Blogs from Paraguay, South America - page 37

The Holy Trinity of Parana was one of the last Reducciones (reductions or townships) built by Jesuit led communities of Guaranís in what was possibly the most interesting social experiment conducted during the European colonization of the Americas. Motivated by their desire to both convert and protect the native populations of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, the Jesuit (Society of Jesus) Missionaries created these small cities as a place of shelter, worship, education and commerce that operated independently of the secular colonial governments. In these communities the Guaranís worked together for the common good, and not as the slaves of some colonial master. A part of the Wikipedia entry on the Reducciones states: Guided by the Jesuits, the Guaraní had advanced laws; they founded free public services for the poor, schools, hospitals, and abolished the death penalty. ... read more

Before we arrived in Ciudad del Este, my perception of the town, based on everything I had heard about it, was that it was, in the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Actually it is just another city, not unlike many other cities in the world. The crime rate may be the highest in Paraguay, but then Paraguay is not exactly overrun with criminal activity (at least not the violent kind). But the odds are if they stole it from you in Argentina or Brazil it is likely to be sold on the streets on Ciudad del Este. The market area is crowded with vendors selling every imaginable product, and the town is famous as a source of cheap electronics for the Argentineans and Brazilians who cross the border. In some ... read more

It was a two hour bus ride out of Asunción to Caacupé, the Mecca of Paraguay, a small town dominated by a large cathedral, the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Milagros (consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1988). According to the legend, the Blue Virgin of Caacupé saved a converted Guaraní from a band of Mbayáes hostile to the Christian faith. To show his gratitude he carved and image of the Lady of Caacupé out of a large Yerba Mate plant (some grow to near tree size). There is some question as to whether the image on display in the cathedral is the original. Another version of the story has the Indian being pursued by a bull, and saved by a snake sent by the Virgin to bite it on the ankle. These stories ... read more

I was met by Paul and Rosa (his fiancée) at Silvio Pettirosi Airport in Asunción. Slammed by the high 80’s, high humidity weather upon leaving the airport. We decided to take a cab to the hotel, but the tendency is to overcharge the Nortes here (Norteamericanos or North Americans), so we turn down a few offers. Rosa approaches the next cab on her own to get a better deal. She does, but the minute Paul and I show up the price doubles. This bothers Paul, but to me a $10 cab drive is still a bargain. Hotel is called Los Alpes. Rooms feature a refrigerator, A/C, and cable TV (Yes, the Simpsons is still funny in Spanish). We travel by foot and bus to see some of the city and get something to eat. Heavy downpours ... read more

Paraguay - our tenth and last new country of our trip to South America. Landlocked by Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina and to coin our phrase "very bloody hot" (41 degrees today). Cant go on too much about Paraguay as we were only there for a short time and as you can see from the photos we saw most of it from a super fast bus! Brazil and Paraguay share an enormous Hydroelectric Power Plant called Itaipu. Its said to be the biggest in the world, bigger than the one they are building in the 3 gorges in China. They run slick tours of the complex by coach and give you all sorts of mind boggling statistics whilst glossing over the resulting environmental damage. None the less the statistics are impressive, the dam alone provides 90% of ... read more