Day.

I had been invited to spend Christmas with my neighbours, so did not have far to go.

Knowing that nothing would be happening until mid evening I waited until mid evening before I headed down to join them.

When I arrived the meat had just been put on the barbecue and the drinks cooler had been filled with cans of beer.

As always with a Paraguayan Christmas barbecue there was plenty of meat on the grill. Several large pieces of pork and sausages squeezed into every available remaining space. It is important that more is cooked than all the guests could possibly eat.

The evening is mainly for the adults to sit and chat over an endless supply of beer. The children are on the whole left to make their own entertainments.

Much of this comes as a constant stream of explosions. They are all given several boxes of bangers to amuse themselves with. Fortunately they are small bangers so there is little chance of them causing any harm as they throw them around.

With my friends and neighbours I spent a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Just chatting about general issues and along with everyone else working my way through the beer.

Eventually the meat was cooked and ready to be served. It was by then well into the night and due to the size of the table the meal would be served in two sittings.

The first was for the children. By then they must have been quite hungry and the younger ones were starting to look tied.

Once they had all been fed and gone off to rest somewhere it was the turn of everyone else.

We had been sitting out on the front porch and table was now placed in the middle of it so that everyone could sit around in comfort. The meat was placed in the centre of the table in large bowls and serving dishes from which all could take what they wanted.

There was also a bowl a salad so that everyone could place some token vegetables on their plate.

The pork had been cooked perfectly and there was ample there for everyone. Like everyone else I had a couple of good size helpings and then left a little bit on my plate when I was finished to show that I was not leaving the table hungry.

Then it was just left to rest and relax until midnight arrived.

It did and we all welcomed the arrival of Christmas and took the obligatory photos.

I stayed for about another hour before heading home and to bed leaving the party to continue for a while longer.

The next morning when I woke it was Christmas Day. Outside everything was very quiet. Here in Paraguay with all the parties happening on Christmas Eve Christmas Day is like Boxing Day only much quieter.

Christmas Day is though for me when Christmas is celebrated so I could not just spend it in bed. Others no doubt would not stir until lunch time.

Fortunately I had a few presents to unwrap that I had bought back from England. Then that done I displayed them nicely and spent the morning listening to Christmas music.

I then made sure I had a Christmas lunch. Roast beef and a good bottle of red wine. Whilst I enjoyed them I put a Christmas film on the television. I may have been spending Christmas Day alone but there was no reason why it should not be a fine day.

Once all of that had been finished it was back to the Christmas music. Relaxing on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon.

And so that was how I spent my Christmas out here in the Paraguayan countryside. A stress free relaxing time even if it was a little warm.

The post How I spent my Paraguayan country Christmas appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

Cooking with firewood is by the nature of the fuel a potentially messier business than using gas or electric would be. Having clouds of smoke exiting the oven from time to time is unavoidable. To avoid filling the house with smoke my oven is in an external kitchen.

That room also serves as a shed so the oven must share space with a motorbike and gardening tools.

There is also no electricity in the kitchen. Therefore the oven is used solely for cooking the midday meal. Cooking by candlelight would be far too much trouble, and anyway in the warm Paraguayan climate one hot meal a day is quite enough.

Using firewood to cook with does have one or two drawbacks. Most importantly a fire just has one heat, hot. It can be adjusted slightly by increasing or decreasing the amount of wood that is burning. There is however no way of judging exactly how hot it is.

This in turn means that what cooks best is whatever is simplest to cook.

That is fine with me. If a meal takes much more half an hour to cook I soon start loosing interest in it and probably would not bother with it again. I am certainly not what would be described as a Foodie. Somethings do taste better than others, but they are though all only food and nothing to get excited about.

A positive of seeing all food as little more than fuel is that it means I will eat pretty much anything that is put in front of me. As long as it is not going to make me ill I’ll give it a go.

And taste is one thing that firewood gives to meals. There is something about the taste of food cooked with firewood that is different to that of food cooked by other means. I don’t know what it is. However general agreement is that cooked that way food simply tastes better.

Before any of that can happen though wood is needed for the oven.

In these days of reducing carbon emissions some may question the environmental reasoning behind using wood as a cooking fuel. All my firewood though comes from trees growing in my garden. So I am merely recycling the carbon they have captured.

Most of the wood comes from a row of eucalyptus trees I have. Those grow by five or more metres a year and so need constant pruning to be kept in check. In addition to being fast growing they are also neither native nor rare and can withstand some very heavy pruning.

To ensure that later when the wood is used for cooking no more cutting needs to be done I cut the branches into logs the correct size for my oven as soon as they come off the trees. These are then stacked neatly and left to dry for a few months before being fed into the oven.

