Paseo - Paraguay E-Book

Elke Elisabeth da Gloria

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 129

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

In short stories, the author reports on her authentic experiences and everyday life during a stay of several years in Paraguay. The text is rounded off with extensive photographic material. Paraguay is characterised by its magnificent nature, the diversity of tropical trees and plants, a splendour of flowers all year round, the hustle and bustle of the cities, a tropical climate with temperatures of over 40 degrees, poor road conditions, police controls and dogs living in the wild, but also by the friendliest people in South America. Photos show life in Paraguay, Paraguayan architecture and artists, the capital Asuncion, the pilgrimage town of Caacupe, the Marianela monastery, the Yguazu waterfalls with the neighbouring Yguazu bird park and much more.

Leseprobe

Introduction

We may travel the world, to find the beautiful.

But we have to carry it within us, otherwise we won't find it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The joy of looking and understanding is the most beautiful gift of nature.

Albert Einstein

We want to walk cheerfully through room after room,

I am not attached to any of them like a home.

The spirit of the world will not bind us and narrow us.

He wants to lift us step by step, to widen us.

As soon as we are at home in a circle of life

and confidentially acclimatized so threatens to slacken.

Only those who are ready to set out and travel,

may break free from paralyzing habit.

It will perhaps also be the hour of death

send us young towards new spaces.

Life's call to us will never end.

Well then, heart, take your leave and be well.

Hermann Hesse

Recognizing the world, observing it, is more and more like discovering a body.

An animated and living body, all of whose limbs are connected to one another.

To discover this great cosmic body is to approach, in the same movement of its soul to approach that which animates it, informs it and gives it the being that it is.

Jean Yves Leloup

Planning my emigration

The prehistory in Spain

On Friday, March 13, 2020, I strolled through Almunecar with Anna, whom I met at the 'Friends Meeting' in Salobrena, still quite free and easy. We strolled along the brightly lit promenade along the Mediterranean beach and watched a romantic sunset by the sea. It was a pleasantly fresh night with a sea breeze and the sweet scent of orange blossom. The public garden El Parque Majuelo was already closed. I could only see the fantastic sculptures from a distance through the fence. I felt excluded. The Mercado Mercadillo had suddenly closed overnight without prior notice. There were only a few young people in the bars. And the beach discos were deserted. Sporty-looking young people strolled casually ahead of us, but at some point we lost sight of them. A two-man band was playing in an elegant hotel and some couples were dancing a foxtrot. Anna had been living in Spain for several years and had a lot to say.

The beginning of a crisis

On Monday, March 16, 2020, my agent wanted to pick up the new license plates in Granada from Traffico, the Spanish traffic authority. I received a voice message from her in the morning saying that Traffico would be completely closed from the same day due to Corona and that she would not be able to pick up the license plate as she would only be able to get the Spanish license plate in person.

Three months earlier, I had moved my car from Portugal (Sao Miguel, Azores) to Spain in order to explore Spain for a while on my way to the Republic of Altai (Russia). With the lockdown in Spain, the borders to Russia were closed at almost the same time. My dream of living in Russia's Altai Republic and building a log cabin there was completely dashed. Although I can cope with loneliness, I felt depressed at times during the lockdown as I couldn't travel within Spain and had to spend the whole day indoors. As I hardly knew anyone, I felt I was in the wrong place in this country and at this time. A pilgrim like me needs a good dose of exercise in nature every day.

Living in Spain had never been an option for me, but when I lived there I discovered a fascinating medieval Arabic architecture.

When I finally found a private teacher for Spanish lessons after some time, the first hard lockdown was declared and then extended several times.

So I was literally stuck in Orgiva, a mountain village in the middle of the Alpujarra mountains. The terraced house I was living in was in need of renovation and totally filthy. The kitchen was miserably equipped and dilapidated. You can get out of the habit of cooking in a kitchen like that. The boiler leaked after a short time, so I could only shower with cold water. But the house did have one advantage: the built-in wood-burning stove in the living room was wonderful.

During the winter months, I heated with olive wood, sat in front of the flickering fire on cold winter evenings and thought about how my life should go on. The front door was warped, so the cold from outside kept coming into the house. Not ideal, rather unhealthy living.

