Yesterday was another fantastic day. Kirsten and I headed into town for lunch with Jerome, who I met for the first time yesterday. Jerome had been a Workaway volunteer at Iparoma Ranch for about six months before I arrived and now lives in Filadelfia.
The two are planning something exciting too — on Halloween they hope to open a small street-food café in town. Jerome is a qualified chef, having trained in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and has worked in Michelin restaurants and on remote European islands. After all that, he now just wants to enjoy a quieter life for a while. He has a two-year visa for Paraguay, and then we’ll see where life takes him!
Later, we picked up a Taiwanese father and son and headed out on a night wildlife tour. Unfortunately, the wildlife wasn’t exactly cooperating! We spotted an owl, a fox and some rabbits, but even the monkeys living around the ranch were nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps with the full moon approaching it was very bright, everyone had decided it was a good night to keep a low profile!
Anthony, the son, was actually born in Paraguay and now helps his father with his business in the free-trade zone on the Paraguay–Brazil border. They live in Asunción, and it was fascinating hearing about the strong connections between Paraguay and Taiwan.
So, not the most successful wildlife tour, but plenty of interesting people, stories and good company — and really, that’s what makes these days so much fun!