Other wood on the woodpile comes from dead branches I find around the garden. These I collect up from time to time. They to are cut into oven size lengths before being added to the woodpile.

As for the actual day to day cooking I find a little preparation makes the whole process a lot easier. I see no point in making anything any harder than it needs to be.

To do this I spend five or ten minutes before beginning to cook collecting all the wood I will need from the wood pile. This will need logs and sticks of differing thicknesses and through years of experience I know how much of each.

First however even before selecting the correct bits of wood I prepare something to light the fire with. The seed covers from the coco palm trees which grow all around in abundance are perfect for that. They are easy to set alight and burn slowly enough to set the fire alight.

I always keep a pile drying in the sun. If the fire is set properly just one match should be sufficient to light it.

The next stage is to build a tent of kindling which will form the base of the fire. Half a dozen small sticks and possibly a bit of bark is enough.

These I build up like a tent raised above the base of the oven by a slightly thicker stick that will take a little longer to burn through. Doing things in this manner a space is left between the kindling and the base of the oven for the burning palm frond.

Once that structure is in place the next task is collect together the rest of the firewood I will be requiring for my cooking. Over the years I have learnt how much firewood is going to be needed. I normally judge things quite well. By the time food is cooked there will be very little fire left fire left as the last of the firewood turns to embers. I always try and use the minimum wood possible.

The other wood I collect from the woodpile will be a couple of thick sticks and half a dozen thin logs. Anything thicker than about an inch would have been split so as to burn more efficiently.

This firewood I lay down on the floor in front of the oven so that once i start cooking I will not need to go off and find anymore.

Everything is then ready for the cooking to begin.

First is a match to light the palm frond. That is then placed under the tent of kindling to start the fire.

Once that has caught I next use the two thicker sticks to from an ‘A’ with it’s legs pointing out of the oven. These help hold the fire in shape and also provide a base upon which to place the logs and to stop them rolling about in the oven away from the fire.

This should all soon be well alight and using the ‘A’ as a guide I will then be able to place the first couple of logs into the oven.

All being well the fire will soon be well alight. It will then be ready for the pot of whatever is to be cook to be placed on top of the oven.

Then other than adding other logs as required and pushing things further inside the oven as the burn down the work is done.

I find cooking like this very easy. It is also far more fun than just putting something in an oven. I enjoy the close proximity of the cooking fuel.

Each day as I cook lunch I can look at my achievement. I have grown the wood, I have cut the branches and I have set the fire.

The post How I cook each day with firewood appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

They now are far better than I could ever had imagined they would be when I first arrived.

Back in 2002 I arrived in Paraguay from a Britain that had very much already moved into the internet age.

I came with my internet enabled British phone in my pocket. That however was never going to work in Paraguay. For one thing the two country’s phone networks run on different wavebands. So even had something like roaming been available my phone would not have worked. Putting in a local SIM card would have been quite pointless.

And so in one step I went from a fully connected land to one that in terms of telecommunications at least was defiantly off the grid.

Since coming to Paraguay I have been based in the countryside outside the small town of Piribebuy. Accordingly my recollections reflect the reality of the countryside and what I saw around me. The situation has always been somewhat different in the towns and especially in Asuncion. Not however living there I cannot truly give an account of how the communications revolution has played out there.

When I first came to my little bit of countryside back in late 2002 there was quite simply no internet. In fact there was not even the opportunity to make a phone call.

The cables that had been previously put up to connect the land lines in Paraguay rarely extended beyond town boundaries. There had quite simply never been the call for telephones in every house across Paraguay. In addition with the population outside the towns being scattered thinly across the land it would never have been cost effective to install lines running out to every settlement.

The costs of any such project would have needed to be covered somehow. And the people it would have connected would have barely had the funds to cover the cost of their phone lines. Even if these had been heavily subsidised.

That then was why as things stood there was no connections of any sort when I arrived. Anyone who did need to make a phone call was quite used to travelling into town to do so.

I had to do the same. If I had wished to make a call I would have needed to catch the early morning bus into Piribebuy. Then once there I could use one of the phone booths in the local office of the national phone company.

To try and connect to the internet required the same trip. Although the chance of success was far lower than that of being able to make a phone call.

Once a week I would catch that 7 O’Clock bus into Piribebuy to try and do just that. In town there was one internet cafe with three or four computers. Few people in town used things like email back then so the computers were always free.

The connection was never fast, but if working was sufficient to check and reply to emails. ‘If working’ being the key phrase there.

