I put my ticket in my jacket
pocket then hop onboard the General Lopez. Named in honour of Paraguay’s
national hero, the wood burning locomotive hisses and steams; it gives the
impression of an angry, restless iron beast that has just escaped from a spaghetti
western. The station in Asuncion was built by British engineers and reminds me
of London Marylebone. With its wonderful Grade 1 listed iron and glass roof and
warm stone colours, the London station is one of my favourite buildings. Mind
you, there is one important difference between the two stations: in Asuncion
there's a posse of fierce, overweight ladies in heavy makeup lurking around the corner
from the entrance.
Many years later I will
draw on my impressions to pen a scene in Zen City, Iso in which Madam Sin puts the
luckless Margie on a steam train to escape Bangkok.
I walk along the aisle of the deserted
carriage – there are no tourists here in August 1990 – and plonk myself down on
the wooden seat next to the window. It is hot but bright and airy. The smoke
from the General’s raging wood begins to tickle my nose. I pull out a paper bag from my pocket
and pop an Everton mint into my mouth. I check my watch. In a few minutes the
train should be leaving for Aragua. According to my handbook, this quaint
colonial city with its cobbled streets, mansions, flower gardens, beautiful
women and plazas is thirty clicks up the line and nestles on a picturesque lake
called Ypacari, which means Waters of the Sacred Newt in the Guarani Indian
language. But, of course, I am not going to Aragua for any of that – I am going
there to meet my new friend Harry, the ex-armed robber from South Africa.
Suddenly there is a loud, shrill
whistle. Next thing, I’m thrown forward as the General lurches into action and
my Everton mint flies out the window...
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