Blogs from Paraguay, South America - page 38

As I mentioned in the previous blog I wanted to take a bus to Asuncion which is the capital of Paraguay. As it goes with plans they are made to be changed and so I did. I met a polish guy at the bus terminal in Montevideo and he had the plan to get off in the first city in Paraguay to see some old Jesuit ruins. As I didn’t want to see another city I decided to go along with him. We got dropped off in Encarnacion at 3am in the morning after 15 hours on the bus. The bus ride itself wasn’t that bad at all and we even got lunch and dinner. The latter was served late as usual at 10.30 pm! including super sweet coffee As you can imagine we were ... read more

The heat had now gained momentum, and it was baking as we approached Paraguay ( 35 degrees ). The drive from Salta to the border was long, so we stopped tro camp at a secluded site overnight, next to a service station. We pitched up, had dinner played cards and chilled out. As we were playing cards, a girl in our group ran over to us screaming, there was a snake in her tent! It was a baby Viper, so our driver exterminated it. Snakes!!! We arrived at the border which seemed humble enough, and again the scenery began to change as we entered this landlocked country. Before we crossed the border, we had bought a load of food, meat. This would backfire, when we reached the border, the officials were checking against foot and mouth, ... read more

Ciudad del Este in Paraguay is within a half an hour bus ride from Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, where we spent the night. From what I've read, the city supposed to be a chaotic little town, lively with many markets and duty free goods, which are big here in South America. On top of that, Ciudad del Este is famous to be the most corrupt city in the continent. Many Brazilians and Argentines go to Ciudad del Este to find some goodies, which considered very cheap compared to its counterparts in Foz or Puerto Iguazú. That is very nice and generous description of the city. The downfall of the situation is that many criminals are walking freely here, assuming that you have a lot of duty free goodies and eventually would mug you (which mostly happening ... read more

Yes, we know! 2 hours in one country doesn't warrant a blog page, especially as there are no accompanying photographs, but we were there - albeit rather briefly. And it was a bit of a mammoth border crossing day actually, as we started and ended the day in Argentina! We were in Foz Do Iguacu which is the nearest town to the Brazilian side of Iguacu Falls and (almost) spitting distance from Ciudad Del Este which is over the border in Paraguay, so we thought it would be a shame to be so close to another country and not at least try and get over ther border. And get over the border we most certainly did! We caught a bus which went over the 'puente de amistad' (friendship bridge) which connects Brazil with Paraguay and joined ... read more

As the TAM 701 flight I had boarded in Cochabamaba, Bolivia, descended down through the heaving, patient clouds and into the realm of Asunción, Paraguay, I got my first glimpse of this unknown, unpopular country through the small plexiglass window adjacent to my economy seat. And what did I see? The principal feature that struck me was the outrageous number of football pitches the length and breadth of the city. It was like a deck of scuffed light-green cards had been thrown flippantly onto the dark green landscape and scattered completely randomly, but everywhere, and of all ages and sizes. It was instantly apparent why they are heading to Germany next year to attend the world cup finals; even though I couldn't name one of their players. The country is football crazy. The airport was ... read more