Monday January 19

When we awoke yesterday in the depressing cool noisey box that was our room at the Plaza Hotel, I got out the guide book and started reading about alternative accomodations. I also unshackled the window of it¨s metal cladding, opened the curtians, folded back the windows and turned off the annoying thrumming of the air conditioning. When Jim came in after his shower he was surprised. Especially when I told him I wanted to check out a different pension up the road!! He´s a good man.
Much as he thought I was crazy, up the road we went. We´re now in a gorgious old old house with a central courtyard and blessed quiet. We then hopped on the bus and after getting off and walking for a couple of hours in extreme heat we found the only book store in Paraguay that carries some English books. Heaven. I felt so indulgent since we spent 680,000 quierani. (don´t panic too much 100,000 is $ 20 US.) I now have four books to read, John Updikes, Seek My Face, Margaret Atwoods Moral Disorder and Dave Eggers What is the What, also a book by an unknown to me author Anne Enright, The Gathering and it won the 2007 Booker. For everyone who knows me, you´ll understand how hard it was for me to be without a good book.
No doubt we will now find a book exchange with cheap or free English books but in case we don´t I´m all set. I didn´t buy a table cloth because I´d have to carry it and now I happily will have to carry four new books.