The Arroyo

Arroyo means stream in Spanish. When its 100 degrees outside, an ocean, lake, river or even stream could be considered a dream. Paraguay being a land locked country, that rules out oceans. Having a total of zero lakes in my department rules out lakes, all one can hope for is a small river or stream. Amazingly our community happens to have such a stream and equally amazing is the “piscina” which mean pool in spanish. When I first heard of the arroyo and so called piscina I was skeptical. I had seen the stream before and it was shallow and maybe 3 feet across. But by extreme luck or something this one part is for all intensive purposes an all natural pool. The small stream widens to pool width and deepens enough to jump off 10 foot rocky edges and be perfectly safe. The pool comes with plenty on different level jumping points, a nice grassy areas to lay out on and a shallow side for the youngsters. It is truly an amazing place. With this natural treasure available, most of the teenages in my community rush to the stream at about 1:30 and finish at 4ish. It is a greta place to relax, cool off and mess around with friends. Sitting on the grassy knoll overlooking the piscina is quite a site. Young people doing the exact same thing American kids would be doing without all the money it costs to have a pool, without the cute, sexy or hip swim suits or pool toys. Just worn shorts, and old holey volley balls to toss around. Although some of the girls have bikinis, no one seems to shed the shirts they wear for fear of the sun. Its a refreshing site, a pool like no other.