Ironically, it was exactly because of these porous borders that it became necessary that I travel there. You see, Paraguay used to be home to one of the most incredible waterfalls in the world - Igauzu Falls. This was back in the day when Paraguay was a major political and economic player in South America and had the hubris to take on both Brazil and Argentina in wars. Paraguay lost in the end, and with that defeat, came the devastating loss of the falls (not to mention a dimished status in the region).
It is said that now the falls are best seen from Brazil and experienced from Argentina. The problem for this American traveler is that there is a $200 visa requirement to visit Brazil, and while there is no visa required for Argentina, I would need a multiple entry visa to get back into Paraguay. I, of course, had only a single entry.
Therefore, I had to get a bit creative about how I crossed the border, which is what brought me to Ciudad Del Este.
From Ciudad Del Este, one can grab a bus that drives through Brazil-without stopping at any checkpoints- and into Argentina, where one's passport gets stamped at the border. On the way out, one's passport gets stamped at Argentina again and then the bus goes through Brazil and into Paraguay without any additional security measures.
This seemed like a perfect solution, right?
On the way in, everything went according to plan. The travel time was long - more than 4 hours from Caaguazú - but even just getting a glimpse of the falls was worth the hassle. The falls extend far beyond the lens of any layman's camera. It is miles of water gushing over a precipice into what can most accurately described as a green isle encased in fog. But really, it seemed more like a scene cut out from a page of some fairy tale, especially when at one point a rainbow appeared, completing the picture that had already felt like magic.
Drunk from the spectacle, I wanted to see more. As the park was closing, I jumped over "closed signs," climbed under chain-linked barriers, ran under water-drenched canopies, to take in the view from ever-different angles. Eventually a run-in with a park ranger, put a stop to this Indiana Jonesing, and I had to resign myself to going back to Paraguay.
I was told the bus ran every 40 minutes with the last bus to Ciudad Del Este leaving at 7pm, and so when I arrived at the bus stop a few minutes before six, I thought I was making pretty good time. It wasn't until somewhere between 6:15 and 6:30 that I became worried. Questioning the other people waiting for buses did not ease my concern; the general consensus was that the last bus left for Paraguay at 5pm. By 6:45, I was forced to believe them.
I began weighing my other options. Option A: I could take a bus to Brazil and walk across the border. Fail: Putting myself between two countries in which I didn't have proper documentation didn't seem like the best idea. Option B: I could take a cab across the Paraguyan border. Fail: I would most definitely get stopped at the border, and I was not confident enough in my sweet talking skills to get through. Option C: I could stay overnight in Argentina and take the first bus out in the morning.
Option C was not ideal. The next day, I had to catch a 5pm flight out of Asuncion (approx 8 hours from Ciudad Del Este), which I hadn't actually purchased a ticket for yet.
Looking at the options, I knew there was only one thing I could do. But with withering hope, I stood at the sad little bus stop until 7, singing to myself, "Don't cry for me Argentina..."
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