A new village

 Me, Hector, and Rafael. We had just cooked a dinner together of rice, salad, and meat. We then drank erva mate from Argentina from Hector's chimarrao.

Hector, from Peru, who speaks his indigenous language in addition to 7 others, had ridden South America for 2 years on his bike but doesn't ride or run (ex-marathoner) anymore due to knee issues. He has traveled more in South American than most men. He was my first camp mate, and then Rafael arrived, a Paulista. He has travelled extensively throughout South American as well and spoke highly of the North, especially Salvador.

I took a short local bus for $R3.4 to Cidade de Leste in Paraguay. No visa needed. It was an anarchist paradise, with humans crawling in crowded commerce. Prices suddenly dropped 4 times. On the streets were fakes of everything, and inside the modern malls the prices were as low as US prices. Given that imported items in Brasil are extraordinarily high, it was phenomenal that one could walk across a river and see the results of lack of government intervention. Everything is for sale in Paraguay. Vitamin supplements I never thought I would see again were in several stores.

When I arrived in Brasil I believed I could get whatever I needed if something broke or wore out, like a pair of socks, shorts, or shirt. I was shocked that in Brasil, a self-sufficient country, was so outrageously expensive for goods. Yet across the river the madness ends and beautiful anarchy begins. I did not bring a camera with me yesterday, but tomorrow I will.

I will now ride through Paraguay to investigate the possibilities there.