Paudimar is the name of the hostel I´m staying at in western Brazilian countryside, near the borders of Argentina and Paraguay near Iguacu Falls. While still being a cheap youth hostel, it was set on a few acres of land and had a swimming pool, hot tub, an on-premises bar and grill, a soccer field, open grass areas, hammocks for lounging and free internet access. It´s no secret why I decided to stay here for 3 nights!
Aside from my partners to the falls, I´ve met some fun people here as well. For one night I was locked up in the Scandinavian contingent, the next day I chilled with a couple of Austrians, later I banged the soccer ball around in a 2-hour match with some competitive Brits, and I ended last night rabble rousing in the bar and pool with a couple of Irishmen.
Even with the great and relaxing time I´ve had here, it has been a significantly different experience from the other hostels I´ve stayed at in other ways. Unlike the hostel in Rio, this one is dominated by backpackers from wealthy, western countries, and I have had no need to speak anything but English my whole time here. Also, besides not seeing many Americans during my whole time here, I have seen almost no people of color. Of the eight Americans I´ve met on this trip, just today did I meet Leticia, who is Mexican-American and from LA. It seems to me that, from this point on in my trip, to meet an African-American, or any other black person outside of Brazil will be a rarity.
That said, I have encountered no problems throughout my time in South America, and I look forward to the temporary stability I will have in Buenos Aires. There I not only have my language program to start, and a host family to meet, but many other contacts as well. I will leave by "coche cama," the comfortable "sleeper" bus, midday tomorrow, thoroughly relaxed after my time in the backpacker´s paradise.
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