International Coastal Clean-up: Paraguay!

The people of our town take pride in their local stream. Everyone knows it by the name "Ka'i Puente" which means "monkey bridge". Originally, monkeys were commonly found here, but because of deforestation, they have now lost their habitat. The stream has been suffering as well. Everyday people walk along the stream eating candy, drinking a soda, or snacking on chips. Sadly, when they finish their treat, they drop their trash on the ground, or in some cases throw it directly into the stream! The trash-free ideals that we hold in the U.S. simply haven't made it into the mainstream down here. People just don't realize the negative environmental impacts of littering.

Because of this problem, we decided to raise awareness by participating in an international coastal clean-up event. Every year, Ocean Conservancy challenges the people of the world to come together and clean-up our coastlines. This year, Peace Corps volunteers decided to extend this challenge to Paraguay. Although Paraguay is landlocked, we strive to teach the people that even the smallest streams lead to the ocean! No matter where you live, you can make a difference by picking up trash from your local waterways (be it a beach, river, or stream!).

So we made the announcement to our community. We invited members of the city hall, environmental groups, the scouts, and high school students to join together to clean up Ka'i Puente. We set up a sign in table, where volunteers could learn how to fill out the trash collection form and register for their certificates. The volunteers formed groups and spread out to different areas of the stream. One member of each group was in charge of recording each piece of trash that was collected. In just under 2 hours 23 volunteers from our community collected over 200 kilos of trash! The stream was transformed! People from all over the community noticed the difference we had made. It was definitely a day to be proud of!

The Top 5 Offenders

Plastic grocery bags (395)

Food wrappers (324)

Plastic bottles (118)

Cigarette butts (97)

Glass bottles (94)

Our Trip to Northern Argentina

A little info about Peace Corps vacations:

Peace Corps volunteers earn 2 paid vacation days for each month of service in-country. This adds up to a total of 48 vacation days for an entire two-year service.
There are a few stipulations:
1. No vacations during the first and last 3 months of service,
2. You need approval from your PC bosses,
3. You need special approval to advance vacation days for months you have not yet accrued.

And now onto our vacation:

Our site is located in the southern extreme of Paraguay, only an hours bus ride to the border of Argentina. We decided to take advantage of our location and travel through Northern Argentina.

Encarnacion, Itapua, PY
Since volunteers get bonus vacation days to travel to the border, we spent our first night in Encarnacion. The city has a beautiful beach costanera that is lined with fun little restaurants. We walked barefoot in the sand and gazed across the river at the city we had been itching to go to since we first laid eyes on it. Posadas, Argentina! We ate dinner at a beach-side pizza place. The owner of the place was so delighted that we spoke English that he gave us each a free piece of cheesecake! We felt like celebrities :)

Posadas, Missiones, AR
Early the next morning, we took a bus across the big suspension bridge to Posadas, Argentina. We changed all of our money to pesos and headed for our hotel, a small residential near the main plaza. We spent the day exploring the town and walking along the river. We ate lunch at a gaucho-style restaurant over-looking the water. The waiter brought out our pork on a huge skewer! It was delicious! That evening we checked out the paseo and the plaza downtown. The sidewalks were filled with artists, musicians, and locals selling handmade jewelry.



Resistencia, Chaco, AR
The next day, after a slight alteration of our travel plans, we boarded a bus to Corrientes. Although the bus was a double decker, we made up 2 of the 3 passengers aboard. We had the bus completely to ourselves! Halfway to Corrientes, we decided to extend our bus ride across the river to Resistencia in the Chaco province. We arrived in Resistencia after dark, ready to camp at the park. To our dismay, we discovered that they were having a heavy metal rock concert that night in the park. Not that we have anything against heavy metal, it just didn't seem like it would be a very restful night.

