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Now you have to deal with the fact that your exit stamp from Paraguay is already a few days old and where you've been in the meantime? User [[User:MOAH|MOAH]] said that from Mariscal Estigarribia the bus wouldn't take her because it was too crowded all the time, so she was "forced" to hitchhike - it worked! In the daytime there's people exchanging Guaraní, Dollars, Euros, Reaís and what not at Ibibobo and one can get soup, cookies and soft drinks here, but that's really itthe border. There's a military check point about 500 meters from the Migracion where folks in uniform folkuniform might ask you to show your passport but other than that, hitchhiking shouldn't be a big deal here, except for very low traffic. It's still more than 50km to Villa Montes, but at least now you've legally entered the Plurinational State of Bolivia!
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The Gran Chaco area in Paraguay is the most direct route to go to Bolivia, but many people take the route through Argentina due to bad road conditions. If you're hitching the "Ruta Transchaco" from the capital Asuncion, it's best to get out of the city with a short distance bus (~2.500 Guaranies = €0.30) called "La Chaqueña" which ends in the town Benjamin Aceval/Cerrito where there's a toll port with some shadow and a few shops to buy water, cigarettes and snacks. You're currently more than 700km from the border to Bolivia and it will be a minimum of three days hitchhiking through sparsely populated areas that get really hot. You can still turn back and go straight before the bridge to Asuncion to cross the border to Argentina.
User [[User:MOAH|MOAH]] hitchhiked in December over the Transchaco from Cerrito to Filadelfia - the biggest hamlet of Gran Chaco, about 400km - in one day and rested between Filadelfia and Cruce de los Pioneros. Already before sundown the darkness comes in the form of threatening mosquito clouds. About 40km of this road is pretty bad, but if you continue north-west you'll soon ask yourself why you thought this was bad. From Filadelfia to Mariscal Estigarribia is about 90 kilometers that can be done fairly smoothly, but here you need to find the Migración office to get your passport stamp to leave Paraguay! The migration office is close to on the start border of town, so tell your driver you need to get out there. Opening times are variableBolivia, so prepare to stay there another night if they're closedMariscal Estigarribia has custom only for trucks. Before you're even thinking of reaching Bolivia, plan this trip carefully so you won't ever have to cross one of these borders on a Sunday (you're royally fucked). There's no ATM's here.
From Mariscal Estigarribia the road gets even emptier than before. At the end of town is a military base with a shelter on the correct side of the road for shadow and a seat. The next places you can get stuff at have no names on the map, except for La Patria, which is 100km away. The first 10km of road are still like the rest in Paraguay, until suddenly you can deal with a remaining 90km stretch of undodgeable potholes of a road that's only 15 years old. The average speed for trucks is about 15km/h and pick-ups do it with 20 or 25 km/h. The bus (Asuncion - Santa Cruz de la Sierra. No airconditioning) covers this distance in about seven hours, so you'll be happier hitchhiking. On average the third pick-up would stop. Places to get water at ar scarce, so take at the very least three litres with you before you go and fill that up whenever you can.
La Patria has shops and (shitty) accomodation and from here the road will be fine again till inside Bolivia. Its 116km to the border, which has a 6km no man's land in between you honestly don't want to walk. From La Patria there's nothing till the border besides some ranches, and truck drivers were very reluctant to pick up hitchhikers in this direction, probably because they're scared - something with drugs or whatever. It's very likely that your average pick-up driver has a shotgun or other hunting rifle - whether that's for protection or assault is up for discussion. Pick-ups drive about 90km/h here so you'll be fast!
At the border there's nothing except for men with guns in fancy uniforms being braindead boredare both migration offives of Paraguay and Bolivia. You don't will get your Bolivian stamp here either, that's in the next town 50km away called Ibibobo. At the border you can get drinkable ground water from a little tap outside the "Aduana" building on the Bolivian side. It's warm, but it will help you survive. Find a tree and wait until a truck moves in the right direction or go around and ask. You might wait three hours before you see something moving as there is 1) very little traffic 2) a lot of bureaucracy for truck drivers to finally pass. If you're lucky, there might be a pick-up from Bolivia driving back to civilization 100km away to a town called Villa Montes (ATMs, hostels, WiFi!!!), but don't forget to get your stamp at the perpetually angry guys in Ibibobo, well-indicated as another "Migracion".
Moral of the story: for hitchhiking Gran Chaco, bring a hat, enough, food, water, cash, sunscreen and mosquito repellant and a healthy dose of skepticism. Never do anything important on a Sunday.
