Paraguay - cheap 'n' cheerful!

South America » Paraguay
October 14th 2007

Published: October 20th 2007

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Ruth from Wales

Doorway at Trinidad

Paraguay probably doesn´t figure highly on most people´s top ten travel wishlists. And I think it is fair to say that that was true for us before this trip as well. But in fact we had a fun week exploring and it was nice to be back in a non-touristy part of South America (especially after Iguazú).We started off our mini-adventure by crossing the border from Posadas (Argentina) to Encarnacion (Paraguay). The crossing wasn´t too complicated and we were soon checking into our lovely Encarnacion digs (Hotel Germano). The lady running the hotel was very friendly and even complimented me on my Spanish. This obviously made me very happy! Encarnacion is a fine town in which to spend a few days. You quickly realise how cheap everything in Paraguay is and can spend days just wandering around saying "surely that price is wrong". We had some excellent steaks, sampled the local beer (Baviera) and met a friendly Aussie/NZ couple to swap travel tales with.The main reason for stopping at Encarnacion was to visit the nearby Jesuit mission ruins of Trinidad. An easy bus ride from Encarnacion followed by a 5 minute walk took us to one of the least visited World

Carving at Trinidad

Heritage Sites. The weather was dull but the ruins made up for that, with the red brick providing an interesting contrast to the grey skies. The Jesuits did a huge amount of work in this and nearby areas and Trinidad is apparently one of the best preserved sites. The great thing was that we were almost the only people visiting, and so able to look around in detail without hoardes of gringos or school kids getting in the way! I particularly enjoyed looking out for the intricate carvings in the stone, which must have taken many hours of patience to complete. One problem: I couldn´t get the music to the flim "The Mission" (Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Irons - see it!) out of my head all day.The following day we moved on to Asuncion, a 5 hour bus trip west. Asuncion is the capital of Paraguay with a population of over 1 million, although often it does not feel anywhere near that busy. We spent a few days enjoying the sights - well, there aren´t many really, but it is pleasant to stroll around for a few hours taking in some colonial architecture. We also watched the rugby with our friends

German Bakery in Asuncion

from Encarnacion and visited the Britannia Pub where you can drink Guiness if you are feeling homesick. We were staying at a great hotel (The Asuncion Palace) which was expensive by Paraguayan standards, but cheap by our standards, and definitely the nicest hotel of the trip so far.Some random thoughts/comments/observations:

Guns are everywhere. Outside most large shops, banks and even cafes there is an armed guard carrying a seriously big gun. Luckily we have not seen them in action...
The Paraguayans are very friendly people. Always willing to give a smile or a helping hand if we need it.
The food is amazing. I had curried fish curry in Asuncion and it was superb.
Paraguay does not get many gringos (one notice I saw on the internet suggested that last year less than 250 Brits visited!)
Paraguay is the third poorest country in South America. However, despite that and warnings in guidebooks and on websites, we generally felt very safe.
Nobody tried to rip us off (as far as we know!) even though corruption is apparently a big problem here.

Paraguay definitely provides the independent traveller with an original experience. Worth the effort if you like to get off the