On arrival in town I had to hope that the computer in the internet cafe were working. It seemed to be as likely that they would be off for a lack of connection to the internet as that they would be on. And of course with no phones there was no way of phoning ahead to check that they had on that day a connection with the internet.

Finding them not working was not uncommon. I would then be left to wait three hours for a bus back home before trying again the next week.

Understandably in my first years in Paraguay my connections with the wider world were few and far between.

Back at home there was however in emergencies one way of making a phone call. About 3 Km further down the track was a shop that had a pay phone. I don’t know how that connected but satellite was a possibility. It was though a long walk on a hot day and very expensive so in all my time here I never used it.

That was how things remained for a couple of years until mobile phones started to appear. At first just the most basic phones, selling at a premium price.

Initially those to would only function within the towns and cities, but little by little phone masts started to creep across the land. As they did more and more places were reached by the telephone network.

My first phone in Paraguay was the most basic of Nokia ones. As though a phone line was still a luxury buying it was rather complicated. It involved passports, references and the filling out of several forms which had to be sent off to Asuncion to be authorised before I was allowed a phone number on their return.

Now in town I could make and receive phone calls. At that point things were still rather different in the countryside.

The phone masts were continuing to go up but there were many holes on the map to fill.

For me at home there was still no hope of making a phone call. If I did want to make one I had to wade across a river and then climb to the highest point in the nearby hills. From there if luck was with me and the stars were aligned I could get a weak signal for long enough to make a short phone call.

As the phone masts spread the need to go hiking up hills to speak to someone diminished. However coverage was still very patchy and to compensate everyone had their own little tricks for getting a signal. Some would settle on one certain spot to stand to get connected. Others would hang phones in socks from trees and others try to work out through which gap in the hills a straight line could be drawn to a mast.

Obviously every method was more in hope than certainty. For the moment though few people had phones, so there was space for everyone to have their own theories.

It was a while before the internet found its way beyond the internet cafes. When it did arrive it came in the form of simple internet enabled phones. Far more primitive than the Smartphones that were starting to be seen elsewhere. However it was quite something to be able to check the news or weather, even if the system was at the time unable to do little more.

By then the task of connecting up Paraguay was well underway. Each of the phone companies was steadily increasing their number of masts and area of coverage. They however worked independently with each having good, average or no service in different areas.

Before buying a phone and the SIM card to run it one needed to think about where they would be spending most of their time and then making enquiries as to which phone company provided the best service locally.

Also at this time the internet started to run just about fast enough to do the basics on a PC.

I got from one of the phone companies a plug in modem. Although the connection was still a bit hit and miss with a bit of patience I was at last able to get the internet running well enough on my laptop to do simple things like emails.

These days I can simply turn my Smartphone into a WiFi hub and use it to run 4G internet on the laptop.

Things really have changed a lot since I first arrived in Paraguay.

Since then in slow and steady steps things have continued to move forward. Now I can make a phone call at anytime from anywhere and most days the internet runs fast enough to stream video.

There have also been parallel changes with television. That for years was analogue being picked up by the wildest mixture of antennae. Everything from tall expensive metal constructions to tied to the tops of bamboo poles.

Those now have all gone and television is digital. No more just sticking up an antenna, now a dish and a contract is required.

Additionally where land lines never reached mobile phones have. There are few people these days who do not have their own Smartphone. Many would struggle without them even if all know how to do is chat via their various Apps.

But as Paraguay has jumped straight into the digital age it is hardly surprising that few have as yet discovered the power and potential of the devices in their hands.

With time their potential as gateways to knowledge and as work tools will be discovered.

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For a last bit of luxury to end my trip I booked into the modern Ibis Hotel. In addition to being clean and comfortable it was easily accessible from the airport. It location in front of one of the smart Asuncion shopping malls was also advantageous.

I had planned to spend two nights in Asuncion but with the arrival of one last winter cold spell I extended my stay for a further night. There seemed no point in heading out to a cold house when I could stay just a little longer in a warm hotel.

Once I had rested and checked that everything in my suitcase had survived the journey I headed out into Asuncion.

Not wanting to go far I simply crossed the road to Shopping del Sol, the shopping mall in front of the hotel and went to find lunch. As with all Asuncion shopping malls it had a large food court with plenty of options available. So I was able to have a good meal for the first time since I had left England.

Then for the rest of the afternoon I just aimlessly wandered around looking in shop windows before returning to my hotel. Once back there I did little more than investigate what was on television and which channels I could make play in English.

The next morning refreshed after a good sleep it was breakfast in the hotel. And a large a varied buffet there was. Enough such that I was able to spend an hour having dishes of this and that and numerous cups of coffee and glasses of fruit juiced.

