Quick question—what do you know about Paraguay?

I know, right?

Since Paraguay sits right across from Foz de Iguaçu, Brazil, I’ve learned a little bit about it. I ventured into Ciudad del Este, the border town, once. Paraguayans speak Spanish and Guarani, they drink tereré, Brazilians love to shop there because goods are cheaper, and Paraguayans love to drive to Florianópolis in Brazil because they live in a landlocked country.

Feng and I had never bothered to cross into Paraguay because it was the only country in South America that required a visa for Canadians and a few other nationalities. But French passport holders don’t need a visa, and lo and behold, when I did some research, I discovered that the visa requirement had been suspended for Canadians on August 13, 2024, for three years—thank you Ley N° 7314.

I no longer had an excuse to skip Paraguay.

I Googled around—huh, not a lot of info about Paraguay.

I booked an Airbnb in a neighbourhood of Asunción, the capital, that looked safe enough. I got my yellow fever vaccine, possibly required by Paraguay for travellers from Brazil. I went to the cambio and exchanged 500 reais for 600,000 guaraníes. I practised saying gracias after weeks of obrigada.

And there I was, in Foz do Iguaçu, wondering how the fuck to cross the border.

My issue was purely logistical. The 550-metre-long Ponte da Amizade / Puente de la Amistad across Rio Paraná connects both countries. I had to figure out how to get from my Airbnb to the Brazilian customs at one end of the bridge to get my exit stamp, then cross the bridge, get my entry stamp in Paraguay, and find the bus terminal to catch the 11:40 bus to Asunción.

I considered taking an Uber. The problem was, a Brazilian Uber would drop me off at the Brazilian immigration—they don’t cross the bridge, and it’s a long walk with a backpack when it’s 40°C. Also, there was no guarantee I’d find an Uber or taxi on the Paraguayan side to take me to the bus terminal. Tons of mototaxis, yes, but a car…?

I sent a quick message to my Airbnb host asking for border crossing advice. “My mum is going to call you in a minute,” she texted back. “She knows everything about Foz do Iguaçu!”

Great. A Portuguese test over the phone. Just what I needed. But it turned out that I do understand Portuguese over the phone. Crazy.

“Don’t take an Uber, you’re going to get stuck at the bridge,” the lovely mum advised. “The bus stops in front of the supermarket. It will take you straight to the bus terminal in Asunción.”

“But unlike locals, I have to get my passport stamped in both Brazil and Paraguay!” I explained.

“Right. So ask the bus driver to stop for you, get your stamp, and wait for the next bus.”

Doable, but it was going to take forever—buses run every half hour… or whenever.

“I’m going to test the border crossing route,” I told Feng later that night. “I’ll try to buy a SIM card in Paraguay as well.”

On Wednesday, I walked to the bus stop and waited for it to show up. It took a while, so I made new friends—Brazilians crossing into Paraguay for fun and possibly a cheap lunch.

The bus eventually arrived. It zipped through Foz, crossed the bridge, and went straight to the bus terminal in Paraguay without stopping at either immigration checkpoint.

“I don’t need to stop,” I told my new Brazilian friends. “I’m just doing a bate e volta.”

My use of this very Brazilian expression made them laugh. “Você brasileira!”

The Ciudad del Este bus terminal was a pleasant surprise. Because the bridge and the main shopping street are so chaotic, I had expected the rest of the city to be the same. But it was quiet and seemed safe.

We had a coffee at the bus terminal. I bought a SIM card, checked out a nearby Paraguayan supermarket, and then hopped onto a colourful local bus back to the bridge.

Then suddenly, I had an idea. I ran it by my new Brazilian friends.

“I have my passport. What if I get it stamped today to avoid stopping at immigration tomorrow? That way, I can just take the bus and go straight to the terminal like today.”

They found the idea hilarious. “Let’s try!”

I stepped into the Paraguayan immigration checkpoint. “Hola, going to spend ten days in your lovely country…”

My passport was stamped, no questions asked, and no yellow fever certificate required.

“Awesome! Now let’s walk across the bridge and I’ll get my Brazilian exit stamp.”

And so I did. Never mind I had no luggage, the friendly Policia Federal agents didn’t bat an eye—I guess they see weirder things at the border…

I was thrilled with my border hack, and I felt ready for my actual border crossing the following day.