Hotel Miami Asuncion

After breakfast at Ray and Cindy's we started the day at "Hogar Albino Luis" an orphanage here in Asuncion. It is a safe-haven for children that have been abandoned on the streets of Paraguay. Most children there were born with physical or mental disabilities and the parents just discarded them instead of dealing with their needs. Our goal was to pray with them and show them love by touching and ...

... the good a la carte catholic that I am could hardly refuse. Waterproof jacket on (which had earlier been released unceremoniously from my rucksack via the means of a bolt cutter) we trudged around pretending to look interested til only my knickers were left dry. I also banged my head on a crypt ceiling so I was less than happy sitting on the bus til our next stop for lunch at a glamorous bus station location. The weather improved somewhat for our arrival in Asuncion ...

... the second poorest country in South America, but I did not really noticed that by looking out of the window. It was funny that with every stop the bus made, new people came in the bus, trying to sell their products. It was like Tell Sell on wheels. As there really aren´t any hostels in Asuncion, I decided to go couchsurfing . Couchsurfing is a community of people who open their house for others to sleep on their couch or bed for free. I did ...

... had found that there was a taxi driver who would take us to the border where we would have to walk across and find our way from there. This seemed like a good solution so in shared hardship we fast became friends and loaded ourselves in the wreck of a car this local man was calling a taxi. <br><br><br><br><br><br>ACT 3 - SUN AND SHOCKS IN ASUNCION<br><br><br><br>SUCCESS!!! I had new stamps in my passport; I had crossed the border and was into Paraguay and all so easy ...

... city seem expensive, in this area prices are half the price of a store downtown. apart from that its a typical market but definatly cool to check out, the locals consider it dirty and sketchy and may try to talk you out of it, but when they want a deal they still head there. today i met up with another cser and we walked to the mercado it was 40 degrees outside hot as could be, once we arrived at the market it begun to rain sooooo heavy for the next 2 hours as we ...

... which in South America, tastes a lot better than in the UK, better quality beef. The next day we ventured out of the city, to a town called Aregua, which had been recommended to us by the not so busy tourist office, during our stay here we did not see any other tourists, which is quite bizarre for a capital city, so Aregua is famous for pottery, and we passed lots of touristy pottery shops on the way, however they werent so interesting, we had a wander around until ...

... as well as all the typical school supplies. Most families in the campo have a hard time paying for these things (because they are typically trying to send 5-6 kids to school at a time) and many of them don't get to go to high school, let alone college. The recipients have to show receipts for everything they buy and they receive the money in installments... no receipts, no next installment. So I'm ...

... auch wenn ich dann keine ausfuehrlichen Berichte und Eintraege mehr schreiben kann. Zwar werde ich ein persoenliches Reisetagebuch fuehren. Was diesen Blog betrifft, werde ich mich aber darauf beschraenken, Fotos hochzuladen ... Heute Abend spiele ich mit meinen Kollegen zum Abschied Fussball - Fundacion 1 gegen Fundacion 2 :-) Jetzt muss ich erst mal meinen Rucksack packen. Dann heisst es: Patagonien ruft! In diesem Sinne ... ¡Un abrazo y hasta pronto!

... I soent two hours in a choperia (beerage haven) with Jess and Emma which was most pleasant. Apparently the Paraguyans like to party and we experienced some of their drum and bass tunes when walking last night. Tonight might be party night number two at it is Friday and we might well end up in "party karaoke".!!!! Tomorrow is another bus to Ponta Pora, which is a small town on the border of Paraguay and Brazil. Another 6 hours to sleep!!

... pick more people up. The guide book said the bus journey should have taken 4 to 6 hours, it took us 8. Not bad though - 8 hours of travel, something like 300 kilometres for about 4 quid.The bus journey was fun though - we drove through some lovely countryside, saw loads of termite mounds, and at each stop there were people rushing round the outside of the bus selling food and drink. We hung out the window ...