Ready to see Paraguay once more and needing some exercise after sitting down for so long I walked from the hotel up to the old city center. That was a walk of several kilometres and took an hour. I do enjoy a walk and that was a very pleasant one.

I then spent the day walking the streets of Asuncion old town. Seeing the river and the docks and acting like a tourist as I took photos along the day.

Late afternoon I returned to my hotel. This time by bus as they were plentiful and I had been walking for many hours by then. A trip on an Asuncion city bus is an enjoyable one as all the passengers and street sellers jump on and off.

The next day, my unplanned extra day in Asuncion, I stayed much nearer to my hotel. It was a day of touring the shopping centers to make a few small purchases and to find a travel bureau to change my remaining British money into Paraguayan.

As had been forecast it was then a cold night. The temperature dipping to just a few degrees above freezing. It was also Friday. So I was able to meet up with some friends from Asuncion to tour the local bars until the early hours. A very enjoyable way to finish off my holiday.

Next morning with the weather forecast to get a little warmer I repacked my bags after breakfast for the journey home to Piribebuy.

Firstly after checking out I got a taxi to the bus terminal. There I found the bus for Piribebuy. There was no space as such on the bus for bags so I boarded as quickly as I could at the back to occupy two seats at the rear of the bus. One for me and one for my various bags.

From Asuncion the bus slowly made its was towards Piribebuy. Filling up with passengers as it went. Additionally a constant stream of sellers got on and off the bus with all manner of goods. Anything that could be carried in one hand.

Fortunately I was in no rush. The bus took 3 hours to travel the 90 km to Piribebuy. A bus ride in Paraguay is never a thing to be rushed.

In Piribebuy I dragged my collection of bags off the bus. Then turned the street corner to find a taxi. I put my bags inside and had the driver take me first to the supermarket and then wait outside while I dashed around inside picking up a few basic items I knew I would be needing.

Then finally for the last leg of the journey the taxi pulled out of Piribebuy and into the countryside and my home.

The paved road soon gave way to a dirt one and I was back in the familiar surroundings of my home.

I unloaded my bags at my neighbours house. There after a chat about my trip and the handing out of gifts I collected my door key, for they had been watching over my house for me.

For that final leg from their house up my driveway to my front door I was fortunate to have helpers to assist with the carrying of bags. It is quite a climb up from the street to my house.

My house I found as I knew I would do to be just as it should be. It was actually far cleaner than I had left it having received a thorough scrubbing.

The only very small issue was that while the house was being cleaned a few things ended up tidied away in unusual places. It took it little while to get everything back where it should have been. I could hardly complain though as the house was spotless.

The next day I headed with my bike back to Piribebuy. As food in the house would have gone off I had told my neighbours to make use of everything. So the cupboards were quite empty.

Being on a bike and having just a little backpack there is a limit to what I can bring back from town. So the following day I was back to Piribebuy again to do the rest of the shopping.

Later in the week I also took a trip down to Paraguari. I did not really need anything from there but it was nice weather for a trip out and I had not been there for a while.

As well as a chance to get acquainted once more with the supermarket staff I have had ample chance to meet up with my local friends. All have many questions about England and I talked through my collection of photos with them.

After a few days everything was settled back as it should be. Then I was able to get on with the jobs I had left unfinished when I went to England.

The most important of them was the pruning of my eucalyptus trees. Every year I cut off the several metres of new growth. That stops them getting to high and keeps me supplied with firewood.

I had only been able to prune half of them before I went away so trimming the remainder has been my priority.

Then no doubt there will be countless other little jobs around the house and garden that need attending to.

I had a very good few weeks in England but as everyone knows it is always good to be back home again.

The post My first couple of weeks back in Paraguay appeared first on Simons Paraguay.

Whilst I was in England the weather had been quite unlike normal English weather. It had for the whole of my visit been very hot and very dry. The temperature had reached an unheard of 40 degrees and apart from a shower one evening there had been no rain. I have never before in England not had to cancel a days plans due to rain.

It seems though that as well as taking the hot dry weather with me I also brought it back to Paraguay.

The weather made my last morning in England a little more rushed than it should have been.

I packed my bags and had lunch watching clouds build in the sky for the very first time.

The plan had been to have lunch then relax for a little while before walking down to the train station in Flitwick with my bags. The weather however ensured that was not to be.

Soon after lunch the sky went very black as a storm approached. So I had to rather than walking get a taxi to the station as the first rain drops fell. I wanted to be travelling before the storm started so that I would not have to sit on a plane in wet clothes.

The taxi duly delivered me to the train station before the rain got going and I began my journey earlier than I had intended.

