Monday, 28 January 2019
Asuncion, Paraguay
0500hrs alarm call. Shuttle bus to airport. Not as busy as a UK airport at this time. And no beer swilling tourists going to Benidorm. Quite refined by comparison.
Can see there’s a lot of bags being confiscated on the earlier flight to Sao Paulo and being checked in at the gate. That won’t do. Position myself in the queue behind a big bloke. Trying to hide my oversized and substantially overweight bag behind me. They’re going up and down the queue checking. Turning my body towards them so bag is constantly hidden from view. A family in front is fortunately stopped with their bags so slip through without further ado whilst they concentrate on others.
3hr layover in Sao Paulo Guarulhos so a lot more relaxing transiting the airport this time. Flight on time and 2hrs later land in Asuncion. Capital of Paraguay. It’s hot. Very hot. 37C hot. Had to fill in a customs declaration on flight to enter country. Pass through passport control but the lad on customs duty is too busy concentrating on his mobile phone rather than stopping people to put their bags through the X-ray and stamp the customs declaration. Sneak past quietly seeing how far I can get without being noticed. I know. I’m difficult not to be noticed. Keep walking and soon find myself outside without having had any customs checks.
Jump in taxi and tell him I want to go to the Bourbon Asuncion hotel (https://www.bourbon.com.br/hotel/upscale-en/convention-hotel-en/bourbon-conmebol-assuncao-convention-hotel-2/?lang=en). 5mins drive away. That’s far too short a journey for him so have to get out and get in a second taxi. A young lad. Assume there must be a pecking order. The older ones get the juicy journeys. The younger ones do the small trips.
Admin afternoon. People need to know things. Yes. Credit card received in Belo Horizonte. Both the home envelope and the DHL envelope had been opened, so assume a customs check. Credit card remains safely hidden inside the village newsletter.
Have been decarbonating my body for a few days. No carbonated drinks. Well. Apart from the odd small beer. Preparing for high altitude. Shall be up at about 13,000ft on Wednesday. Doctor prescribes acetazolamide. Its pharmaceutical use is to treat glaucoma. But also used to help mitigate the effects of high altitude. Side effects include headaches, urination, and a tingling in the fingers.
Yep. The drugs are working.