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We needed to go back to Asunción for a week or so because Kirsten had dental appointments. She needed a cap on one side and a wisdom tooth removed from the other. We made the mistake of driving out of the campground in the early evening on a Sunday believing we could miss the traffic. Wrong!!! We got stuck in a 43km long traffic queue - all going back to the capital! The area we were coming from is a favourite weekend spot. It took us 2.5 hours to drive 50km! By the time we parked up outside the dentist it was 8pm and getting dark.
We noticed the temperature difference the next day - it's about 5°C hotter in the capital which doesn't sound like much but it was back up to 36° for us and no electricity for the fans and fridge. We parked under a tree for shade and were glad to have air conditioning at the dentist for the first appointment at 3-30pm.
It only took 35 minutes to remove the existing filling and put in a temporary cap. I took photos and videos. We laughed because Kirsten was having difficulty talking properly because of the injections - she couldn't say the word "wohnmobil" which means camper, properly.
It was almost 10pm before the injections started to wear off. There was more to laugh about when Kirsten tried to pucker up her lips and looked like a camel. She didn't know why I was laughing until I got out the mirror and showed her. She didn't realise her mouth wasn't working properly! She did manage to eat some pasta with a four cheese/tomato sauce though.
At around 9-30pm we had a knock on the side of the motorhome and I went out to find out who was knocking. Bo Angersbach is the managing director of the Westfalenhaus hotel and lives around the corner. He speaks German but was born in Paraguay to German parents who opened the hotel 30 years ago. He'd seen our German motorhome and came over to give me a guide book on Paraguay written by his father. A really nice surprise!
I told him that we would be staying for the night as Kirsten's second dental appointment was the following day. He said we could park outside his house and plug in! Wow! That meant we could switch the fridge back on and use our fans to cool down. He also invited us to stay on the hotel car park. Wonderful! Have I mentioned already how friendly the Paraguayan people are?
We woke up early the next morning because our motorhome was parked fully in the sun. The gardener or security man had obviously unplugged us and it was extremely hot inside. We moved just a little further around a corner to park in the shade of a tree and opened all the doors and windows to try and cool down.
Not long afterwards, whilst we were having a cuppa, Dr Neufeld came knocking! He had blocked the whole morning for two Canadian patients but had already finished by 10am, a lot earlier than expected. He asked if Kirsten wanted to come in early. Sure! No point waiting until 3pm! Kirsten quickly ate a banana and yoghurt because she didn't know if she would be able to eat later and then we walked back to the dentist.
I took lots of photos and videos - not easy to watch, particularly for those who don't like the dentist! Hence a warning for the video. Dr Neufeld didn't have a problem with me and the camera and even allowed me to get in really close for the various interesting parts.
He cut out the top of the tooth first and then had to get the root out. The problem was that there was a small hook at the end of the root so it took a few tries to get it out. Dr Neufeld told us that most wisdom teeth are removed earlier because the bones calcify as we get older which makes it harder to get the teeth out. Plus younger people heal more quickly. At 52, Kirsten is one of the "older" patients but fortunately her wisdom tooth only had a single root, not the normal double root.
Kirsten needed three stitches and Dr Neufeld almost stitched her tongue up!! Ooops! Maybe it was his way of saying Kirsten talks too much. "Who me?" Asks Kirsten?
Removing her wisdom tooth had only taken one hour. The dentists assistant gave Kirsten some ice wrapped into a surgical glove and Dr Neufeld gave her a prescription for pain killers and antibiotics. It cost 1.8 million Gua for the three appointments which sounds a hell of a lot but is only $340 US! We left at noon and I went into a supermarket for some supplies and straws for Kirsten so she can at least drink something!
Then we drove to the Westfalenhaus Hotel. Bo Angersbach came out to greet us and got his workers to remove the top post off the gate into the parking area so we could drive in. We're a bit higher than normal cars! He said we could park on the gravel but that would mean they would have to get a long extension lead for us so we could plug in. We didn't want to cause that much of a problem seeing as we would be staying here for free!
So we drove onto a grassy area near to the electricity outlet which turned out to be a bad idea. The area was too sandy and too damp after rain. We got stuck and even with the workers pushing we couldn't get out of the ruts. So Kirsten took our our rubber mats and we managed to pull forward onto a more stable area. I thought we might have problems reversing out but that would be next week!
Miguel, one of the workers, was impressed that two women knew how to get out of sand so easily! Well, we have experience - it's not the first time we've got stuck! Bo showed us around - there is a security man for the parking area and the hotel is across the road. We can use the swimming pool, outdoor shower, toilet near the pool and a hot shower upstairs in the gym and sauna area. The restaurant is also open but Kirsten can't eat at the moment so that will have to wait.
It was a lot hotter inside the motorhome because the sun came around in the afternoon and we lost our shade. At least we had fans and we also had fast internet. We had access to the hotel's wifi but the faster connection was to the dentists wifi - about 2km away as the crow flies! Or maybe the dentist lives nearby?
Kirsten rested after her ordeal and took some tablets. The next morning her left cheek was slightly swollen but she had no more pain so she just took the antibiotics. She could drink through a straw but eating was still a bit of a problem.
