Click on a photo to enlarge it.
We got to the Termas de Arapey at 2-30pm. There was an entrance station with a hut and road barriers where we can pay but we didn't know how long we would be staying. We needed to talk to Uwe and Claudia first. We explained at the entrance - we're back to Spanish again so it's a lot easier - and were allowed to drive on without paying.
But Uwe and Claudia weren't in their motor home so we had to go searching. We finally found them, and Mia, their really sweet dog, went wild because she was soooo happy to see us!! (Uwe and Claudia were also happy to see us but didn't go so wild, no wagging of tails and darting between our legs!!)
We had a lot to talk about but finally managed to discuss plans and drove back to the entrance to pay for 4 nights.
We actually stayed for 5 nights and could have stayed a lot longer! It's a super place. It costs approx $14 for 2 people with full hook up and use of the various thermal pools.
Uwe and Claudia took us for a walk around to show us everything. There is a large indoor pool, a partially covered pool, a large outdoor pool and then several small terrace pools. The whole area is huge and has a 5 star hotel ($600 US including breakfast, or just $15 per person for breakfast), a supermarket, shops, bakery and plenty of paths for walking. No wonder our friends spend months here!
We had a really good time, and used the partially covered pool the most. The temperature was mainly around 37°C and half the pool has a raised area where you can sit and still be in the water up to your shoulders.
The outdoor pool is cooler but you can swim pool lengths as fewer people use it but we were there during the low season anyway so there weren't too many people around.
We had a wonderful relaxing time, and enjoyed cooking together with Claudia and Uwe. We spent time trying to keep fit – Kirsten did fitness aerobics with Claudia and Uwe and I went for various walks around the huge area. A few days later we were joined by another couple, Gabi and Jürgen, who are from Germany and practically neighbours of Claudia and Uwe but have never met before! Small world!
Uwe had a drone and we used it to take some group photos and get some aerial views of the whole area. But before we knew it, it was time to pack up and leave. We will definitely come back to Arapey.
We didn't set off until the afternoon and it was raining. At the border we handed in our Uruguayan vehicle permit and got exit stamps but we didn't need to get any stamps or vehicle permit to enter Brazil because we would be in transit. It's a major tourist route where people literally cut through Brazil to get to Argentina or Uruguay depending on which direction you are travelling. So the Brazilians don't bother with border formalities. That saves a lot of time.
It was a good job we had stopped at a petrol station whilst still in Uruguay and used up all our last Uruguay pesos to get diesel because in Brazil the petrol stations were all cordoned off and closed. None of the shops had any fruit or veg! The situation was getting a bit critical and we were hoping that the Government would promise no more fuel price rises so that the road blocks could be taken down.
We stayed at a municipal campground and it continued to rain overnight with a lot of thunder. The next day we followed Claudia and Uwe to the border with Argentina. It was a Bank Holiday in Brazil so all the shops were shut and there wasn't much traffic. We just drove through the Brazilian side and the Argentinian side only took us 40 minutes for passport stamps and vehicle permit. It would have been quicker but the border agents couldn't find Germany on the computer for our vehicle permit. It wasn't under A for Alemania but under R for Republica Federal de Alemania!! Oh well, now we know for the future!
We went with Claudia and Uwe who were searching for a new windscreen for their motor home. We had a coffee whilst they were sorting it out but when they finally got to see the windscreen, it had a crack in the corner! So, back to square one. They'd have to get it from somewhere else.
So we set off in the pouring rain again. We were just driving through Argentina to get to Paraguay but wouldn't make the border on the same day. We couldn't hang around because we didn't have any Argentinian pesos left and were running out of food! We stopped next to a petrol station for the night but it was extremely muddy! Just after we had parked up a local cat went under Uwe's motor home and jumped into the engine compartment. Obviously the cat is a bit of a mechanic and knew exactly where to go! Oooh toasty warm!!! Took quite a while to get it out!
The next day we made it to the border with Paraguay – huge queue. Took us 2 hours to get through to Encarnación! We had a time change aswell but at least we gained an hour. So that gave us more time to get some shopping and buy a SIM card whilst Claudia and Uwe went to a Mercedes garage. We parked up on the river front that is also the border between Argentina and Paraguay.
We had one more day by the river with Claudia and Uwe, visited the cathedral and took Mia for a walk along the river front. But then it was time to say goodbye. Claudia and Uwe needed to get more repairs sorted out and then they were going to stay with friends about 300km north of Encarnación. We only had eleven days before our flights to Germany and needed to get to Ciudad Del Este where we would be storing Winnietwo. At least our goodbyes were only temporary because we would be meeting up with them again, at the latest at Christmas back at Hasta La Pasta.
So on Sunday 3rd June we went our separate ways and decided to do some sightseeing en route. We visited two Jesuit sites - La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe - which became UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1993. The entrance fee was 25000 Gua each ($5 US each) and was valid for 3 days and for both sites plus a third site that we didn't go to.
There were 30 Jesuit Missions in South America, Trinidad was number 28 and Jesus was still under construction when the Jesuits were expelled in 1767. Construction of Trinidad started in 1706 and 4,000 Indigenous people lived there along with only 2 or 3 priests who taught them not only religion but also hand crafts, art, culture and general education.
Trinidad is the largest of the three and has the largest temple with an altar carved from a single piece of stone. When the Jesuits were expelled the pulpit was smashed into 600 pieces but was painstakingly reconstructed. We spent almost 2 hours walking around the ruins.
