Greetings From Encarnacion, Paraguay!

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  Encarnacion, Paraguay
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Hola!!!!!!!!!!

I know it`s been a long time since I updated this blog, and for good reason.  OK, no good reason, but here it is!  Presently I am in Encarnacion, Paraguay, pronounced Encarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnacion.  The last time I wrote we were finishing up a serious session in Salvador for Carnival and since then have covered some distance.  From Salvador we flew to Recife, Brazil in the NE and spent 3 nights having a post-carnival carnival party.  Immensly different than the show put on in Salvador.  From there we made the pilgrimage to Rio.  To give the long short of it, Rio is Rio and fantastic.  Strolling along two of the most famous beaches in the world, Copacabana and Ipanema, you can`t help but think of all the pictures, movies and famous faces that have graced the iconic backdrop that surrounds the beaches.  Turning from the ocean to the city you can are hit with the perfect cresent shaped beaches and a backdrop of Pao Do Azucar and the Christo statue, both you`ve seen a thousand times.  Of course I had to have my moment and listen to the Girl from Ipanema on my Ipod, while standing in the water, on Ipanema beach!  The last stop on the way out of Rio was what is considered the ^Mecca of football^ called Maracana.  It is a huge stadium and we saw two rival teams play in an overhyped game. 

From Rio we went to paradise times 2.  Buzios and Ilha Grande, both I would strongly recommend to honeymooners more than any other place I´ve been in the world!  Unbelievable beaches with rainforest covering the surrounding areas.  The only bad part of the experience in Buzios was the presense of couples.  Only couples.  This made for interesting looks while people questioned Joe and I´s relationship!  After the solid dose of beach, we moved onto Sao Paolo for a two night taste of New York in S.

At the least visisted UNESCO site in the world!

America.  We decided to jump on the basketball court to teach some Brazilians how to play hoops.  Instead, we played a game, and during the second, Joe dislocated his shoulder.  Calm and collected, he turned to his best friend, freaking out.  I felt like Will Farrel taking crazy pills screaming at him asking why he wasn´t screaming.  You would think the son of two doctors would have taken control.  But alas, I popped it back in! 

After a 16 hour bus ride with my legs cramed in a trashcan-like seat, we arrived in Foz do Iguazu.  After realizing I was not only at the wrong hotel to meet my mom, but on the wrong side of the falls and hence the wrong country, I was in Brazil, my mom and Marty in Argentina.  Nothing a quick expensive cab ride couldn´t remedy.  I´ve attached a picture of the falls which doesn´t do it any justice whatsoever, but you can google it.  I can only thank my mom for encouraging me to go as it was truly a spiritual, powerful and theraputic place.  The locals estimate there are anywhere from 175 to 288 falls, we found the discrepancy entertaining.  How they define a waterfall is still a mystery, but there were a lot and all magnificent. 

Post-waterfalls landed us in Paraguay, the country I now refer to as the Allen Iverson of countries.  Pound for pound, one of the best countries I´ve visisted.  When backpacking, our enjoyment of a country isn´t determined by what there is to do but more a combination of the people you meet, the days you go to the places you go and other factors like weather, food etc.  From Ciudad del Este, we went to Asuncion, the capital and spent two nights.  When god created the day of rest, he gave Paraguay two days, Saturday and Sunday.  He then commanded them to sit on lazy streets and do absolutly nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing except for drinking Yerba Mate incesently.  On Sunday night, we went to a football match between two ^major^ teams in Paraguay, a very relative term.  However, ending with a score 3-1, the game turned out to be an insanely good time.  As I get more and more into football, I understand the fanatic passion the fans have for the sport.  You watch the game for about a half an hour, back and forth, back and forth, watching strategies unfold and players doing their best acting possible.  Then out of nowhere, a defender is passed and a goal is scored.  Holy shit!  The stadium explodes in to song and dance that rival carnival for about 15 seconds. 

That brings me to the last night, the best for last.  One of the best nights I´ve had on my trip.  Not for anything else but a conversation.  What do two Americans (one Persian, for the emphasis on the UN nature of this group), two Brits, a Spaniard, an Israeli, a French guy with one hand and a German have in common?  Well, we were all stuck here last night, Tuesday with nothing to do, staying at the same hostel, the only hostel.  A guys night to just talk.  Obviously it is impossible to recount such a hilarious conversation of epic lengths and subjects that left no rock unturned, but I had to share.  We drank beers into the wee hours of the morning, listening to everyone´s Ipod and enjoying the novelty of being in Encarnacion, Paraguay on a Tuesday night. 

Buenos Aires here we come!.

Congrats to Suzie and Max!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Julio Puffing on a Cuban	Me on Ipanema	Me, Shan and Joe in Salvador	Mom and I, Iguazu Falls
My profile, like no other!	People really like Bush in these parts	Recife, Lazy	Sam I am!
Tucan Sam and I

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