kmendonca's Travel Blog

The Chaco Office - Cerrito, Paraguay

 This place was Great visited Jul 2006

I wish we had found the Chaco Office from the beginning. It was so much fun working with Hugo, Claudio, and Eli. The Comedor off the Transchaco was delicious, but the Brasilian lady down the street was amazing. Kill Me (Matame) disappeared on our last day.

posted Aug 15, 2006 | Comments (0)

Like stepping into a weird Twilight Zone - Filadelfia, Paraguay

 This place was Poor visited Jul 2006

Filadelfia was one of the most depressing places I have ever seen. It is the biggest of the Mennonite colonies in the great Paraguayan Chaco. I couldnt have imagined a dustier, bleaker, more forlorn looking place. It was an interesting experience to go there and see this German colony in the middle of South America, where everything operates in German. Make sure you go with someone else or you will be bored out of your mind. The town shuts down around 6 ish, and at 11 AM on Saturdays for the weekend. Take the overnight bus there, stay one day, and leave before Sunday comes. Tensions between Mennonite farmers and indigenous laborers is very apparent. Strange social structure, makes you want to leave quick.

posted Aug 15, 2006 | Comments (2)

La Cidade Maravilhosa - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 This place was Amazing visited Aug 4, 2006

I absolutely fell in love with Rio. Forget EVERYTHING that people say about Rio being dirty, unsafe, expensive. They are all wrong. Rio is just as safe/unsafe as any other big city. Food is not overpriced and the city is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to. The combination of beach, mountain, forest, and city life is so unique and I did not want to leave. We went to a soccer game at Maracana which was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone going to Rio, it's definitely a must-see. The Lapa area is wonderful, there was a huge random market outside with music and food everywhere. We stumbled across the hippy market in Ipanema on Sunday. The beach roads are closed to cars on Sunday and everyone is out on the beach drinking matte con limon. The view from Cristo is breaktaking. The city looks unreal from there. I can't wait to go back.

posted Aug 15, 2006 | Comments (0)

A condensed version of Asunción - Encarnacion, Paraguay

 This place was Great visited Jul 14, 2006

It was great to feel safe enough to walk around at night. There are some great restaurants in the town. Hiroshima had amazing Sukiyaki (surprising, I know). The main street is lined with shops, selling the same things that you can buy in any other store in Paraguay. The city was a smaller version of everything there is to see in Asunción, including the rich mansions and Mercado 4, on a smaller walkable scale. We spent an afternoon at the Jesuit ruins in nearby Trinidad and Jesús. You take a bus to Trinidad, easy enough, but then getting to Jesús was trickier. We gathered information on how to get from Trinidad to Jesús while considering the Paraguayan factor, which means asking at least 5 people and taking the average (because each response is different). Finally we concluded that the best way would be through this "taxi" driver. Seven of us piled into his hatchback from 1962 and drove for 30 minutes on dirt roads to Jesús. The gas tank was a 3-liter plastic container in the trunk. The ruins were much bigger than I thought they would be.

posted Jul 20, 2006 | Comments (0)

Makes me want to spend forever in Brasil - Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

 This place was Great visited Jun 17, 2006

This whole weekend was just so much fun. The hostel we stayed in was excellent, and all the staff was so helpful and accomodating. The town is so pleasant, safe, and lively. I had never seen so many shoe shops on one street before as I did in Foz. The place is turisty, but not overridden. Needless to say, the waterfalls are amazing and there was so much to appreciate for just one weekend. Crossing the border from Ciudad del Este was easy enough. You need to actively get through customs, otherwise they just let you through without any paperwork (you will get screwed on the re-enter though so do the paperwork). You have to visit both the Argentina and Brasilian sides of the falls. It's worth every bit. Take the boat ride, kind of cheese ball but still fun. Hostel Bambu in Foz is awesome. By far one of my favorite hostels I've ever stayed in.

posted Jul 12, 2006 | Comments (0)