Backpacks back on, we headed into town. We didn't want to spend too much money on a hotel, so we asked for recommendations from the locals. This brought us to the glamorous Hotel Luxor. The price seemed reasonable, but before checking us in, the clerk asked us if we wanted to see the room first. Well that seemed strange, so yes let's go see the room. We walked up three flights of stairs to our would-be room. On the way we noticed that many of the guests like to hang out in their rooms with the doors open and playing the radio for all to hear. We heard a baby crying from the floor above, and I was more than a little bothered when a 40 year old man walked by with his arms around a scantily clad teenage girl. We decided on our way back down the stairs that this was definitely NOT the place for us! After that incident, Ben said "I don't care how much it costs, we're staying at a nice hotel downtown!" So we ended up in a beautiful hotel with a balcony overlooking the central plaza.

In the morning, we went on a self-guided walking tour of the town. Resistencia is famous for its statues and sculptures. Every two years, the city holds a contest where artists come from all over the world to create works of art. The winning sculptures earn a permanent place on display in the city. Now, the city boasts over 150 sculptures!

Chaco National Park, Chaco, AR
That afternoon, we boarded the bus called "La Estrella", and headed to Chaco National Park. The park is about a 5 kilometer (3 mile) hike down a dirt road from the bus stop. Lucky for us, we were able to catch a ride, with a very friendly family. The park had an interpretive center and great campgrounds with public restrooms and grills. As we were setting up our tent, we saw parakeets and toucans in the trees above our heads.

We woke up the next morning to a cacophony of birdsong. We unzipped our tent slowly so that we could watch the birds hopping around our campsite. We flipped through our bird guide to identify all the different birds we saw. Our favorite was the urraca (plush-crested jay), a bird with a black head and back and a yellow underside. His electric blue eyebrows gave him personality. After eating a quick breakfast, we rented bikes and toured the park.  From the vantage point of an observation tower we gazed across a wide grassland dotted with palm trees. Our guide told us that this area used to be a river populated by a variety of fish, wading birds, and caimans. We learned that the region had been experiencing a serious drought for the past 5-7 years. On our way back to the camp ground we spotted a family of howler monkeys hanging out in the trees. You can easily tell the males and females apart by their colors. Males are black and females are tan.



Mercedes, Corrientes, AR
Later that day, we headed back to Resistencia and boarded a bus to Mercedes, Corrientes. We arrived after dark, so to keep things easy we stayed at the closest hotel to the bus terminal. Mercedes was really just a stopping point on our way to Carlos Pelligrini and the Ibera Wetlands. Since our bus didn't leave until 12pm, we spent the morning walking around the town. We stumbled upon a free museum that had a great collection of stuffed birds, reptiles, and mammals that live in the wetlands.

Carlos Pellengrini, Corrientes, AR
The bus runs from Mercedes to C.P. twice a day. Be prepared for a bumpy and dusty 3-4 hour ride along a very long and straight road. About an hour into the trip, you'll start to see wildlife out the windows so stay alert! The Ibera wetlands are the second largest wetlands in the world and home to some really cool animals.

We camped for 2 nights right at the water's edge of Ibera Lake. The campgrounds were fantastic! Each site had a cabana, picnic table, grill, electricity, water, trashcan, and clothesline. Their public bathrooms felt very clean. We took a morning boat tour of the wetlands and saw tons of wildlife! Birds we saw: greater rheas, tinamou, cormorants, whistling herons, great egrets, ibises, roseate spoonbills, maguari storks, jabiru storks, southern screamers, crested caracaras, and wattled jacanas. There are floating islands formed by thousands of water lilies that grow on top of each other. Over time, they collect soil and provide habitat for animals. We saw dozens of caimans basking in the sun and capybaras swimming and foraging around the islands. We even got to see the extremely rare marsh deer! The deer was wading up to his shoulders foraging for aquatic plants. We felt like national geographic photographers snapping pictures of him from the boat. Our guide even let us get out of the boat and walk on one of the floating islands! Walking on the island was a lot like walking on an inflatable mattress. The ground dips down a little with each step and if you jump you send a ripple across the island. It was really cool!

