What's Spanish For 'Hootenanny'? : Posadas : Tues 31st Dec 2013

Tuesday, the New Years Eve of the 31st of the December of the 2013. I have never been so hot on New Year's Eve, nor had my sleep so disturbed by an AC unit that thought its job was to help me look like Han Solo encased in carbonite. My toes had an inch of ice around them, and the single sheet on the bed was supplemented with my towel and as many clothes as I could throw on there. Far from perfect start to the day.

Some parts of this blog are notable for the absence of photographs pertaining to that specific time. Perhaps on those occasions we are fulfilling our daily ablutions, or glaring at each other the way two people who are stuck in each others' company for six months with barely another human to speak to do, or sometimes we are typing up things like this, when nothing is really going on that is worth writing about. Also, quite a lot, we are drinking a lot of beer or, like this exact moment, wine, and we don't want to give you an unfavourable impression of the hardships we are undergoing here (lets just say Sarah has foresworn ever getting on an Ulsterbus ever again, having been spoiled by the likes of Crucero Del Norte here).

However, on this particular day, we have no photographs because we were running around (figuratively) like blue-arses flies trying to get money changed before we crossed into Argentina. It goes like this:

If I go to an ATM in Argentina, the exchange rate is A$10.5 pesos to the pound. If I go to an Casa de Cambio in Paraguay with Guaraní I get A$1 to every 460-500 Guaraní. At an ATM in Paraguay I get P$7500 to the pound, or rather approximately A$15 to the pound, after all that mucking about.

The Casas De Cambio in Paraguay advertise their exchange rates on boards outside the office. At P$500 to the peso we get approximated A$14.5 pesos to the pound, substantially better than the official rate in Argentina (commission is already built into the exchange rate, which is nice). HOWEVER it has to be done in cash. And it's New Years Eve in South America. Everything is closed (didn't bloody think of that yesterday, did I?)

We walk around the world to try and find the little exchange place that we saw yesterday, but it refuses to be found (how very Paraguayan). Eventually we make our way back to the main Plaza De Armas and begin to fret when it appears all banks are shut. Stumble upon a Moneygram offering A$1 for P$480, which is very acceptable, and attempt to change our cash. Ah, but we need our passports. And when do you close? In one hour? There's a phrase that springs to mind that rhymes with 'clucking bell'.

Back to the hostel in a massive flap, twenty minutes away, and gather our stuff together, check out (marginally later) and with passport in hand I run back to the Moneygram. I do not recommend this course of action, however I was suffering from terrible swollen fingers and legs, and Sarah had advised that this was due to poor circulation. I didn't have any trouble with circulation at the end of that run let me tell you (though I had sweated away a gallon or so of valuable water). I amuse Sarah (later, much later) with reminiscences of Birds Of A Feather's Dorian "Horses sweat, men perspire, women glow". We were sweating.

At Moneygram I have a pleasant chat in Spanish with the guy at the counter who has noticed the Israeli stamps in my passport; he lived there for two years working on a kibbutz, and I am once again surprised by this little country that no one ever goes to. Our exchange done, we did each other a happy new year, and I run back to the hostel. I am quite sure I do not smell very good right now (aside: for what its worth, I have been using Nivea roll on deodorant here, and it hasn't let me down yet).

So far, frantic but successful. Out the door, onto a bus bound for the border. A lot less hectic that at Ciudad Del Este, here we pull into a small slip road outside town, where Sarah and I get quickly stamped out of Paraguay, and jump onto the next bus, gliding across the bridge into Argentina. The view is pretty fancy, but no chance of photos as we cling on for dear life underneath the weight of our rucksacks. Customs at Posadas is formal, everyone off the bus and into a queue in a small office, where we are politely asked our business, but let into Argentina without bother. So far all border checks have been straightforward, and any little pieces of paper the guidebooks have suggested mean life-or-death for the wandering backpacker have be utterly unnecessary. You still get a small fear when you are doing it, but nothing untoward has happened yet. It's very much business as usual.

Our bus gets a good going-over by the Argentines, and once we are all cleared we climb aboard and cruise into the town of Posadas. The bus takes a quick right turn and deposits us close to our hostel, the only one in the city (and it shows). Hostel Linda is a little rough and ready in places, for example our toilet could have used an actual flushing mechanism rather than relying on us to pull the plug out, and the rooms are on the small side, but then we aren't paying a fortune to be here (especially after the exchange rate).

Showered! Changed! Clothes are washed and I have just lost a small sock down the plughole! But according to the guy on duty today it isn't a problem! I have less socks now. Time for a walk to the shops. Some shifty looking children hanging around the communal area ask 'Where are you from?' and I recognise their German accents. I attempt some German. We all realise this is futile as these guys speak English. We make plans to celebrate New Years together later on over an amount of beer and bad craic. Out we go.

Big metal statue at the artesian market celebrating the Argentina addiction to Yerba Maté.

We walk and lots of things are closed. Nay, everything is closed. We find a small and not very good cafe for lunch where Sarah gets a terrible hotdog and I have a reasonable milanese sandwich. We also have to drink Budweiser which upsets me a bit.

Afterwards we resolve to find a supermarket and get supplies for that evening. We again encounter the problem that to buy large bottles of beer in South America you need to trade in the equivalent number of empty big bottles. Instead we pay a deposit. Big bottles of Quilmes are $12.20 each with a $6 deposit. And buy 2 get 1 free. Nothing to complain about.

At the hostel we discover our troupe of Europeans has expanded to include a Frenchman who lives in Dublin, a girl from Barcelona, another from the Netherlands, and a Paraguayan who looks a lot like Jack Black in Nacho Libre. Sarah has a run-in with an grumpy Italian with a beard in our room who just skulks around looking disgruntled. The young Bavarians are good fun, but spend the whole time here either intoxicated or suffering the ill-effects of it. The girls are serious and the boys are carefree, lounging around the pool or sleeping. A few beers are imbibed, video-chatting with home takes place, and best wishes are offered;  then all us Europeans become friendly, and head out to a bar at 11.30pm in search of the new year.

Instead of a fiesta we find this giant caterpillar. Posadas is deserted. We wander to the riverside and find a few forlorn souls sitting and watching the Paraguayans pull in the new year with all the gunpowder they could find. The difference is unnerving on our first night in Argentina. Is this the stark reality of life here? Just a lot less fun that everywhere else? 

Laura, Georg, Sarah, Azarah, Sebastian, Tim, Lees, Sonya and Jonas.

We walk to the city centre, and theres a deathly silence there too. A local guy and girl appear, and lead us to the other side of town again, where at least this time we find a bar, yet it is as deserted as everywhere else. It turns out that Argentines don't go out til 3am. We are 2 hours too early. The Italian guy follows the girl into the bar and we all decide to say 'to hell with this' and go back to the hostel, where a bottle of sparking Argentine Rosé wine ushers in the new year for Sarah and I. Plans are afoot to catch up on correspondence the next day and find out if Posadas is really the end of the fun as we know it.

Happy new year everyone :)