I wasn't too bothered, for once I figured it was actually reasonable to sleep that late after getting only a few hours' sleep on the bus the night before.
I went out to get lunch before everywhere shut, that was probably one thing that helped me get up although I was starting to feel pretty ready to get up by the time I actually did.
I managed to get lost (the map in the guide book didn't seem to match reality) but I found somewhere and had an OK steak & chips. I then went to try and find a cash machine. Having seen a few yesterday I was totally unable to find one today. I think I probably spent three or four hours walking round, seriously. It probably didn't help not having a map on me, as I could have then have at least tried to stay more central. I eventually stumbled across calle Colon where I remembered the guide book said there was at least one and that led me to what I think is the main square. Probably a good thing in a way as I saw a bit of the town and I managed to miss the square, which is quite nice, yesterday. (I assume I finished lunch around 3 or earlier, and it was around 6 when I got to the square.)
I had a beer at a pavement table in the square and went back to the hostel for a shower and to plan the trip for the next couple of weeks. I've just come back out to the same place in the square, it seemed a better and perhaps slightly livelier option that going back to those places by the river.
I decided early after lunch I was not going to pay for taxis to and from the bus station so I could buy a ticket for tomorrow, (It might have been different had I got up early enough to consider going to the ruins.) I will aim to get there 9:30 or 10 tomorrow and take my chance on the 11:45 bus having seats free. If nothing else the emptiness of my hostel (I have the dormitory to myself again tonight) argues it's not peak season. There are so many companies running buses there I also figure I can get *something* even if it means waiting around for hours and if push really comes to shove I can afford (in terms of time, my tightest resource) to spend another night here if absolutely necessary, though I'd rather not and I doubt it will come to that.
It looks like the figure 8 trip is broadly possible. I will post the planned itinerary soon, mainly for my own interest so I can see how it matches up to reality. It roughly calls for here-Puerto Iguazu-Ciudad del Este (possibly not overnighting there, there's time but it may not be worth it and I could use the day better elsewhere)-Asuncion-Encarnacion (the city across the river from here)-Montevideo-[that city whose name begins with C in Uruguay opposite Buenos Aires]-Buenos Aires (for one night, just as a 'buffer' before I catch the flight on to Panama).
There's a bit of a handwave in the trip from Encarnacion-Montevideo but I am sure it's possible in the time (I have allowed two days based on a semi-plausible if possibly suboptimal route via (if memory serves) Concepcion/Salto, based on the web and guide book together. The guide book is a bit unhelpful on this route as few of the more convenient border crossing towns on the Argentinian side of the border with Uruguay rate an entry and hence I have no 'buses go from here to....' details except what I manage to dredge up on the web.). According to the guide book there are direct buses Asuncion-Montevideo (I think) but I do want to spend a night in Encarnacion just so I can drink on the opposite river bank to last night. Besides, it takes about 20 hours if memory serves and I'd rather not do that if it can be helped.
The rough plan allows for three nights/two full days in Puerto Iguazu (probably a good idea, I am drinking on that now and will book for two or three nights when I get back to the hostel tonight) and more or less the same (at least in terms of nights) in Asuncion, Montevideo and 'the C city' and only requires one overnight bus trip (for the dubious leg discussed above, which could be a bit strenuous). More time in any of those might be nice and since it also gives me a day in hand, as waffled earlier, I may just transit Ciudad del Este without overnighting. I think I have to go there at least briefly as it's the only destination in Paraguay my guide book mentions as available from Puerto Iguazu (it's about an hour's journey). I am sure it's worth spending a night there given generous amounts of time available - hardly anywhere isn't, at the risk of damning with faint praise - but it may not be a good use of time when I'm slightly pushed. The main attraction is a nearby dam, which sou
nds potentially quite impressive but also a bit of a bugger to get to (like the 'ruins' from here, you have to take ordinary buses out and back, you can't walk it or get an organised tour AFAIK) and I doubt there's time for a 'full day during the day' activity like that unless I spend two nights there, which is almost certainly overkill.
If I have time - and I may have hours, if the 11:45 is not available - I will try to investigate options on from here towards Montevideo while I am at the bus terminal tomorrow. (There is an implicit transit here on the way to Uruguay since I will cross the border from Encarnacion to Argentina here.)