In the afternoon, we crossed the bridge to check out the interpretation center and trails. The center had a great video (English subtitles) was very informative and had awesome clips of wildlife. We hiked both the trails, and even hid a geocache on one of them :)

Unfortunately, there is only one bus that goes from C. Pellingrini to Mercedes and it leaves at 4:00 AM. So, we woke up in the middle of the night, packed our tent, and waited. That whole day we spent traveling from when we woke up at 2 AM to when we arrived in Posadas at 12 AM. That was a long day, but at least the buses are really nice and offer movies.

San Ignacio Mini, Missiones, AR
After crashing hard in Posadas, we took the bus to San Ignacio Mini to see the Jesuit ruins. We dropped our things off at the hostel and found a place where we could drink some refreshing beverages and eat french fries. The ruins were crowded with tourists from all over the place. As foreigners, we had to pay a higher price than both Argentinians and Latin Americans. That kind of irritated us since we have Paraguayan I.D.s. For those of you coming from Paraguay, I think the ruins in Jesus and Trinidad are just as good, if not better, than those in San Ignacio Mini. On the other hand, we really enjoyed the ruins in Santa Ana. In Santa Ana they leave the ruins as they are instead of trying to maintain them.They even let the jungle grown up around them, so you're not just walking through buildings, but a forest. They had a slight Indian Jones/Tomb Raider vibe.

Posadas, Again
Back in Posadas, we decided to make our last night a date night. We walked through the plaza, ate candied peanuts, had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant, and stayed at a beautiful hotel. Overall, we had an incredible vacation and hope others follow in our footsteps. For those traveling around southern Paraguay or northern Argentina, it is definitely worth your while to make it our to Carlos Pellingrini and experience the wetlands of Ibera.

Iguazu Falls (aka Jared and Dad in PY Part 2)

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls, the world's largest series of waterfalls, is ranked as #1 of the 7 wonders of the nature. Spanning 2.7 Kilometers across the border between Brazil and Argentina and reaching up to 80 meters in height, Iguazu Falls definitely live up to their name which means "Big Water" in Guarani. These immense falls are a must-see destination for anyone traveling through South America. 

Crossing into Argentina

Most visitors to the falls come from Rio or Buenos Aires, but our trip begins in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Even though it may be quicker to take the bus through Brazil, we decided to try the scenic route, the ferry across the river to Argentina. Embarking from Tres Fronteras, the ferry offers a tranquil ride over the Rio Parana directly to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. We were able to see all three borders (Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina) from the middle of the river. 

Logistics: From outside the terminal in Ciudad del Este, you can take a bus through Presidente Franco to Tres Fronteras. Ask the driver to take you to the "balsa"(ferry). At the turn for Tres Fronteras you will see a big green sign that says "Balsa a la Argentina". After walking about a half kilometer down the hill you will find a little customs office where you can get your exit stamps. The balsa costs 10 mil Gs/ $2.5 per person and runs every half hour from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Saturday. 

Puerto Iguazu

Once off the boat, you can get your entrance stamps at the customs office. Make sure to print out a copy of your Argentina visa ($160 for U.S. travelers, technically a reciprocity fee). Remember walking down the hill in Tres Fronteras? Now it's time to hike back up to Puerto Iguazu.  After eating pizza in the centro, we walked down the cobblestone streets to the beautiful Jasy Hotel.  Despite being only 8 blocks from the center of town, the hotel has a surprising jungle atmosphere. We felt as if we were staying in tropical rain forest resort! And we definitely loved the welcome drinks, caipirinhas!

Parque Nacional Iguazu

To get to the falls from town, you can either take a bus or a taxi. Since they cost the exact same price when divided among four people, we chose the much more comfortable taxi. There is a park entry fee of AR$115, but once inside the park, all the trails, the train, and passage to the island are free. There are several "adventure" packages you can buy including a ride through the jungle, getting splashed by the falls in a boat, and a rafting safari. 

