After going out for Laura's birthday on Friday night and getting in at 2am, I wasn't overjoyed when the alarm went off at 6! The bus journey wasn't too bad, although nowhere near as comfortable as the one from Argentina. Various people were getting on the bus along the way to try to sell us all sorts of bits and pieces. My favourite was the guy who got on and gave a speech about dental hygiene before trying to sell toothbrushes. We wondered whether you could buy everything you would ever need on a bus...
At Santa Rosa we were told we need to change buses to get to Laguna Blanca. The bus we transferred to was packed, with one family of six packed in to two seats. We stood up for a while, but eventually managed to get seats when a few people got off. We had been told to call the ranch when we got off the bus at the gates, and someone would come to pick us up and drive us to the lake. Unfortunately Sally had no reception, Jen had no battery and I have no phone - so we decided to walk. Little did we know quite how far it was to the lake. The guidebook had informed us that there were no mosquitoes at the lake, which we quickly discovered was a lie. It was hot and sticky, and we were getting bitten, but the blissful silence was amazing, and made it well worth it.
After walking for about an hour, we suddenly came across the lake and a couple of buildings. We checked in at the main house and started to talking to a Dutch couple who were travelling around South America with their three year old son. What an amazing thing to do! They had been doing some volunteering at an orphanage in Bolivia and, other than that, were just travelling around spending a day or two in each place. Something I would defintely love to do one day. Sally and I had an interesting conversation about how the best way of achieving what you want is to be happy for those you see that already have it, and I was happy for them. What a life...
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| The Dutch family's car. Complete with roof-tent! |
Earlier, on the second bus on the way to the lake, we had all decided that there would be nothing better than steak and salad (with home made coleslaw) for dinner...we'd been surviving mainly on carbs on the bus journey and I was desperately craving some protein. After we checked in, I went for a paddle in the lake and Sally went to ask what was for dinner. The answer was steak and salad! Her visualisation skills are amazing, this is not the first time she has managed to magic up what she wanted. When we actually went for dinner, the (massive) steak arrived with fried eggs on top (a new one for me, but I had said I wanted lots of protein) and the salad consisted of shredded cabbage and carrots - so we used the mayonnaise to make our own coleslaw! Fortunately we had brought a bottle of wine with us (they don't sell anything at the lake) so we supped that and played a few games of cards before an early night.
In the morning we had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the beach where Sally got covered in butterflies. There are so many here, and they are not scared of people at all. The Dutch family left mid morning so, apart from a few Paraguayans coming to look at the lake, we had the place to ourselves. The water on the lake was crystal clear, and we had to have a few swims just to cool off. After lunch, they let the chickens out to run around (so we were reassured that our eggs from the previous evening were free range) and we all decided to have a little 'me' time. Sally went for a walk, Jen wrote her diary, and I relaxed in a hammock. Bliss.
We had a little more time on the beach where I managed to acquire a pet butterfly who sat on my hand for about half an hour. The beach, however, was left in shade by late afternoon, so we decided to take one of the rowing boats out before sunset. Steering it was interesting, as was going in a straight line - one paddle was much shorter than the other which didn't help. The sun was getting low in the sky so we decided to start to head back to shore as we weren't sure how long it would take us... We made it back before sunset, although I managed to dunk my camera in the water as we were pushing the boat back on to the beach, fortunately the case took the brunt of it and it seems to have survived unscathed.
After a fabulous, almost too hot, shower (a huge novelty), we went for our dinner which was somewhat less impressive than the previous evening. We didn't even have any wine left! Being the party girls that we are, we had another early night with the intention of being up for sunrise...
When the alarm went off at 5am I managed to drag myself out of bed for the sunrise. I headed down to the beach where my eyes started playing tricks on me. I was convinced I could see some sort of creature on the sand, and thought I might be about to catch a glimpse of a rare Paraguayan creature....as the sky gradually got lighter, it became clear that what I had been looking at was actually a tree! The sun didn't come over the horizon until 6.15am, but I had a very peaceful hour under a beautiful sky.
We had been told that we were supposed to get the bus at 8am from the gates to Laguna Blanca, however, our lift to the gates was running late so, after a bumpy ride in a trailer on the back of the bike (and the realisation of quite how far we had walked on Saturday), we arrived at the gates about fifteen minutes late. We knew there was another bus at 10.30, but thought that we needed to be in Santa Rosa for 9 to catch the bus to Asuncion. With no other option, we sat down by the side of the road to wait for the next bus. When the odd vehicle did pass we tried to hitch a ride, but with no success. Surprisingly a bus arrived at 10.30 on the dot. Not only were we amazed by the punctuality, but by the fact that it was the very bus we had caught from Asuncion and was going directly back there, with no need for us to change at Santa Rosa. The bus was full, with a number of people standing...but things were quickly shifted around, and we were all provided with seats. We felt rather guilty about this but, as we had booked seats and had a 8-9 hour journey ahead of us, we were very grateful. The people that had been moved were only going as far as Santa Rosa anyway.
On arrival back in Asuncion, our senses were assaulted by the noise and the smog. After a crowded journey, on a local bus, from the main terminal to near our house, we decided to nip to one of the roadside bars for a swift beer before facing the flat. Shortly afterwards, a few of the other volunteers turned up with excited talk of their crazy weekend. With the lorries, cars and bikes charging past, we all longed to be back in the peace and quiet of Laguna Blanca.
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