Train to Posadas

From the Costanera in Encarnación, there is a clear view to Posadas, Argentina. After four days in Encarnación, we think it might be fun to see what’s on the other side of the river. We want to be back in Encarnación for Carnaval on Saturday, so we have 36 hours free to see something new.

To get to Posadas from Encarnación, there are two main options. 1) Take the white international bus; or 2) Take the international train. The advantage to the bus is we know it picks up outside the bus station, but the disadvantage is it can take a long time and you have to play the Paraguay-border-crossing-in-a-bus game. This means telling the bus driver you want to get out to get a Paraguayan exit stamp and then getting on the next bus to continue your journey (with the original ticket). Then getting out again to get the Argentinian stamp. The international train is really short once you’re on it (10 minutes) and avoids all the border silliness because the Paraguayan and Argentinian border guards are literally behind the same counter on the Posadas side. The disadvantage to the train is it’s quite a bit further south than the bus station and our apartment is across the river in the north. That means the train is a 3.5 mile walk from our house.

We almost certainly could have taken a bus to the train station, but despite four days in Encarnación, we haven’t figured out the city buses at all. The city is pretty walkable, so we haven’t found it necessary. And by the time we were ready to go to the train, it was a bit late to try to figure it out, so we suited up with all our gear and began the hot walk in 100 degree temperatures. It took about 90 minutes to get there with one small break. Thank goodness for the Camelbak water bladders we received as a wedding gift. We use them practically every day and definitely needed them on this trek.

At the train station we purchased two tickets to Posadas. Only after we paid 12,000 guaranís ($2) did we realize the tickets are cheaper if you pay in pesos (56 pesos = $1.51). We hadn’t even thought to check, but we noted that for the way back since we have pesos. The trains from Encarnación to Posadas run every 30 minutes on the hour and 30 past the hour. When the train pulls in, it is just two small carriages. Within 15 minutes we were across the river and going through immigration.

It’s not immediately clear which nationality border guards were behind the window, so Jess handed over her valid passport without Paraguayan visa. The Argentinian border guard stamped the passport and then handed it to the Paraguayan who could not find the visa. Jess handed over the passport with the Paraguayan visa and the Paraguayan border guard nodded and then stamped the valid passport. Easy as pie! After passing through immigration, we had to clear customs. Since we didn’t have anything to declare, we sailed through.

We found our Airbnb and dropped our bags and promptly set off again to explore the city. Posadas is roughly two times the size of Encarnación, but there still doesn’t seem to be much to see or do there. We tried to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, but it was closed. We saw the pink cathedral and a fun statue of a guy drinking maté. We decided to find a park to drink our own maté and finish our third cribbage season. Unfortunately, the Plaza 9 de Julio had a lot of homeless people living in it and didn’t seem to be the nicest place to hang out, so we went to the Plaza San Martin instead. After Jess’s spectacular cribbage victory, we went in search of the Costanera and some ice cream. The Costanera in Posadas is fantastic. It is very well lit and is bustling well into the evening. People set up lawn chairs and small tables and drink mate, eat dinner, hang out with friends while the sun goes down. There are joggers, cyclists, people out for a stroll. There’s a boardwalk out over the river that is lit up at night and has a fantastic view of Encarnación. After strolling down the boardwalk for a while, we went in search of dinner and found a restaurant called Marandú.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was 8pm and we were the only people in the restaurant. That’s not usually a great sign, but the waiter was very attentive, and we were very hungry. He recommended calzones, which they make with cassava, so we ordered two and two caipirinhas. The calzones were pretty delicious, although the cassava dough is quite chewy. They must have looked pretty yummy because halfway through our meal, a cockroach appeared on the table and started charging right at Jess’s plate. We shooed it away, and the waiter came over, rather embarrassed, and explained how there was a gap in the floor that needed to be sealed up and that’s how the cockroaches got in. We’re not sure it would have made much difference which table we were at, but we did find it odd that we were sitting at the one table in the restaurant that has a cockroach sized hole underneath it since we were the only people there. Before we left, the waiter recommended an all-you-can eat buffet at Novo Rodeio back in Encarnación not too far from the train station to check out when we went back the next day.

The next morning we woke up and went to Café Colón for coffee before heading back to the train station to Encarnación. We had intended to try out the international bus on the way back, but the train station was so close to our Airbnb and we were curious about this all-you-can-eat place near the train station on the other side. The train was as easy on the way back as it was on the way out. Border control for both countries is on the Posadas side and the trains run every 30 minutes at 15 and 45 past the hour. This time we remembered to use pesos for the discount. When we got to the other side, we walked to Novo Rodeio and found the all-you-can-eat buffet for 80,000 guaraní ($13) per person. It looked pretty delicious and the waiters come around with lots of delicious looking meat, so we decided to splurge. There were all sorts of vegetables, ceviche, sushi, soup, salads, pastas, hot dishes and the meat was delicious. We ate as much as we could and then set off to find a bus to our hostel. The first and last bus we took in Encarnación went almost all the way to our new home for the night.