Having a bit of "Argie Bargie"

The trip to Argentina was a lovely morning out. We were up at crack of dawn and away by 7.00 a.m in the new school People carrier. First we went to pick up Alberto, his wife and Babs Owen from Roque Alonso. Alberto took over the driving then"'Ere we go,'ere we go, 'ere we go."

 We drove out into the traffic on the main ruta and headed off to the Trans Chaco road. After a quick stop at the toll bridge we soon turned off on the road to Argentina.

It was great to be out in the countryside on the other side of the River Paraguay. Everything is so rustic. The area is known as the Little Chaco. It is part of the Low Chaco area. There were palm trees everywhere and thick thorn bushes.

We saw lots of bird life. There was quite a lot of water around so there were several types of waders and water birds. Also there were lots of birds of prey circling

 overhead. There must be rich picking grounds there, with water rats etc.

The views back to Asuncion were quite impressive,
seeing all the sky scrapers and the Central bank.

Soon we turned off the metalled road that goes to the official border post. We headed for Nanawa and Puerto Elsa on the border of Paraguay. The road was a mud track road that ran for miles. Thankfully the new school bus has good shock absorbers. I have done the journey in a local bus before, packed in like sardines and standing up. It was the bumpiest, shakiest ride I have ever endured here. On the return trip the bus was full of contraband, hidden under the seats.

The sites along the road were wonderful. A "flock?" of goats ran across in front of us.
There were cows in many places, just wandering along untethered and free. There were small ranches with cattle and there were smallholdings and little shacks where the Indigenous Indians live. Some had washing hanging along the fences. I just love the Chaco area.

Eventually we arrived at Puerto Elsa and parked up.

There is no road across the border there. One has to wander through a sleezy market and find one's way across a bridge to the frontier post. One cannot cross on a passport here. You have to be local, with an identity card.
 In fact they did not even look at mine.
We moved through the colourful market on the Argentinean side in Clorinda and hit the main street.

We left Alberto and his wife to wander round the town while we hit the supermarkets. The exchange rate enabled us to save a lot on some of our weekly shop. My special toothpaste was a third less there so three months worth went into my trolley. Cheese is also the best quality and cheaper so we stocked up with cheese for our freezers. On the way back into Paraguay we passed the local dentist's surgery. (Remind me never to get toothache in Puerto Elsa!!!)

We also bought a lot of other things. I saved a lot of my salary. I must remember to go again sometime if the exchange rate stays in our favour. We had a fun trip and we were back by lunchtime.

The only problem left was to find space in my freezer and cupboards for my purchases. I always have fully stocked cupboards and my freezer is always full. However, I have good spatial awareness and I managed to get everything stowed away.
It was then time for a long siesta!!!