Paraguay

We crossed an amazing suspension bridge from Argentina to Paraguay with one more stamp in our passports.

It was a rainy morning when we arrived at the Trinidad Jesuit Mission. The ruins of the church were spectacular and there were beautiful remains of living areas as well. The Jesuits set up a type of living for the native Guarani people that was very communal. Each family was given a small home and the children were schooled. There was a big central plaza with the main church, a hospital, a coligio which housed the priest and also contained art workshops, and the cabildo which was where the Guarani’s chosen leader lived. The food was shared equally between every one. The missions were growing throughout Paraguay and Argentina but in 1641 an army of 3000 slave traders took over and there was an abrupt end to the Jesuit Missions. Many years after the missions had been buried in to the earth they were discovered and found in great condition, especially considering they were almost 400 years old. Well that was my history lesson for the day.

After the tour we played hide and go seek around the stone walls in the rain. By the time we settled in to our little hotel we were ready for a cup of tea or coco and a warm shower. We had a snuggle party and watched Mega Mind to end the day. The next morning we were ready to learn about mate, the popular drink we have seen all over Latin America so we went on a tour of a mate factory that was just a few blocks away. We learned all about mate from the tree it is grown on to the interesting cup and metal straw it is served in. We tried making mate at the beach house in La Pedrera but it didn’t taste too good. The mate they served us after the tour was great.

All of us swam in the freezing pool, except dad he was chicken (…bak bak), played at the play park, made lots of different obstacle courses and taught Everest chess with a giant chess set.

The next morning mom and dad had a surprise planned. We hopped on a local bus to a huge National Park. We decided to ride horses and go for a bicicleta ride. We had no idea what it was but we were excited. We saddled up and were off on four gorgeous horses. The scenery was beautiful and very different than anywhere else we had been. We road through the woods and across the flowing river, it was super AWESOME! We then stopped at this weird contraption and learned it was the bicycle we were going to ride on. They had rearranged a bicycle so you pedaled with your hands and cross the river on a type of zip line. It was super fun.

I really loved my horse and miss him already but hopefully I will have a horse of my own that I love just as much some day.

Our last day in Paraguay we chilled and took the 2 am bus to Iguazu Falls hoping to get our Brazilian visas before the office closed for the holiday weekend.

Bye Paraguay!