Wow, I just spent half an hour typing all that out on my tiny phone keyboard. What an exciting life I lead. :-)
20:15. I just got heavily splattered as a car drove over a plastic bottle of some sort of white cream and it burst under the pressure. (I am sat right next to the road running down the side of the square.) I've spent the last five minutes wiping myself down with a few tissues.
It actually worked out a lot better than it could have done. As opposed to being anything too foul or staining (mayonnaise, someone's collection of scraped up birdshit) the bottle appears to have contained some kind of body lotion. (I have in fact just had a look and it is "Pantene Control Caida" with "Formula Extra Cremosa", which I think makes it shampoo or conditioner.) I think I've pretty much restored my appearance to normal and the clothes are wearable, although it's still a good job they were due to go to the laundry soonish anyway. Apart from a possible 'perfumed ponce' aroma I may now possess :-), no real harm done. It's not like I have to go and get changed. (Single biggest annoyance is the fleece, which I was toying with having washed anyway but which arguably didn't need it. I may not have to wash it even now but it does make me feel I ought to.)
I think it was an accident. I didn't hear anyone laugh or shout when it happened. Some guy turned up about five minutes after and handed me a bunch of 'proper' tissues (I had nearly cleaned it all off with the cheap shiny ones in the table dispenser) but he seemed neither humorous nor apologetic. I am inclined to change my table just on the offchance, although that seems irrational - it's not like I am going to refuse to sit next to a road ever again. It only makes sense if I think this just may be someone playing silly buggers who might be planning a second round. But that seems improbable. On the other hand, if it gives me peace of mind for tonight, it's not like it hurts to shift tables. Yeah, fuck it, play it safe when it's free to play.
I must say I handled the incident with an almost stereotypically English degree of aplomb. It would have been a lot more embarassing if I'd been here not on my own I guess.
I perhaps should give the entry its own blog post as it's an amusing incident, but it would still get lost among all the waffly posts. Besides, maybe the odd hidden gem like this will encourage people to read my waffle. :-)
Harping back to the planned trip, the one reason I can see to overnight in Ciuded del Este is that otherwise I will only overnight in two Paraguayan cities, which makes the trip to Paraguay seem a little bit of a box ticking exercise. On the other hand, if I stay overnight in CdE solely for that reason, the trip actually becomes more box-ticking in reality. I think Asuncion should be quite cool (if perhaps a little dangerous) and I have a good if slightly cheesy reason for wanting to spend a night in Encarnacion.
Totally at random, I note that there are fish in the river. I saw some people sat on the bank fishing yesterday, including what I assume to be a father and son. The father pulled out what appeared to be a fair-sized fish, then after a bit of messing around trying to actually get hold of it on the sloping concrete bank, it escaped back into the water. :-)
Jesus, this square is overrun with child beggars and vendors. I've had at least five and maybe ten while I've been sat here. Maybe they are poor but I doubt it.
21:30. Just noticed an illuminated sign down the square which says it's 24.5C. I saw one some time this afternoon which said 29C. Right now there's just enough of a breeze that I'm wearing the fleece, though it's certainly not really cold.
22:00, Down to 23.5C, getting nippy. It was damn hot walking around today, although OK in the shade.
I caught myself thinking about what sort of flat I'll be able to get in London when I return earlier today. (Not in an "oh my god, I have to deal with letting agents and landlords" way, in a vaguely dreaming "I could get something pretty comfortable round London Bridge" way. Though doubtless market prices and my tightness will intervene when the time comes and I'll end up with a shoebox near London Bridge or something more spacious and remote.) Probably because I was musing on how the trip seems almost over, although it isn't really and even if it is I need to try to avoid spoiling it by dwelling on such things. I am not anxious to get back but on the other hand there would be a certain satisfaction in (if I can manage it) having a fresh start and being "in the real world" in a way I'm not here. I'm not here because the trip has a definite end and I'm not living "sustainably" and I know I'm not going to be here indefinitely. But of course in some sense that's also what's nice about b
eing away.
