Countryside drive

We woke up early so that we could start our drive to the Iguazu Falls. Left around 10am and drove from Asuncion across the countryside, passing endless cattle ranches. There are 6 million people in Paraguay and 17 million cows. Beef and soy beans are their main export. People in the country own a few cows and let them just graze on the side of the roads. The babies were extra cute, as were the horses (obviously). We learned there are few driving laws that are regulated (and abided by) but the only one to be enforced regularly is that every driver has to have their lights on at all times.

After about 4 hours, we reached Cuidad del Este, which is on the Paraguay/Brazil border. The city's economy is centered around selling goods to Brazilians at a much cheaper rate. We saw many people crossing the bridge by foot with huge bags full of purchases. For those who didn't want to walk, they chose motorcycle taxis, which swarmed the streets like wasps. It was complete mayhem; it's like New York's China Town on steroids.

We crossed the border into Brazil without any problems and drove to our hotel, San Martín. There, we took a walk through their jungle "gardens" that went for a few kilometers to a river overlook. We saw some beautiful flowers, plants and trees, including banana, limes (which Vicky permanently borrowed), and guava. We were impressed at how dense the jungle was.

Later we enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant and an after dinner drink. Hit the hay early so we could leave for the falls in the morning.


- Martin & Kate

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Location:Asunción, Paraguay