The park is huge and has many different trails that each offer spectacular views of the falls. Because of the size of the park, we never felt like it was crowded. We started out by hiking the "Paseo Superior" which takes you up above the falls. From the viewpoint at the top of the trail, the falls seem to continue on forever. Next we took the "Circuito Inferior" a loop trail that weaves through the jungle and takes you to the boat landing at the base of the falls. The forest around the trail is filled with colorful birds and other wildlife. We even got to see a pack of coatis cross our path!  From there, we took the exhilarating boat ride into the falls. The shear power of the water is terrifying! Clothes now completely soaked, we crossed over to the Island San Martin to dry off on the beach. The the hike up the island trail gives you an incredible close-up view of the falls. It's hard to describe the views of the falls without sounding like I'm exaggerating, but every time we reached a new look-out point we would say, "Now this really is the most beautiful view!" In reality, they are all spectacular! 

We took the boat back to shore and rode the train to the "Paseo Garganta del Diablo". Make sure you hike this trail! You get to stand directly over the part of the falls called "the devil's throat". The water crashes below you in an 80 meter drop, so far that you can only see mist flying back at you. It is awesome! Wow I forgot to mention the rainbows... you will see dozens of rainbows in the mist of the falls, the largest of these can be seen from quite a distance hanging ominously over devil's throat. In the case a river exploration, if you see a rainbow over the water... look out! A huge waterfall could lie downstream. 

We ended our day with the ecological raft ride. We really enjoyed the contrast between the torrential rush of the devil's throat and the slow pooling waters above the falls. As we drifted languidly through little islands of trees, we caught glimpses or parrots and toucans flying overhead. We even saw the infamous "jacare" quietly resting in a bed of reeds. As the sun began to set, we reflected on the beauty, power, and majesty of the falls. 

Guira Oga

The next day we went to an animal refuge called, Guira Oga, which means "bird house" in Guarani. There you can hike through the reserve to see all kinds of cool jungle animals: monkeys, toucans, anteaters, eagles, otters, and more. Ben loved getting to see the toucans up close and Jared actually got to touch a monkey! That afternoon we took the direct bus to Ciudad del Este and began Part 3 of our journey.

Painting the World in Jesus

The day before Camp Itapua, we headed up Ruta 6 to visit our fellow environmental conservation volunteer, Anna, in the city of Jesus. Anna has been working with students to grow a school garden and has been helping the community develop sustainable tourism. To get to Jesus, you can take any bus heading to Ciudad del Este from Encarnacion. Make sure to ask the driver if they can drop you off at Trinidad. Buses that say "Rapido" in the window will not stop for you. Jesus is about 12 Km from the ruta once you get to Trinidad. Here you can either wait for the little bus (7 mil/person) or take the taxi (6 mil/person). We piled in the taxi with three Paraguayans and a baby in the back seat, and I sat on Ben's lap in the passenger seat. Since the first half of the ride in downhill, the taxi driver will get out and push the car until it begins to roll. Then, jump in for the ride and off you go! Our driver didn't turn on the engine until we were well underway.

In town, we met up with Anna, packed our gear, and headed to the primary school. There, Anna had arranged for us to help the students paint a map of the world on the wall of one of the classrooms.



Here's how we did it:

1.Paint the entire area of the wall light blue (the lighter the blue the less coats you will need for the countries).

2. Use a projector to display an outline of the world on the wall.

3. Trace the outline with permanent markers

4. Decide what colors you will need to paint the countries (Look online for examples)

5. Mix the paint to make the colors you need

6. Mark each country with a dot of the color it needs to be painted (This will save you a lot of trouble if you are working with kids.)

7. Delegate one color to each kid. Pour the paint into a smaller cup to minimize spills. We cut up egg cartons to make little paint trays.

8. We painted the outside of the world black to look like outer-space.

9. Once the paint drys, use a permanent marker to trace all the borders and label the countries.

10. Add details: compass rose, label the oceans, have fun!

All the paint for the project was donated by local hardware stores. It took us about 4 hours to complete steps 2-8 and it looked amazing! Painting the world map was a great opportunity to teach the students about geography. While we painted, we talked about the countries we wanted to travel to, which ones were the largest in size and population, and where major landmarks were located. We had a blast! We can wait to bring this activity to the schools in Coronel Bogado.


