Yes, I'm on the road, again. If you have been following my journey across and up and down South America, you might remember I wrote that I was in Paraguay and planned on staying there. Well, I've changed my mind.

This time my visit to Encarnación was during the summer months - mid-December to early February. And my word, it's hot! After seven years in Tucson, Arizona, and 9 years on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, I thought I was well acclimated to hot weather. But I certainly wasn't acclimated enough for the hot summer in Encarnación!

Now, I've visited Encarnación several time before but those were not during the summer, and the winter/spring/fall seasons are fantastic. And, before I ever first arrived in Paraguay I based my knowledge of their climate on the data on two weather/climate data websites: weatherspark.com and climate-data.org. Now, you might think "Well, those are decent sites with good data" and you would be right if you were interested in historical data. That was the problem. The current climate is not the same as the historical data.

When I was in Encarnación I saw temps, both on my phone and on the big reader board with time/temp info in the plaza that showed 40°+C (104°+F) temps. And, that was not a one-day fluke, it happened on many days. Those kinds of temps are becoming the norm. Coupled with 50-60% humidity, it makes for a very unpleasant day if you're out and about. At let's say, 103°F (39° C) with 55% humidity the real-feel temp is an excessive 133°F (56.5° C).

So, I decided to head north again where the weather is much more pleasant. Also, the general culture of the northern half of South America is, in my experience and opinion, friendlier, than the southern half of South America. They also have better fruit and vegetables. They have better food in general, especially in Perú which has the best food in South America. They also have better bakeries. But, the southern half of South America is quieter than the northern half. The southern half is heavily Spanish influenced, while the northern half is not but is more indigenous influenced.

So, I'm now in Perú on my way to Ecuador and Colombia. When I left Paraguay I spent 3 days and two nights on buses, then took a night in a hotel in Chile, then had to wait a night in Tacna, Perú for the direct bus to Quito, Ecuador (otherwise, I'd have been on a bus stopping in every town along the way). What will happen when I get back in Colombia? Hmm, I'll find out when I get there.