Blogs from Encarnacion, Paraguay, South America

Across the river Paraná - nearly a mile wide at this point - from Posadas, in Paraguay, lie the crumbling ruins of missions founded in jungle by Jesuit priests in the 17th and 18th centuries. Here, in the baking heat and sweltering humidity, thousands of indigenous Americans, mostly Guaraní, lived in large communities presided over by Jesuits from Europe. Descriptions of the missions vary considerably depending on the viewpoint taken (from paternalistic Christianisation to philanthropic assistance) but the oddity of finding intricately carved baptismal fonts and large, red-brick churches bang in the middle of the Paraguayan forest is undeniable. The two 'Missionary Reductions' (their official name in Colonial times) we visited - Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe - are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ruins are well preserved but, unsurprisingly, ... read more

Trinidad, a small village near to the Encarnacion city and few kilometers from the Argentinian border. It is know because of the Jesuit settlements which has been added to the list of world cultural heritage of the UNESCO. In total, there were seven Jesuit settlements in Paraguay, but the Trinidad is the most complete of them. The nearby Jesus (12km) is also very well preserved.... read more

Paraguay seems to be a bit of an enigma. I’m still not quite sure what I make of the place - certainly very different to all the other South American nations. Few tourists make the effort to visit the country, yet this is undoubtedly one of the main appeals for me. The lack of basic tourist infrastructure (hostels, public transport to the more isolated sites of interest) is a bit of an annoyance, but Paraguay seems to be more authentic than the more touristy areas nearby in Argentina or Brazil. It’s the only country in South America to have an indigenous language as an official language (Guaraní), and the towns (at first sight) seem less filled with American superbrands like McDonalds. The crossing from Posadas to the Paraguayan city of Encarnación was, as all border crossings ... read more

Desde os tempos da faculdade de História que tenho vontade de conhecer as missões jesuíticas. Várias vezes planejei ir com meus amigos até São Miguel Arcanjo, no Rio Grande do Sul, pra ver de perto as ambições dos padres que chegaram ao Brasil no século XVIII e aqui pretenderam criar uma sociedade cristã utópica. Mas até hoje essa viagem não saiu, então tive que ir sozinha conhecer as missões paraguaias. Foi uma viagem meio estranha, meio incomum (por causa da falta de estrutura turística do país), mas nem por isso menos interessante. 1º DIA(sábado, 16/01) Comecei o dia saindo de Posadas, na Argentina, e indo até a cidade de Encarnación, do outro lado da fronteira. Como sai cedo do albergue, tive que tomar café na rua - e como estava sem dinheiro, tive que me contentar ... read more

The good, the bad and the downright ugly of Latin American buses: Bus 1: Sunday night’s departure from Buenos Aires was easily the most luxurious bus trip ever: “Cama suite” is Argentina’s road-bound equivalent of long-haul first class on the airlines: a private screen, meal service, a glorious view, comfy huge seat, legroom galore and - oh, joy of joys - a Laz-y-Boy style seat that actually unfolds flat into a bed with “walls” front and back so that, provided with blanket and pillow, one can while away a 12-hour trip with actual sound sleep. The bus station in BA is an enormous affair, with 60 or so platforms, shops and restaurants, and crowds to match. Our bus didn’t come up on screen as promised, but we managed with our pigeon Spanish to find the right ... read more

Everyone on the bus got off at the immigracion on the Argentine side, people were running out of the bus to be ahead of the queue, i just followed them, it took no more than 5 minutes for me to be processed, then boarded the same bus which luckily was still there. It was quite full and tried to get on it at the back door, a group of women were blocking the way up so i had to force myself at the door, polite words such as desculpe and por favor, did not work so i forced myself in and said excuse me , thank you! after, I heard someone whispering "mochilero". Those women were a bit rude, they wanted to be right out near the door to be the first to disembark at the ... read more