Our road trip has finally begun and in the afternoon we reach Ciudad del Este, right on the border with Brazil. In fact, the city is simply called “City of the East”. In addition to the charm of a border and industrial city, Ciudad del Este has a large waterfall to offer, because the great Paraná River falls down here.

We visit the Salto de Monday, as this waterfall is called, and make our way to our first Couchsurfing host.

Arsenio is already retired and lives with his wife in a feudal estate. It’s a bit strange. He shows us the kitchen where we can cook and our room that we have to ourselves. But we don’t have much interaction with each other. Sara doesn’t speak Spanish and Arsenio doesn’t speak English.

Only later in the evening do I have a conversation with Arsenio in which we talk about the area. He himself still teaches mathematics at the university and regularly travels with his wife to their home country of Brazil. That’s where we will go to tomorrow.