Camping with Class 4

The morning slot Class 4, taught by my colleague Peter, are a social friendship group beyond the classroom, and they invited both of us to go camping for a night in the countryside.

Born in Glasgow, bred in Cambridge, I thought I was already in the countryside because there was a cow grazing outside my door and chickens in the back yard. No such thing. 

Six of us travelled on three motorbikes for three quarters of an hour along dusty red (unpaved) roads and grassy tracks, abandoned the motorbikes when the ground got to rough, and continued on foot until we found our campsite on a kind of red-earth peninsula surrounded on three sides by a ravine carved out by a stream. The only light for miles was our campfire, so we had a great view of the stars. I suspect the 8m drops a few metres away wouldn’t have passed a Guiding risk assessment, especially given the aforementioned darkness…

Fire by night

Fire by day - precipice visible!

 The boys slept out under the stars and the girls slept in the tent (just the inner part with the poles – no pegs, no waterproof cover…).

On the next day we clambered down into the ravine from further along where it was (slightly) more accessible – there was plenty of scrambling, sliding, wading, clutching at hanging roots, etc. We eventually reached a section with lovely clear water for swimming. Afterwards we had to scramble our way back again the same way, but everyone emerged more-or-less undamaged, albeit with a few scratches. 

Rain or Shine

The most difficult aspect of life here is probably just dealing with the heat. High humidity intensifies the already high temperatures, leaving you with no inclination to leave the house between 11am and about 4pm (a preference which can rarely be indulged, as I have a class at 1pm) and a significantly reduced capacity for getting things done. I have invested in a large black umbrella for portable shade. The animals (sensibly) spend their time somnolently spreadeagled on the coolest bit of floor they can find.

Mimi in heat coma

Oli, likewise

However, the sun does not always shine. About two or three times a week, it Rains. When it’s the proper, torrential, capitalise-able kind, the roads turn into rivers and everywhere looks like this:

No-one goes out in this, all the shops shut, children are sent home from school and everyone assumes everything is cancelled until it stops. The surprising thing is that this may still apply if it is drizzling a bit, has been raining and has stopped, or looks like it might rain. In fact, if you put your mind to it you can perfectly well go out in all but the most extreme downpours, making use of your sun umbrella in its waterproof function. 

Technically, the English classes are never cancelled, but the weather can decimate attendance. Those coming from the compañías in the surrounding countryside have a real excuse, as the unsurfaced tracks become slippery and dangerous, but considering how regularly the situation occurs, the universal reaction seems a tad excessive to those born in the west of Scotland.

So what is "tereré"?

Tereré is a drink and a ritual which is both traditional and incredibly popular in Paraguay. The associated equipment consists of a termo (large thermos flask), guampa (the cup) and bombilla (metal filter straw) looks like this:

Esther’s termo is decorated with ñanduti, a special kind of Paraguayan lace. Others are made of blue plastic. I saw some in San Ignacio displayed alongside matching shoes and bags as fashion items.

The flask contains water and lots of ice, plus possibly a herbal “remedio” such as rosemary. The guampa is filled with yerba mate (mate tea leaves) and a little of the water is poured out into it – just enough for a few ice-cold swallows through the bombilla. Repeat. 

Tereré is usually drunk socially, in which case one person pours, offering the guampa to everyone in strict rotation. People take their termos everywhere – taxi and bus drivers in the capital will be drinking tereré with one hand and steering with the other, and everyone on the bus probably has theirs with them too.

Some yerba mate in Demetria's shop.

 I actually tried tereré for the first time with Paraguayan friends in Austria. It is deliciously refreshing in hot weather and I am already looking out for a termo of my own…

Monkeys in the plaza

Santa María was founded in the 1630s as one of the Jesuit Reductions for the indigenous Guarani people, communities which flourished economically and artistically until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768 - more about that another day.

All the Reductions followed a similar layout, centred around a central square (plaza), which remains the heart of the town today. The church is on one side, the sewing cooperative workshop and the four-room hotel on another, and the parish centre and museum of Guarani-Jesuit art occupy the other two, both housed in original casas de indios. The large trees planted in the central space make it an oasis of shade from the blazing sun in the heat of the day.

The Plaza is home to a family of monkeys, which can be coaxed down with a banana...