Visiting Karen in Paraguay

At last the road dried up so Karen could take us to her little town of Monte Rosario. We drove an hour from Villarrica on asphalt and another hour on dirt/mud before making the 4 km hike. On our walk we passed an entire family who was cutting sugar cane. Only the ones who were too little to work sat waiting in the shade on a blanket. It was a toasty walk for us, and I couldn't imagine being out there cutting cane!




Karen showed us several demonstration fields that she's planted on her own. Tom was impressed to see her thriving corn field. After the corn reaches a certain height or stage she will add in the green manures to fortify the soil and help the corn grow.





The host mom greeted us with hugs and kisses. A little sweat and mud didn't bother her! They invited us over for terere which is drunk communal style...you can see Dan partaking in the picture. He drank and ate all that was offered to him. Karen's family invited us to eat lunch with them which was rice, broth, and a chicken leg...and boiled sweet potato on the side! It was all tasty, especially after that hot walk.



Karen has a veggie garden right outside her house. Since my visit in May she's done a lot to fortify the surrounding fence from those hungry chickens. Dan enjoyed all the animals at the homestead - chickens and chicks, pigs (one was already dubbed "the Christmas Pig"), cows, Lassie and Lassie (all dogs are called Lassie), cats, and Karen's horse which Dan mounted...but the horse didn't go. That might have been a good thing.


One interesting creature in Villarrica is the cayabara, the largest rodent in the world. These buck toothed, short-legged 100+ pound babes are native to South America's floodplains and humid forests, you know, just like the city park in Villarrica! Karen knew this would be of great interest to Dan and so, after three trips to the park we finally encountered one!



Dan said he wants to go back and spend a week with Karen and help her in her fields, enjoy the animals, and hang out with her family. She has such a hard-working, giving family who can make anyone feel a part of the family.






In house-keeping news, I delivered several airline tickets to Karen who, in turn, was to deliver them to her Peace Corps pals at the Thanksgiving feast. It was a great trip and we can't wait to see her at Christmas!


Here is a short video clip of Dan crossing the log into Karen's community. Click the play button twice to start.