After a long afternoon of painting we cleaned up our supplies and walked down to see what Jesus is famous for, the Jesuit ruins. The ruins are considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although the park was closed, Anna convinced the security guard to let us take a quick look around. We arrived just in time to see the sunset over the ruins. Beautiful shades of orange and pink softly illuminated the giant pillars and walls of the old church colony. The view was breathtaking! We will definitely be returning here with my parents in May.

Bike Ride to "the Beach"

Peace Corps volunteers in Paraguay are given an allowance to buy bicycles.  Peace Corps gives you enough money to buy your bike, helmet, and the remainder can be used for repairs and maintenance. As soon as our allowance came in, Ben and I went shopping! I bought a pink Caloi with a basket and Ben bought a red Polo. The number one rule about bikes is that you have to wear a helmet every time you ride. Since no one in Paraguay wears helmets, even when riding motos, we get plenty of stares from the community as we peddle by.

Soon after buying our bikes, we decided to go on an adventure. The Parana River passes about 15 Km south of Coronel Bogado, and somewhere in that area there is a little "beach" or "playa" where you can swim. Ben said, "Sarah, today we are going to find the beach!" We filled our water bottles and began our trek south.  It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was up and the sky was blue with not a single cloud in sight. The dirt road was long and so straight that we could see for miles. We peddled along passing mostly cattle fields with only a few houses here and there. As we rode farther south, we noticed fewer and fewer houses. We also began to notice the lack of shade, the heat of the sun, and the sweat dripping down our backs.

Finally, we came across a little wooden sign pointing in the direction of the "playa." We like signs, because not only does that mean we are going in the right direction, but it means we must be getting close! We eagerly peddled down the slightly rockier road. After about a mile, we came across another "playa" sign. Good! That means we must be almost there! As we continued riding south for awhile longer, we started to get a little bit worried. We began asking the few and far between people we passed along the way, "how much farther until the playa?" Every single one of them, no matter how far we had traveled  said, "dos kilometros."

By this time we felt we were too far to turn back without seeing the river. We had to keep going. We turned off the main road onto a slightly smaller dirt road. Passing through a herd of cows, we road a little faster now because the land began to slope downward.  We passed by a few houses and a little cemetery. Still there was no river in sight. We decided to turn back and ask a family that was drinking terere in their patio. They told us that the beach wasn't far, just 1 kilometro down the road. Well that sounded good so we took the bait and continued on. We asked a woman, who walking along the path, for a second opinion. She told us that the road to the "playa" was next the cemetery that we'd passed earlier. Although we were irritated that we'd been going in the wrong direction, we were happy to finally have a landmark to guide us there.

We road back uphill and found the cemetery lying between two dirt paths. Both paths ended at gated property lines. Dead-ends. Here we were 12 Km into the middle of nowhere, exhausted from the heat and exercise, water bottles completely dry, with no chance of enjoying the cool refreshing waters of the Rio Parana. Defeated, we started the wearisome journey back home. Although we never did find the "beach" that day, I still hold on to the thought that if we'd just gone a little bit farther, we would have seen those blue waves sparkling in the sun. We would have kicked off our shoes and joyfully plunged into the cool clear water...

Christmas in Ayolas

For Christmas this year, we got to travel to a nearby town named Ayolas to visit our first host mom's brother (our host uncle) and our many host cousins. Located on the coast of the Parana River, Ayolas is famous throughout Paraguay for its beaches, its fishing, and the second largest dam in the area known as Yacreta. The first biggest is Itaipu, but you'll have to read our other post about our trip to Itaipu to learn more about that.


