I recently travelled into Asuncion for the day to answer all the questions someone had about Paraguay.
It is something I like to do to help people who are thinking of moving to Paraguay. Sometimes they come out to visit me in Piribebuy and sometimes I travel into Asuncion.
On this occasion I caught to bus and travelled into the capital.
As the temperature was up around 40 and there is no air conditioning on the buses the fairest thing to do. I have made the journey many times and for me it is no hardship.
The person I met up with I shall call Brian. Partly out of vanity (it is my tale after all), and partly because everyone deserves a little anonymity.
So then what was it that made it an interesting day?
For me most trips into Asuncion turn up something memorable.
A trip into Asuncion is always a long day with an early start. This time I was up before it got light and after a quick cup of coffee out of the door by 6.30 AM.
Then on my motorbike I rode the 30 minutes into Piribebuy. At that time of the morning the air was fresh and the weather just about perfect. Added to which that as always there was very little traffic around.
In Piribebuy I parkred up on the petrol garage forecourt. A standard thing to do in Paraguay. Free parking and vehicles in a secure place where they are visable to people working in the garage all day.
From there a nice brisk stroll across town to the bus stop. I did not have to wait long and by 7.30 was seated on my first bus of the day and heading towards Asuncion.
It is only an 80 km journey but always takes a while. On this occasion once we approached Asuncion there was plenty of traffic about and all the way along there had been regular stops for passengers getting on and off the bus.
The end result of that was that it took me 3 hours to reach Asuncion. About half and hour longer than the average. I was fine though, had been there a thousand times. Just got myself comfortable, relaxed and watched the scenery slowly pass by.
Buses arrive in the main bus terminal in Asuncion. Just outside it city buses stop ferrrying their passengers to all points in the city.
I was very lucky in that when I approached the bus stop I could see that one heading to where I wanted to go was sitting there about to leave. So I hopped on before it had a chance to do that and was soon once more on my way.
Having arranged to meet Brian in the Old Town I had caught a bus that was going that way. It is a few kilometres from the bus terminal to the Old Town and as the bus has to wind it’s way along the streets of Asuncion and through the main market that takes a while.
As such by the time I had got over to the Old Town and walked across to the cafe where Brain was waiting it was 11 am. I had left home at 6.30 and was only just arriving at my destination to start my day.
The fruit juice and snack I found waiting for me when I did finally get there and meet up with Brian were very welcome.
It had been getting hotter and hotter during the morning so and hour’s relaxing chat and the chance to sit and answer questions in a smart air conditioned cafe were just what I needed to relax and cool down.
Like always when I meet up with someone the questions cover all manner of topics. I enjoy the chance to share some of what I have learnt over the years with people to whom it is useful. There are limits as to what can be learnt about Paraguay by yourself, so always of benefit to have someone there on the ground to answer questions and fill in all the blanks.
There was no point in staying in the cafe all afternoon, however cool it was in there. A little bit of the city at least needed to be seen and experienced. It may have been 40 degrees but there is no excuse for no doing at least a little sightseeing.
So I took Brian down to Asuncion Bay (pointing out historical buildings as we went) and to the smart Costanera boulevard that runs along it. There is minimal shade down there so at the first exit from it back into the Old Town I took Brain back towards the bustle of Calle Palma.
Although well past it’s glory days Calle Palma is well worth a stroll along. It is the main thoroughfare and principal shopping street of Old Town Asuncion.
Time was moving along a little now so we headed into another cafe for cool refreshments before contemplating onward journeys.
Where Brian was staying I noticed was somewhere that my bus back to Piribebuy was going to pass. So I suggested that so as to experience bus travel in Paraguay he travel along with me as far as his lodgings.
A very sensible suggestion at it would also save him the trouble of trying to find his way across Asuncion.
That being decided once we were refreshed we headed up to the stop from where city buses back to the bus terminal could be caught.
As it happend, approaching the bus stop I saw that a suitable bus was sitting there just about to leave. No point though in running to catch it as another was bound to be along shortly.
That turned out to be a little optimistic. We both stood there for 20 minutes watching endless buses go past heading everywhere but the bus terminal. Many of those in duplicate.
Then finally I spotted a bus approaching that was going the right way. Even better than that was that the bus behind it looked also to be going to the bus terminal. Nothing for ages, then two at once.
The driver did not however look very keen on stopping. I had to run along side it waving my arms about to get his attention enough to slow him down just a little.
He was not going to stop so I jumped up onto the still moving bus and with one fluid movement swung myself up into the bus and presented my bus pass to the ticket reader.
It was only once I had paid and stepped forward to find a seat that I was able look over my shoulder and see that Brian was not behind me.
With the aid of the internet I discovered that he had caught the following bus and that that did indeed seem to be also travelling towards the bus terminal.
With a few more messages I described a some landmarks he would pass and where he needed to get off the bus. Then I could do nothing more than hope that everything would work out fine and we would meet in the bus terminal.
Fortuanatly that is exactly what happened and a few minutes after I arrived we met up once more.
Next task was to show how the bus terminal worked and to catch a bus together in the direction of Piribebuy. A seemingly easy thing to arrange.
However the Paraguayan transport system once more worked against us. A bus should leave for Piribebuy about every 20 to 30 minutes, but after 45 minutes there was still no sign of one, and time was starting to get a little late.
A decision had to be made.
Rather than waiting any longer for a Piribebuy bus that may or may not ever appeared I got us onto one heading to Caacupe. That would get Brian back to his lodgings and take me to within one town of where I needed to be. From there I would find something to take me the rest of the way.
So it was that after first heading to a bus stop at 3 pm we were now at 5 pm finally pulling out of Asuncion.
Everything though does sort itself out in the end and after a 20 minute ride I got Brian to within a short walk of where he was staying and I was finally on my way home. Sort of.
About another 10 minutes down the road I did spot a Piribebuy bus heading towards the bus terminal. Taking a bus to Caacupe was the right choice as it would have been a long wait for the Piribebuy bus to arrive in Asuncion and turn around.
The temperature was still somewhere up around 40 but the old bus I was on was not overly crowded. What it was though was slow. It really crept along the road in no hurry to go anywhere. But I was heading the right way and that was all that mattered.
Following a slow and leisurely journey it was gone 7 pm by the time I reached Caacupe. The sun was starting to go down. My one concern as I travelled along was that if I was not in Caacupe before dark I would have trouble finding onwards transport.
Being thankfully still light I descended from the bus in Caacupe and looked around for a taxi. There were none. One more small issue to overcome.
What I did spot were a couple of motorbike taxis. One of them would be enough to get me back to Piribebuy.
I spoke to a driver, agreed a price and off I headed.
It was a much more powerful bike than mine and as we blasted along the motorway from Caacupe and then down the road to Piribebuy the wind tore though my hair. After a very hot day all rather refreshing.
And I had managed to overcome all the obstacles and get back to Piribebuy.
Once we had pulled up onto the garage forecourt I thanked him for the ride and pointed out the little bike I would be making the rest of my journey home on.
Back in town as I was I quckly popped in the supermarket for some snacks to eat when I finally got home and then started the very last leg of my journey.
By the time I pulled up at home it was dark and checking the time saw it was now 8.30 pm. A very full day out.
It had taken 14 hours to go to and from a city that is just 95 km away. Always quite an adventure but something I have done so many times I do it these days without giving doing so a second thought.
There will at some point be a repeat and anyone who wishes any assistance with anything related to Paraguay or to have me answer all their questions need only get in touch.
Recent Comments