We went back at 7-20pm to see the light show. It was very cold so we had on our fleece jackets, leggings under our trousers, hats and gloves!! Brrr! Unfortunately it wasn't very exiting. The guide had a very monotonous voice, it was all in Spanish of course, but there were just a few lights on around various buildings and loud, choral music playing from speakers. Some photos were projected onto the large temple wall. It was supposed to be 40 minutes but we got the longer 1 hour version. At least we weren't the only ones there but no one seemed overly enthusiastic about the extra time in the cold! We definitely needed the heater on that night!
At Jesús de Tavarangüe Mission we could park behind the reception building and one of the workers made us an extension lead so we could plug in! Wow! They're really nice people! We could also have a nice hot shower in the building and all for free!! We waited for the sun to come out at 1pm and then went to visit the ruins.
It was founded in 1685 but there was only one building left to see, the main church. The mission was still under construction when the Jesuits were expelled in 1767 but it is believed that 3,000 indigenous people lived there. It was the last of the 30 missions to be built and never completed.
Owls and other animals in South America
We stayed for two nights and watched a film starring Robert de Niro, Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson about the missions. It was a really old film and I found it boring but the ending made Kirsten cry!! We also managed to make a start on cleaning Winnietwo to get him ready for storage.
We headed north east towards Ciudad Del Este but stopped at a large Home Depot style shop where we bought various things including a tarp to put over Winnietwo plus a new seat cover and electrical stuff. We spent 1.5 hours there!
Our next stop was a Yerba Mate factory in Bella Vista where we went on a tour in German! Everyone in Paraguay (and Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil!) drinks Mate tea. They walk around carrying large canisters with the drink inside. They pour tepid water over the leaves (which are similar to tea leaves) and then top up with water during the day. We've only tried it once and find it bitter but we wanted to find out more about it because it is THE drink here.
The factory has its own Mate trees which are planted in May. The young saplings need a year to be big enough to be planted outside and the harvest takes place once a year between May and August. They employ 90 people and produce 14,000 kg of tea per day! They use the leaves but also up to 30% of branches provided they are less than 4mm in diameter. Once harvested it is dried and stored for 2 years. In the year 2000 there was a slump/recession and the fields were replanted for Soya. Now they're back to producing 14,000kg per day.
Interestingly it is not caffeine free. The organic version contains 2% caffeine and the non organic 1%. (Just as a reference coffee contains 3% caffeine). The tour lasted just over an hour and we were given samples of their tea – the factory uses the brand name Pajarito.
The receptionist told us about a camping spot at the Club de Pesca next to the river Parana so after the tour we drove there. The last part was 1km on a gravel road with a steep incline down to the camping area. It cost us 10,000 per person per day ($2 US) and we had electricity, water and hot showers. It was a really nice place to park and we had it all to ourselves because it's out of season. However we used the time to continue cleaning and sorting.
The next morning was very foggy and we set off at 9-20am. We stopped at a tree tunnel spanning across the main road for photos. We pulled over onto the side and then waited for gaps in the traffic so we could go back out onto the road for photos of our motor home under the trees. It's a natural tunnel that is 800 meters long and we weren't the only ones taking photos! That took longer than we thought so we still didn't make it to Ciudad Del Este and had to stop at a petrol station because it was getting too dark to drive. There was an armed guard on duty overnight!
We got to the border the following day but there were massive queues and it took us well over an hour to get to the border so we could get our paperwork sorted out. Afterwards we went to a car wash and got in the queue. It was quite a long wait but we finally got the outside cleaned. Then there was another wait to get the inside hoovered.
We had taken everything out so that the floor was clear but it took too long for them to get to us so we gave up waiting and asked if we could use the hoover ourselves. The hoover was useless – no suction power at all!! So we just swept it out and wiped over the floor and then put everything back inside.
Winnietwo needs a wash
We didn't get to the hotel where we were storing our motor home until 5-30pm. A long and tiring day. But then it got worse! The owner allows travelling Germans to park for free but he wasn't there. The manager wanted $160 US per month from us!! It was a real problem because we had no time to organise anything else and we had booked our flights from there. It meant we had to send a lot of whatsapps and emails but we didn't manage to get something worked out until after 5pm the following day.
We had to carry on cleaning and sorting and getting Winnietwo ready for storage in the hope that we could come to an agreement. In the end we managed to sort out a price but we could have done without the added stress!
That evening, a Sunday, we made the mistake of walking into town to find food. We had looked up possibilities nearby and knew that we could always go to McDonalds if we didn't find anything else. But, Oh God ... It was like walking through a ghost town! Nothing was open, no one on the streets! It felt dangerous and the only people we could see were men (security men?) in doorways with huge automatic weapons! Even McDonalds was closed – now that's just unbelievable!!
We did a quick walk back and went to Hotel Austria, virtually next door to our hotel, where we could buy a ready made sandwich and 2 pieces of cake - Sachertorte (chocolate cake) and Maracuja gateau.
For our last night we moved into a hotel room so we could finish getting Winnietwo ready for storage and get our laundry done. There aren't any self service laundrettes so we had to hand it in and it was returned later that evening. Our hotel restaurant was open that evening but their drinking water was awful so I had to keep going back to Winnietwo to use our own water and kettle to make us tea.
I managed to get a last minute haircut for $4 the next morning. To avoid the terrible traffic we walked to the main bridge and then got a taxi to the airport and flew out. Bye Winnietwo, hopefully you'll be safe!
