Rohaihu Paraguay part 2

Already in the first hours of our trip we are blessed with luck. A doctor takes us until the next city Caacupé. We get off at a gas station and march on. Along the way we see a sign 'Schwarzwalddörfli'. Well, whatever that is, that's where we want to go. After waiting for a while, a bus arrives and we get on. Excitedly, almost all passengers start talking to us. Mainly older ladies who are very interested in what we are doing and where we want to go. We don't really know that ourselves. Along the way, we find out that this 'Schwarzwalddörfli' is just some expensive restaurant/accommodation/entertainment center run by Germans, which doesn't really interest us. So we ask about a river nearby, the ladies give us information and immediately invite us to eat and sleep after our river excursion. We gladly accept the offer and have the pleasure of getting to know Tia Rosa, her 93-year-old mother Iluminada, and her nephew. What a joy to chat and cook with the ladies. Iluminada enjoys our homemade pizza and really comes alive at her 93 years of age. One night quickly turns into three. Every morning we are awakened by the little puppy Terri. We explore the riverbed and the area. We can also take a closer look at a pottery workshop. Our journey continues one morning. Tia Rosa gives us some herbs for the road, and one of the dogs accompanies us for a short distance. As fate would have it, we are picked up by Lucio, who invites us to some delicacies, gives us money, and of course, gives us all his contact information to visit him in Encarnacion. He drops us off in San Jose, where our friend Sindulfo happens to live, who welcomes us with open arms (without any warning).

Two days later, when the rain subsides, we are back on the roadside and are picked up by Raphael and his wife Ignazia. We are basically taking a tour of their relatives and thus get to know the oldest man I have ever seen. Raphael's uncle is a proud 104 years old and literally jumps out of his bed when we visit.

Raphael and Ignazia take us to their home. They have 5 children, whom we get to know at the breakfast table.

It's the first time for both of us to voluntarily go with a police commissioner. Hehe, who would have ever thought??!!

Together we visit the Salto Monday, which is almost in the city center of Ciudad del Este. Of course, we can get in for free, there must be some advantage to being a police commissioner ;-)

The next day, we take a walk by a lake and yes, we stay a little longer and the next day we visit the gigantic Iguazu waterfalls together with Julio. It's really hard to believe how extensive the waterfalls are and how much water plunges down so close. Truly one of the most beautiful feelings of my life, the first sight of this natural beauty. We spend the whole afternoon in the national park. A final trip together to the world's largest hydroelectric power plant Itaipu (=Guarani, big stone) (Guarani is an ancestral language of Paraguay, almost all Paraguayans speak Guarani among themselves)

We set off for Encarnacion, which is located in southern Paraguay. We follow the invitation from Lucho. After waiting for a while, a truck takes us to Encarnacion. After an hour on the bus and a 3km walk, we reach Luchio's ranch. As it turns out, he is hardly ever here. So we spend the next week with the slightly disturbed (sorry for this expression, but it's still harmless) 'caretaker' Antonio. We share the property with the 3 dogs, two pigs, about 50 cows, a herd of sheep, and a sick cat. Every day is a new adventure with the animals. Once the chickens poop all over everything, another time the ram attacks us, and another time we free the little pig. The landscape reminds me of home. Many fields, mainly cultivated with soybeans and wheat, and again and again small forests that separate the fields. During our walks, we notice that the ground glitters from time to time, and so begins the adventure of treasure hunting, in which we are very successful. Pachamama gifts us with various gemstones :-) which makes us very happy!

Now it's really time to leave Paraguay. With a heavy heart, we make our way to the 'frontera' and continue on to Argentina...