As the train headed south towards London I was soon ahead of the storm and looking up at a blue sky. I knew though that although the clouds travelled slower than a train they were sure to catch up with me later.

Being ahead of schedule when I reached London I then had plenty of time to get across the city. The was no need to seek out a fast train to get me to Heathrow. Instead at St Pancras I simply caught the Piccadilly line underground service.

That took an hour to wind its way though central London and then west to Heathrow. I had ample time to travel that way and in doing so no further changes we needed carrying my heavy bags.

Early as I was the check in for my flight had not even opened. This meant that there was no queue at the automated check in machines so I could take my time working out how they worked and printing my boarding passes and bags label.

with that done I headed back out of the terminal to sit out in the fresh air until such a time as I would be able to drop my bag of. A very relaxing half hour watching the world go by.

Once check in time arrived I then headed back into the terminal to join the queue. Being one of the first I was quite near the front.

That as everything else had done worked to my advantage. My bag it turned out was overweight but being one of the first in the queue and smiling sweetly at the woman on the desk it went through and onto the plane without any problems.

Having got rid of my bag the next place to head was security. Then from there through to departures.

As with my arrival in England a few weeks before I did not know what sort of queues and delays I would find there.

Again in line with my arrival there were none. Heathrow seemed no busier and the queues no longer than on any average day. So as I had as always made sure there was nothing in my carry on baggage that should not be there I was soon through security and customs and walking though Duty Free airside.

With amply time still on my hands I sat with a sandwich and a pint reading a book as I waited for the gate number for my flight to appear.

Soon enough that did and as ever the gate for the flight to Sao Paulo was the one furthest from the departure lounge. So it was quite a walk though the airport to get to it.

Getting there the storm that I had escaped earlier in the afternoon finally caught up with me. I watched as sheets of water fell outside the windows. It was for a while so heavy that I could hardly so the lights of planes coming into land.

I was very glad to see the rain getting lighter before I boarded my flight. I may not have been much fun taking off in such heavy rain. As it was the rain had all but stopped before the plane took off.

I had an aisle seat on the central block of seats on the plane. I hoped that in doing so I might end up with an empty seat next to me. That turned out to be the case and I ended up with two seats and plenty of room to spread out.

Once everyone was onboard the plane took off. It was a smooth take off and we were soon rising high into the London air before turning to head south.

Playing with the entertainment system I found a film to settle into as the plane began its long journey down to Brazil. Being a night flight the food came round long before the film had finished. The meal served was quite acceptable and went down well with a glass of wine.

I then tried to get some sleep. Never an easy thing to do on a plane. Two seats did not give me enough room to lie down but spreading out over them I was able to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

I must have made myself quite comfortable as I slept for several hours not waking until the lights came back on to announce the arrival of breakfast. That meal was again fine and I only had time to watch half of another film before we started to descend to land in Sao Paulo.

The winds must of been blowing the plane all the way across the Atlantic as we arrived in Sao Paulo a full hour early.

I was quite happy with that as it gave me more than enough time to catchy my connecting flight without ever needing to hurry.

The only slight issue in Sao Paulo was that shortly before take off the gate from which the plane to Asuncion would be flying was changed. Of course the new gate was not a nearby one but instead one at the opposite end of the terminal. A long walk I had not been planning on making after getting comfortable on a chair.

with everyone moved to the new gate boarding was then able to begin. That went so smoothly that everyone was seated and the door closed 15 minutes before the plane was due to take off.

On this shorter flight I had opted for a window seat to see the view as there was now daylight outside. And again I got lucky and had another empty seat next to me.

As we took off from Sao Paulo I saw the city spread out below me. Any views I had been expecting then disappeared below a thick blanket of cloud until we descended to land in Asuncion.

The food on this however was not the best. despite being a 2 hour flight all that was handed out was a cereal bar and a small bag of crisps.

That aside though it was a good flight and I was soon touching down once more in Asuncion.

That done it was off the plane and swiftly through customs. Then I collected my bag and headed on my way.

I was briefly stopped for a bag search but after a quick poke around a stuff at the top of my bags I was free to go on my way.

From there it was just a couple more steps and I was through into the arrivals hall and back in Paraguay.

Ignoring all the touts I walked out of the terminal and quickly found myself a taxi driver. It was pleasing to see the drivers had a written list of costs to various places in Asuncion. The hotel I was booked into was on the list so as we headed away from the airport and out into Paraguay I knew exactly how much I would be paying.

I had myself delivered to a smart modern hotel where I would then spend a couple of relaxing days before seeking out a bus to take me on the final leg of my journey home.

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