The toothless removal man, to whom I gave an almost new wood-burning stove for his yurt for his services in Orgiva, lost his cell phone after a short time and could no longer be reached. He had absconded. There was dog excrement everywhere on the sidewalks of Orgiva. That's why I mostly walked on the street. Unkempt hippies sat with their dogs on almost every corner or in street cafés in Orgiva.

But I had a fantastic view of the mountains and a roof terrace that stretched across the entire house. For the first time in my life, I was able to sunbathe extensively during the sunny months and felt very attractive with tanned skin all over.

I was not allowed to drive without a Spanish license plate, so my car was parked for a very long time in the private parking lot of the landlord across the street.

The weeks in lockdown passed and my patience had reached a certain limit. One day I read on the Internet that you can order license plates online in Germany.

I immediately contacted my agent and asked her whether this was also possible in Spain.

Fortunately, she organized a Spanish car number through a colleague in Granada.

Then it finally arrived, the long-awaited number, but my car's tires were flat.

First I got both license plates on foot in Orgiva, then I drove with flat tires as carefully as possible to the nearest garage. There, both license plates were fitted and the tires made ready to drive. Hallelujah, I was allowed to drive again.

Dutiful as I was, I immediately drove to my agent in Salobrena to pay my bill. I found out that I wasn't allowed to drive out of Orgiva due to strict Covid travel restrictions. I was lucky that I wasn't checked.

Back in January, I heard from Monika, who wanted to emigrate to Paraguay with her boyfriend, how beautiful Paraguay was supposed to be, how easy it would be to enter the country and how cheaply you could live there.

But I had plans for Russia, but the borders to the Altai region of my dreams were closed.

The lockdown in Spain began on March 16, 2020.

Monika's boyfriend landed in Málaga on March 15. The plan was for him to stay with his internet girlfriend, whom he had never met before, for ten days to get to know her. However, his return flight was postponed several times due to the repeatedly extended lockdown.

As a result, he inevitably had the "pleasure" of being allowed to stay in Spain for three months.

I therefore had the opportunity to meet him several times and get detailed first-hand information about Paraguay, because he already had a cedula, the Paraguayan residence permit, and he knew his way around Paraguay.

It took me a few weeks to finally say goodbye to my Altai dream and decide in favor of Paraguay. After all, I had already invested two years in Russian lessons. Despite my lack of knowledge of Spanish, I finally decided on the country in South America. A pilgrim always looks forward, never back.

Monika's friend put me in touch with Peter Kunzmann (transportation company in Germany) and later with a real estate agent in Paraguay. Peter Kunzmann organized all the documents for the cedula (residence permit) from Germany and later in Paraguay.

As he only organizes containers between Germany and Paraguay, he put me in touch with the cargo company Kris Thiessen in Paraguay. Kris organized the container, flight and entry permit. I rented a house for about two months and paid in advance, but kept the option of moving out early if I found a suitable property.

I sold my car in Orgiva to a neighbor. Her father Mario organized the journey and loading of the container as well as the verbal termination of my terraced house and drove me to Málaga airport. I felt well looked after and in good hands.

Thanks to Mario and his daughter, the formalities for selling the car were also perfectly organized. And yet emigrating from Europe to South America was a very exciting and thrilling affair, involving a huge amount of bureaucracy and formalities.

The day the container arrived, I was insanely nervous. Although I had nothing to do except photograph the loading layer by layer to send the photos to Kris later for customs and to sign the transportation contract.

I was ready to jump in at the deep end.

The miracle of Málaga

On October 16, 2020, Mario drove me to Malaga airport early in the morning. I was shocked to discover that my companion was not allowed to come with me until check-in. Accompanying persons were not allowed in the airport hall. As I hardly spoke a word of Spanish, I felt quite insecure without him. I actually got into trouble because I couldn't show any valid health insurance. No boarding pass without health insurance. I was in shock. I went to the side and thought about what to do. I stood there for a long time and calmed down again. There was no way I was going to change my booking and stay in a hotel until I had organized a CT. When the last person in line at the counter had been processed, I went back to the counter and asked the stewardess how I could get health insurance. Via the Internet, she advised me. Suddenly Kris came to mind. I quickly wrote her a short message and asked her to send me an application for Paraguayan health insurance immediately.