Over the next few days we didn't do very much. I fetched ice for Kirsten so she could use it on her cheek and she rested. She also used the time to do the photos and videos. It wasn't easy for her to watch and she didn't know how I'd managed to be so cool and take the videos! So if you watch the video - Beware!! It's not for the faint hearted!!
Kirsten at the dentist in Asunción Warning - don't watch if you don't like dentists ... or blood!!
She also sent out emails to family and to our friends at Hasta La Pasta who wanted to know how we got on. We got replies straight away.
Uwe's comments:-
1. Filming a wisdom tooth extraction?? Terrific idea! And probably a first for Doc Neufeld!
2. You thought your tooth would be bigger?? That was Grizzly Bear size!!
3. Doc Neufeld is a really good dentist. I'm looking forward to my next appointment in February.
4. Great job Helen!
5. You were also cool sitting in the dentist chair.
6. I saw Helen putting money into the Doc's white coat to stitch up your tongue!
Good to hear you survived it all and you're okay. We were all keeping our fingers crossed for you!
Yes, Dr Neufeld is certainly special and to be recommended particularly for German speakers. Maybe he should set up a practice at Hasta La Pasta! It would save all the campers the journey into Asunción!
During our stay we managed to cope with the heat and even went out to do some shopping. Kirsten tried a burger at Burger King but couldn't open her mouth wide enough! So she had to take the burger apart and eat it in bits! Poor thing. It took her a lot longer to eat so for the very first time, I finished my food before she did! Big mouth Kirsten now has a small mouth - also a first!
At the final dentist appointment on the following Monday Kirsten just had to have her cap fitted where the filling had been drilled out the week before. She needed another injection because there was some more drilling to be done but everything went fine.
That evening we went to the Westfalenhaus Restaurant for a meal - Kirsten could finally open her mouth wide enough to eat properly. The food was absolutely superb!! Kirsten had a Russian dish - large, ravioli style parcels filled with a potato, onion and bacon mixture in a vodka cream sauce! I went for the lamb chops with fresh green beans and fried potatoes. Truly wonderful. We will definitely be coming back!
The next morning we packed up and then tried to reverse out. We got stuck!! We thought that might happen but it took us 45 minutes to get out this time. We managed to get the tyres too deep into the sand and even with our rubber mats we needed extras to get us out. We used a blue yoga mat that is at least 6ft long, plus a wood block and various pieces of cardboard. We needed it for all four tyres this time and had to constantly rock forwards and backwards. Bit by bit we nudged our way out but we absolutely ruined the yoga mat!! It was literally shredded! Next time we will only park on the gravel car park!
Even though we were pretty exhausted we still managed to do a bit of shopping and then drove to the Hotel Westfalia where we stayed the first time we arrived in Asunción (and not to be mixed up with the Westfalenhaus Hotel!) We parked under the roof and met up with Andreas. He had been at Hasta La Pasta and was getting various repairs done on his Toyota Landcruiser.
He'd had all the rust removed and rust protection put on the underside. His vehicle looked like new! We got the address because we might get some work done next season. We swapped various tips with him and he also told us that we need to have a Yellow Fever Vaccination certificate in order to cross the border into Brazil.
We knew there had been an outbreak but we weren't going to the affected areas. Nevertheless, they won't let us in without proof of the vaccination. Kirsten's last one was 15 years ago and mine was 20 years ago. So we would need to get a booster. Andreas told us we can get it for free in Asunción because it is classed as an emergency and Paraguay is a neighbouring country.
The next day Kirsten had another adventure with the buses in the capital. She went to Mercado 4 to look for an infra red lamp for me, a new light for our kitchen, 12 volt plugs and she also wanted to check out the yellow fever vaccination centre.
She left at 1pm and didn't get back until 7pm! She had been gone 6 hours and I had started to get a bit worried! Apparently she got lost a few times, waited ages for various buses then didn't get off at the right place. Getting back to the hotel took her 2 hours!!! It would have been easier just to get a taxi even though it costs $10 one way instead of $1 per journey on the bus. It had certainly been an adventure. She should have taken the GPS!
Anyway, at least she'd managed to find a new light, cable and 12 volt plugs. No infra red light but she'd been to the hospital and had her yellow fever vaccination.
On Friday we packed up and left the hotel. Our first stop was the hospital. Kirsten stayed with our motorhome whilst I walked to the centre and got in the queue. I was the only tourist there and there were lots of children. The kids take ages because they have to have three separate injections and they don't queue up, they go straight in. The rest of us just have to wait.
They don't vaccinate anyone over 60. We found out why a week later (that's in the next report!) It took me 40 minutes in the queue and two seconds for the jab. I was immediately handed my certificate and all for free. Super! 20 years ago it cost me $40 for the injection. Now it would cost at least three times that but it's free at the moment because it's classed as an emergency.
Next stop was the Gynaecologist to get a smear test and two ultrasonic scans. Dr Struebing has a super modern practice and is another German speaking Paraguayan who did his training in Germany. The first thing he had to do was to correct my name on the computer. The secretary had used my passport for my details and written my surname as British!! (We found out later that Claudia had had the same problem but with her online telephone account for Paraguay. She was listed as Claudia Deutsch (Claudia German!!)
It only took 45 minutes for the two of us and we were finally finished with dentists and doctors! We were also relieved to drive out of the heat of the city and back up to cooler Hasta La Pasta. It had certainly been a stressful 10 days!
