Four years ago Chris and Astrid and their two youngest children emigrated to Paraguay and bought their house with twenty acres of land planning to create a mechanic’s workshop for him and a playground and coffee house for the many German immigrants around the town of Caacupé.
Instead they ended up with possibly the best overlander campground in Paraguay, one of the lest visited countries in South America, ahead only of the Guyanas for number of visitors.
Until last June Paraguay was giving away residence permits free with your morning cereal packet but these days they are apparently getting more serious and more persnickety because the word is out. 
Mexico has been increasing its financial requirements for migrants too and enforcing stricter guidelines for foreigners seeking to move to Mexico. For us none of this is an issue as we aren’t looking for a place to settle down outside the US but I am curious about these things. 
We enjoy traveling and not settling living as privileged visitors 90 days at a time with negligible bureaucratic restraints and no commitments. It’s my belief this is the golden age of travel by campervan South America even as vehicle living in the States becomes more controversial as RVs substitute for homes for the economically desperate. In these countries we are welcomed as rarities which makes life on the road much easier, perhaps some small compensation for the irritations.
Chris’ 19 year old son is visiting from Bavaria where he has one more year to go to complete a mechanical engineering apprenticeship, the ticket to a solid career in Germany. Yet Chris wants him to emigrate to Paraguay as his son is eligible for the draft instituted this year, voluntarily (!) so far. The government requires all draft age men to advise the government if they are leaving the country for more than three months as they are preparing for war with Russia.
Living around Europeans in South America one gets a small window on life across the Atlantic mostly from people disaffected by life in the European Union. For them South America is a low bureaucracy escape from the rules and regulations imposed at home but now also they live a healthy distance from what is seen to be impending war, to my Cold War an unimaginable eventuality. It sounds overwrought and yet…
I can imagine South America must feel like a haven for people who grew up traveling to Russia and trading with Russia and keeping warm in winter burning Russian gas and North border between Russia and the EU is mostly closed and governments talk of war.
Day to day life in Paraguay continues undisturbed by all this gloom with sunny days interspersed by some rain and gray clouds, gasoline is around four bucks a gallon cheaper than Paraguays wealthier neighbors and supermarkets are as well stocked as ever. The ostriches are getting used to us as we are to them as they stalk around driven by curiosity and barely restrained by our aggressive use of the spray bottle. Walking Rusty in the morning sees me accompanied by these weird creatures. 
There is always the pest Loki who likes to make toys out of recycling bottles or who jumps on you from a tree or out of the bathroom window when you least expect it. They say monkeys lack only two percent of our DNA but his agility makes up for it.
The best part of Little Bavaria may be the bathrooms, lots of high pressure water from the well, abundant hot water even at the dish washing station and proper plumbing.
And pretty solid internet too. All for $17 a day.
Talking with Chris an anti government libertarian emigrant is interesting but I don’t propose to set my hair on fire or lose sleep or change my plans for all the madness in the world and perhaps I shall regret not rushing home to prepare for conflagration.
All I can think is how lucky we are to be in this mild climate in winter and our spare parts packages are all assembled at Paraguaybox the freight forwarder in Miami and maybe in a week we might possibly be fit to travel. More aimless privileged wandering around South America. If it turns out to be fiddling while Rome burned I shall take my punishment I hope like a gentleman. I might need to reread Herman Wouk’s WINDS OF WAR.
Chris’ workshop in action. A stored vehicle is getting work done while the owner is home in Germany.
Rescued dogs cats chickens ostriches and a monkey.
No see’um hell. Better living through chemistry.
Solo German guy traveling friendly but not interested in speaking English even he is even able.
How do you know ostriches have been in your fridge? Footsteps in the butter…
The menagerie must not mix. Dogs inside, birds outside, monkey and cats and people cross the fence. Vehicles enter under supervision to prevent escapes.
On guard.
