Crossing the border

“Pardon me, can you tell me how to get a bus to Posadas?” I can’t believe I’m asking how to take a bus to another country for the day. “Just cross the street and get on any bus labeled Posadas-Encarnation.” Really, it’s that easy? Turns out, yes. You can take what amounts to a city bus from Encarnation, Paraguay to Posadas, Argentina. Just make sure you get off twice – once at the Paraguayan border and once at the Argentinean border (don’t ask me why all those people didn’t get off the bus, trust me its better to get your passport stamped). Oh – and take all your stuff because you might not be getting on the same bus you got off if it has driven on before you get done. They don’t wait for you. But the good news is even if it is a different bus you won’t need to buy a new ticket (after all there isn’t exactly anywhere else you could have come from). Did I mention the Argentina immigration officials will have difficulty believing this is your first entry into Argentina? They’re probably wondering why start with Posadas? It is not that it is an unpleasant town, it is just that it is a border river town. The highlight is a bricked walkway running beside the river and the good food you can find across the street (personally I recommend the pumpkin ravioli). Still you can tell you’re in a different country (a 20 minute bus ride away). People seem a little better off, the buses are newer…Be warned though that the town takes a 3 hour siesta around 2 pm. You might want to wait to eat until then otherwise you won’t be able to find anything to do except wander around town looking at the closed shop doors. But it is true – you can take the city bus to another country, and it will only cost you $1.