Paraguay- outskirts of Asuncion

I was able to go on a day trip to about 8 cities/towns around Asuncion.  There were two other women with me - from Sao Paulo! The guide spoke the native Paraguayan language, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.  Many Brazilians can understand Spanish even though they cannot speak it.  Portuguese was the guide's least fluent language so she started off giving all the info in Spanish, then as the day went on, changed to Portuguese.  I had to concentrate really hard all day.  I did ok when she was speaking in Spanish and less ok with the Portuguese, but she was good about speaking slowly.  The other women were also good about speaking slowly and we had a good day.

This town was famous for ceramics

This town was famous for ceramics

This town was famous for ceramics

We visited this amazing church that was made by aboriginals and was completely made of wood. 

Asuncion, Paraguay

Anyone that knows me know that one of my biggest goal in life is to visit 100 countries.  I moved to Brazil this summer and while I am here, I want to visit all the countries in South America and the Caribbean while I'm close.

Paraguay is not known as a tourist country, but it is only a two hour flight from Sao Paulo so I decided to head over there for Carnaval.  Paraguay has one UNESCO site(the least visited UNESCO site in the world) - some Jesuit missions- and I really wanted to go.  Sadly, it did not work out.  You can take rickety busses to Encarnacion and then do a mix of worse busses and hitch hiking to get the rest of the way.  Encarnacion is the only city in Paraguay that does Carnaval so it was a little crazy right now and I just didn't feel safe doing all that alone.  I checked with two tour places who tried to match me up with someone else that wanted to go (to go by myself would be really expensive) but it didn't work out.  I decided to be ok with it. 
The currency is crazy!  about 5500 guarani per dollar - so my hair cut that was 140,000 was about 25 USD.


I spent the first two nights in the historic downtown at the Cecilia hotel (the workers were super nice trying to help me get to the missions). I walked around, visited at old train station, read in the park, etc. 

The train museum was pretty interesting and it was nice to be in the shade and out of the heat.

Dining car that you can go into

I moved to a different hotel for the last three nights - Esplendor Wyndham - which I got for an amazing price because it's Paraguay!


The neighborhood around it was not very walkable, but there were some malls nearby so I walked in those and got a haircut!!  I haven't gotten it trimmed since May and it was getting really stringy.  My hair has always been fine and thin, but since I got sick (with Lupus) it has been pretty non-existent.  Going to a new hairdresser is stressful.  They are always horrified at my hair and ask if I have cancer.  When I say I don't, they ask if I've seen a doctor because it looks like I'm sick.  Then I feel like I have to explain and then they talk about stuff to regrow my hair, wigs, etc.  The whole thing is uncomfortable and I figured with Brazil's focus on looks, it would be even worse there.  So I have avoided getting my hair cut.  The guys at the Paraguayan salon were nice.  The first guy washed my hair for like 12 minutes. Which was weird since I have so little hair!!  Then the guy cutting it acted like there was actual hair to cut - took like 30 minutes.  I had this great lady in Mumbai - She'd squirt my hair a few times with a water bottle, snip snip and I was out in 7 minutes!  This whole salon thing was weird, but my hair looks a lot better!!

The view from my hotel

Rooftop pool

Swallowing my pride - Lupus

Not everyone is keen on travelling alone and people ask me about it all the time.  They specifically ask if I'm nervous about travelling with Lupus and what I do if I get sick.  My illness is one of the reasons I LIKE travelling alone because I can take naps etc. and I don't have to feel bad about messing up anyone's plans if I get sick or need to take it easy.

I do a lot of planning for each trip and take precautions for my health.  I can manage it pretty well and have had only had one major incident.  I passed out in a Sri Lankan train station (I was already laying down so it wasn't dramatic)  When I was able, I crawled over to a couple I had heard speak English earlier and had them call my driver.  I felt better a few hours later, but I never did get to ride the train which was my number one reason for going to Sri Lanka!

I had my heart set on this 32 day trip through Central America and the itinerary had a lot of "free days" where we could choose what to do so I figured I could rest when needed.  My insurance from my school pays for evacuation if needed so that was good.  I dedicated myself to my 9:30pm bedtime even if it meant missing out of fun stuff with others.  My goal was to make it through the whole month without an incident.

I did really well!  up until the last two days 😩

The second to last night, I went to some hot springs and could barely walk when I got out - I was hoping it purged the Lupus, but sadly no.  Luming helped me waddle to the changing room to change my clothes then I waddled to the dining room. I get tremors in my hands and legs and it makes it difficult to walk, open things, get dressed, feed myself etc.  Thankfully, this was at the end of the trip and people new me so they were willing to help.  Sage and Daniel went up to the buffet to fill plates for me and they knew what kind of food I like :) My right hand shakes more than my left so I put a spoon or fork in my left hand to help balance the shaky right one so basically I'm shovelling my food in with two utensils.  Sage and Daniel graciously ignored this bizarre situation and I had a delicious dinner.  They helped me get out of my chair and to the front lobby and I took the bus home, thinking I'd be fine after a good night's sleep.

I felt better in the morning and could walk decently as we went looking for sloths, went to the swimming hole, and had lunch.  As lunch was ending, I was having trouble with my hands and could tell I was about to start stuttering.  My body was going down hill fast so I waddled back to the hotel so I could rest a bit before the van ride. We weren't leaving until 2 and we had already checked out so I laid down in a big chair in the lobby. By the time we left, I was worse- Sage and Brayden had to put my shoes on for me and tie them. I got into my seat and hoped the 4.5 hours would go quickly. The lining in my heart and lungs swell up and it hurts really bad. By the time we stopped to pee an hour and a half into the drive, I was crying. I had to be helped to the bathroom because I couldn't move well. James moved some luggage around and pulled down the middle seats so I could lay down. If I lay on my left side, it shifts the fluid in my heart and lung linings and it hurts a bit less and I can breath better.

The whole afternoon was like my worst nightmare. I tried so hard to take care of myself so I didn't have an episode on this trip. I hate when my illness affects other people and here I was laying down while others were all packed together in the van.  I've learned a long time ago you have to swallow your pride when you have a serious chronic illness. I have to ask for help no matter how mortifying it is.  It is scary for people who see it for the first time and I try to reassure them it is " normal" and that I know when I have to seek medical attention. There is always a risk that I could have an episode but if I lived in fear of that I would never do anything. There are people on my Lupus message boards that aren't actually LIVING. They skip their own children's showers or weddings even! Because they don't want people to see they've gained weight from medicine, or they have the huge Lupus rash across their face, or their arms aren't working right. Screw that. Lupus will take my life someday (unless a bus runs over me first) but it hasn't taken my life yet and I'm going to enjoy what I can.

In a few days, I am leaving for Paraguay - alone.  Paraguay is not a tourist country and my Spanish is not strong so I'm hoping that will be able to get around ok and not have any trouble :)