We arrived in Ayolas at lunchtime and were promptly offered the opportunity to sample some traditional Ayolas cuisine.  So we sat down at the table, and our "aunt" brought out heaping platters of carpincho (aka capybara) and surubi (aka South American Catfish). Capybaras are large aquatic rodents - the largest rodents in the world in fact - and are native to the vast wetlands of Paraguay. Their meat is very unique because it has the texture of beef with the flavor of fish (and tastes fantastic with a mixture of soy sauce, lime, lemon, salt and pepper. The surubi is giant freshwater catfish that is absolutely delicious! Its meat is tender with very few bones. We ate some lunch, then we sat outside and drank terere.

After our meal, we headed out for a hike along the river. The rocks were really pretty along the shoreline, and Sarah and I even found some petrified wood! Our host dad, Cesar, gave us a little geology lesson. The river was very wide and pretty, with lots of fishermen and beach-goers enjoying the sunny day. Many people don't swim in the river because there are a lot of deep pozos (holes, or springs I guess) where it gets very deep and the current is strong enough to pull you under. We hiked all the way down to a small beach where a bunch of people were gathered, then we turned around and headed home.

That night was Buena Noche (Christmas Eve). We ate a big meal of cow tongue, carpincho, carne, and "potato salad" (with lots of mayo!). There was also a lot of Clerico, which is a giant fruit salad with a little bit of white wine and cidre (sparkling cider), which is very tasty. Then there were fireworks. They had been going off here and there the whole evening, but by the time we were eating dinner, they were nonstop. Most people have the really loud fireworks without many colors or sparks. Just loud booms. And the neighbors were launching them super close to the house. Eventually we all finished dinner and hurried inside to celebrate and to escape the calamity.

Everyone got comfortable. We readied the guitars. At 11:59 and 50 seconds, the countdown started to ring in Christmas day. It was exactly like New Year's. 5!-4!-3!-2!-1! Woooo! Feliz Navidad! Then we all sang happy birthday to Jesus. We all played some songs. Sarah and I made everyone sing and dance to Mami Loro. (For a demonstration, please watch this video of Mami Loro).

The next day was Christmas. We all got ready and headed out to the beach. We found a great little secluded area next to a hotel that caters to fishermen. We hung out and ate leftovers from the night before and basically did nothing. Fede and Guille, our host brothers, were teasing me pretty much the whole time, which made for a lot of fun. They also taught me some bad words in Guarani, but only so I would know them when kids in the colegios used them.

Our host uncle snagged a big fish, a golden dorado, and let me reel it in. I guess I kind of caught it. I'll go ahead and take credit for it for now, until I have a chance to get back out there and catch one of my own. Another interesting thing is that you see many other races in Paraguay. In CB, we have a lot of Russian and Ukrainian people. In Ayolas, we saw a bunch of Japonese people who were out at the beach enjoying a great cookout. There is a big mix of cultures here which almost always has the same story; they hated the world wars, and they got the hell outta there; fled to a neutral country in the heart of South America to escape all the nonsense that was going on with the kids who just couldn't play nice. We didn't take pictures of them though, cause that would have been a little awkward.

After the beach, we tried to skype with a bunch of the family, which was great! We ate some more fish for dinner, mainly a caldo of the fish head, which was surprisingly tasty, and we learned that the cheek meat is the best. We relaxed for the night, and everyone prepared us for the trip to visit the dam in the morning.

The next morning, we got up and headed out early to see the Yacreta dam. Our host cousin Maria-Eugenia (Which is the spanish equivalent of Mary Eugene).. or better known as Uki, a 23 year old college grad who works at a nonprofit in Encarnacion, volunteered to be our tour guide. We saw the museum at the dam welcome center and saw a bunch of fish in jars and a bunch of stuffed animals. We took a bus to the dam and got out at several places to take pictures. We also ventured inside and saw the main generators and got a full explanation of the inner workings.

 All-in-all, our Christmas experience was filled with all of our favorite things. We were welcomed by a very warm family and got to share some good times for the holidays. We got to experience more culture and learn about how Paraguayans celebrate Christmas. We also got to hang out at the beach and see some pretty famous landmarks in a really cool town. Not too shabby. We hope next year is just as great!