Within a minute I received a certificate of registration for Paraguayan health insurance.

The lady at the counter quickly checked all the documents I had on my cell phone and printed out my boarding card as quickly as possible. I was the last passenger to arrive at the gate.

I had to change planes in Madrid. There I was told that I couldn't show any papers. I had to wait on the side, but the flight attendant who had given me my boarding pass in Málaga was standing there again. She briefly explained the situation to her colleague and I was able to board the plane.

When I later met Kris in person, she told me that I was very lucky, because she was normally so busy that she couldn't always answer the phone straight away.

The first weeks in Paraguay

Chaos at Pettirossi Airport, Asuncion

The masks used in the aircraft were disposed of after leaving the aircraft.

All passengers were given new sterile masks. Even the baggage claim area took longer than usual. There was chaos in an airport hall that was far too small, as well as dense crowds and slow progress. Despite all this, the passengers waited calmly and extremely patiently for what was to come: passport control.

I carefully pushed my luggage trolley through the crowd, in the opposite direction to the flow, believing I would find the right exit at the end of the hall.

When I finally arrived at the end of the hall, there was no way forward because of barriers. Where was the actual exit? I asked an airport official who was standing nearby. She pointed in the other direction, the direction I had just come from. A woman of the same faith as me stood next to me, completely irritated, and asked me in German where the exit was. "We have to go back," I said to her.

It was very hot in the hall and the stuffy air made it hard to breathe. Slowly, very slowly, the crowd moved forward. Then there was a thorough check of my documents, which I had in my cell phone. At passport control, I was asked where I was staying. I explained to the control lady that Peter Kunzmann had organized the Cedula and Kris the container.

Both people were well known. I made a note in my notebook and was able to show the addresses and all the other necessary residential details. The entry form that I had received in Málaga and filled out on the plane was retained.

But first we went to the Westfalenhof quarantine hotel in Asuncion for a week. The shuttle bus was waiting on the tarmac for passengers. After an exhausting journey, I finally got on the bus and opened my cell phone. A message from Kris had arrived: "You have to get back to the tarmac. The shuttle bus is waiting for you there."

Silvio Pettirossi was born on 16.06.1887 in Asuncion.

His father, Antimo Pettirossi, was an Italian citizen.

His mother Rufina Pereira Roldan was a Paraguayan citizen.

Silvio Pettirossi became a lieutenant in the 1st Cavalry of the Paraguayan Army and the father of Paraguayan aviation.

The international airport of Paraguay, several streets, squares and buildings, sports clubs, the Aeroclub of Paraguay, the San Bernadino Sports Flying Club, they all bear his name.

Silvio Pettirossi had a fatal accident at the age of 29 during a test flight in Argentina.

Quarantine at the Hotel Westfalenhof

The quarantine consisted of the following rules: no visitors in the room. Three meals plus afternoon coffee were provided in a room on the first floor on a table next to your personal room number. You went down an outside staircase one at a time, keeping a safe distance, to collect your meal. As soon as one guest was back upstairs, the next went down the stairs. There was a separate room where the meals, sterilely packed in plastic dishes, were available especially for hotel guests. The kitchen informed all guests by telephone in their rooms that the food was ready and could be picked up.

After the meal, we went back downstairs one by one to dispose of the disposable dishes and leftovers wrapped up in a plastic bag. You had to clean the hotel room yourself.

Cleaning products were provided. Laundry was to be pre-washed by hand in the sink before being placed in a plastic bag. Mail, money and information from outside were placed on the stairs. The receptionist, who also spoke German, informed us in advance by house phone. He waited downstairs at a safe distance to ensure that the delivery was accepted by the right person. A second PCR test was carried out on Thursday. The result came back on Friday. I was officially allowed to leave the hotel on Saturday. A driver from Peter Kunzmann picked me up and drove me to Horge Naville.

The first impressions of Paraguay passed me by during the journey.

The house in Horge Naville

The estate agent met me outside the house. She had kindly and as discussed not only bought some groceries for the weekend, but also organized a router. So I had Internet reception straight away. Contrary to the agreement, the house had not been cleaned. But we sat on the terrace for a while and chatted. I received the first warnings and information about buying property and a car, contracts, the police and rules of the road.