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Published: June 27th 2010
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Make your mind up
14 different national flags in less than 200 years. Asuncion was once the centre of the Spanish administration in South America. It lost its way and a large proportion of its population when it took on Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil at the same time but we were drawn by days of old so we took our second trip out of Argentina to Brazil and on to Paraguay without so much as an "oi, tudo bem" on the way through.
As the bus driver flew past immigration at Cuidad del Este we began to get a bit edgy about our arrival in Paraguay, but we were reassured by a police officer at the bus terminal that we could sort out the formalities in Asuncion ... so we boarded another bus and continued.
On reaching Asuncion, there was nowhere to get an immigration stamp but the information desk seemed pretty relaxed about our lack of addition to the passport pages. Our hotel, though, was unequivocal. Get a stamp first thing tomorrow and hope you don't get stopped between now and then for your papers or you'll be fined and thrown out the country.
So the following morning we, along with Ovi our Romanian partner in crime, trotted off to
More train spotting
Ok it is nerdy but possibly the best museum we have been to! head office for immigration to explain our ignorance and get official status in Paraguay. Our story was met with a roll of the eyes that indicated we may not be the first people to have fallen foul of a bus drivers lack of willing to stop at the border. We had our documents copied and told to come back at lunchtime.
This we duly did and found a letter of authority rather than a stamp awaiting us. One copy. Problematic as we were going to leave Paraguay via a different route to Ovi. No problem, a notarised copy would suffice. In two minutes and at less than the cost of a cup of tea we had a second copy from a rather dodgy looking office across the road. More than a little pleased when Ovi offered to take the second copy! Anyway, we were in ... officially. We could worry about out later.
Asuncion itself is proper South America. None of the poncy cosmopolitan stuff you get in Chile or Argentina. Buses spewing fumes that would have a coal miner think he worked in the fresh air, taxis that look like they won't see out the
Please don't touch the exhibits!
It was in Spanish ... how was I to know. day let alone pass an MOT and the wonderful dichotomy that is a shiny new government building opposite a slum of housing. Paul loved it. Nic was more reserved. There was little use for the "does anybody here speak English" phrase in the Latin American Spanish book, no-one does. Spanish or Guarani only please.
There are some lovely buildings in the city, but generally you have to be a fan of those which used to look good in their heyday if you are going to enjoy Asuncion. But it is worth looking deeper and you find some real gems. Por ejemplo, the railway station. The Paraguayans are quite proud that they had one of the world's earliest railway lines and have kept most of it for posterity in a museum with original carriages, engines and memorabilia (mostly imported from the UK). We loved the place, Nic even felt she was stationmaster for a while, until it was pointed out that the signs were asking us to not touch the exhibits! Outside the station are various items of rolling stock some of them now pre-school classrooms. Nothing seems to be wasted even though the railway no longer functions.
Macabre
Jesuit Mission in Encarnacion
Ok so the t-shirt doesn't really speak of Jesuit beliefs. as it is, there is something interesting about a stroll in a South American cemetery. The one we chose in Asuncion had plenty to see, including several broken caskets inside glass cases. Perhaps the actual bodies makes it a little less than sightseeing but some of the mausoleums are impressive and the metal cross in the military sector which has nearly fallen to pieces from the number of bulletholes put there by gun salutes is quite moving.
The Cabildo was a surprising collection of Paraguayan art, music and film ... including some bloke who appeared at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance. No kidding! The picture shows him next to The Beatles, chatting with HRH Prince Philip (no doubt doing his usual for international relations). Surprisingly, no sign of Norman Wisdom in the photo.
Also of note was Augustín Barrios Mangorè who has been described by John Williams as "the greatest composer for guitar of all time". Quite an accolade from a bloke who knows what he's talking about so go out and get some more vinyl for your collection ... assuming you are over 35 and have a vinyl collection in the first place.
Encarnacion was our only other stop in Paraguay. There isn't much to do here now, but a few hundred years ago it was the centre of the Jesuit missions. Annoyingly when we reach Trinidad, we couldn't buy a single ticket to enter, you need a combined one to 7 different sites ... we only had time for two but we bit the bullet and splashed out anyway. Trinidad is in a pretty good state of repair, but has a slightly Auschwitz feel to it. It's easy to imagine the average conditions for a pagan converting to christianity, not quite the Spanish Inquisition ... but they probably never expected this either. The decorative brickwork is still in excellent condition in some places and while most of the buildings have a utilitarian feel others look like you would expect of an Italian architect. The grass courtyards were awash with pink flowers while we were there, a nice clash against the red bricks.
As it is Sunday, there aren't any buses to Jesus so we have to make do with a collectivo. A car of unknown make but not much larger than a Lada and with very few panels intact or electronics working (the only thing that had had any money spent on it in the past 20 years was the stereo - worth twice as much as the car at about £27) should not have been able to transport 6 passengers 15km, but it did. We entrusted our return journey to the same car on the basis it had pulled it off once.
Jesus is one main building and a lot of foundations and a few derelict walls. Possibly more impressive than Trinidad once, it's glory days are well gone. While there is a tour map for Trinidad, you have to work it out for yourself in Jesus, but we managed.
We headed for the border early given our semi-legal appearance in the country. At the exit we had our letter examined, questioned, re-examined, shown to a couple of colleagues then confiscated with a grudging "push off back to Argentina" nod of the head that really indicated he'd prefer to be locking us up and torturing us about our underhand entry into his country. No stamp. No evidence at all that we've ever been to Paraguay. The only chance of proving we went is maybe a couple of postcards we left with the lady at the bus station to send for us on a day of her choosing as we couldn't post them on a Sunday.
And in case you were wondering, Luis A. del Paraná was the chap next to The Beatles.
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