I mean, I suppose there's a 0.01% chance I happen to meet some guy in a bar who tells me his company is looking for a C++/Unix programmer and I end up interviewing for a job and getting it, but in practical terms nothing like that is going to happen. (Though it's worth noting I have a friend - hi Pete, in the unlikely event you are reading this - who is emigrating to Canada based on pretty nearly this kind of sequence of events.)
I mean, if I really wanted I could seek something like that out. But I think if I ever do anything of the kind, it will be once I'm back in London and have been working for a bit and decide I want to travel but in a different way. It wouldn't really make sense to start looking for that kind of opportunity while I'm over here just travelling round, even ignoring the current economic climate. If I was going to do it the semi-soft option would be something in Spain, as it's within easy visiting distance (and cost) of the UK (and there are no visa issues), and that would even more so be something to sort out from the UK and, based on what I've vaguely picked up, decidedly not an option with their economy as it is.
That sort of thing is probably for a couple of years time, when the mid-life crisis comes to stay, instead of just popping round for the occasional visit as it does now. ;-)
23:05. They're playing an instrumental version of "The Girl from Ipanema". First time I've heard it since my first night in Santiago, I think. Oh no, someone's singing but the words are so quiet at first I thought I was conjuring them up in my head. :-)
23:40. They are now playing a Spanish-language version of "Take My Breath Away" :-) I can't understand the words, but I assume it's a translation not a parody...
Slightly worried about getting into the hostel but I should be back by 00:30 at the latest. A bit late to bed given I want to be up about 9 but I'm not too worried about that aspect of it.
Spanish cover of "All Out Of Love" now...
Actually, I'm not sure that was Spanish. I would expect to have the odd snatch of recognition and except for "amor" I recognised nowt. Maybe it was Portuguese or Italian. I wonder about the Berlin cover as well now.
00:10. I am going to have one more, if it's not too late now it won't be too late at about 1am. There are hotels round the square, I really don't want to have to invoke the banker's solution but if push comes to shove I will.
00:35. Watching a guy try to manoeuvre a BMW out of a parking space nearby. It's diagonal to the road and the chief difficulty seems to be to reverse enough to avoid hitting some posts in front of the car. He seemed to have the wheels exactly the wrong way all the time. I can't drive but I'm sure I could have got out of the spot a lot easier than he did, even if I would then collide with something as I pulled out into the street.
01:10. Left the bar at 00:55, got back here about 01:05. Door not left ajar but open. Seems there are a couple of guys in the dormitory now. No big deal but shame I get all the downside with none of the potential chat upside.
Just booked at some hostel in Puerto Iguazu. I paid over the odds for some hostel with about 200 beds which rated highly. I have booked a double room to myself at about 30 quid a night, I could have had a single room to myself elsewhere for about 10-15 quid a night but I figured if it's that big it may be a bit like Loki in La Paz. (The cheap place didn't say how big it was, if it had said and was largeish I would just have gone there.) I now see from the comments on hostelworld.com it may be in the middle of nowhere. (The blurb says '5 mins from bus station', I suspect they mean by car/bus. I think the cheap place was 2 blocks away...) Oh well, I can afford taxis to/from town if push comes to shove and if it really does have a proper bar I may not need them. Half wish I'd gone for the cheaper place but we will have to see. I figured the extra cash was worth it for a chance of a bit of life. May well do the dormitory thing again elsewhere but I just didn't want the hassle right now.
(And it is a hassle. Even tho I was on my own here last night, I had to assume 'dormitory rules' while out during the day. And not just being able to lock the room door on 'my stuff' is a surprisingly big deal. And tonight I can't just leave my wallet and phone and camera in my trousers next to the bed, I have to make sure they are in the locker. No major deal but these little inconveniences do add up.)
Anyway, it's all good. If the location sucks it's only three nights and really the extra I paid to go there and may pay for taxis is a drop in the ocean. The major cost of the trip is not what I spend, it's the lost earnings, so I'm not going to let myself get worked up about 50 quid or so.
Anyway, to bed and I really must drag myself out about 9.
Oh, the last beer sucked a bit due to worries about getting back into the hostel. Loads of people out, not just there but when I worked back. It would have been nice to have been more relaxed while I was out and to have stayed out later, but I guess even if I was confident about getting back into the hostel I do need to be up earlyish. I hope this isn't pushing it... Anyway, actually to bed, it's 01:45.
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