On the side of the road in Paraguay

This post is a part of a series from my travels with friends Hazel and Ami from back home who are currently travelling South America. We went on a 3 day mission, camping at Ybycui which is “3 hours” by bus south of Asuncion. Then we went onto UNESCO classified Jesuit ruins of Encarnacion, located at the southern tip of Paraguay. These posts go to show that Paraguay is a travel destination that is more about the adventure, the experiences and people met, “it’s all about the journey man”! Enjoy.

With a belly full of rice and sausages and god looking over us, our friend Melo walked us to the road outside his house to wait for the collectivo (bus) going to the camp ground. Dependant on who you talked to, the collectivo went by at either 2, 2.30, 3 or wasn’t going today.

Well 2 hours later we were still waiting and it was now obvious that it wasn’t coming today. But this is all part of the Paraguayan travel experience, there is no real tourist infrastructure. In most touristed countries you would be able to get a mini-van straight from Asuncion and go direct to the sights in one hour. But if you did that you wouldn’t get to have lunch with Melo and his friends or see Paraguayan country traffic and smiles pass you by.

Here’s a few photos of watching life pass you by on the side of a Paraguayan rural road.

There’s no need for tying loads down in Paraguay, just chuck your son’s on the back to hold it down.

It wouldn’t be a rural road without a random sprinkling of farm animals and a cart passing by.

I hope they are wearing their seat belts and have insurance. Is it just me or is that truck going to snap in the middle.

After 2 hours of watching life go by, it was time to take action, so we started walking back into town, for what? We didn’t know, but it felt good to be walking.