Travel in Paraguay

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I met a Chinese woman in the hotel who said she was in Asuncion for a business trip. She couldn’t speak one word of Spanish—not even “Buenos Dias”. I helped her at the reception to find out about the laundry she wanted to collect. We had a laugh together--the North American helping the Asian to work with the South American.

Note on language in Paraguay: Since I arrived in Asuncion I have had trouble understanding the person I was talking to. There are two official languages in Paraguay—Spanish and GuaranῚ—and most of the people speak both languages. People talk to me here and I have no idea what they’re saying. In Filadelfia there was another issue because I spoke in Spanish with people whose first language is German and some people in the colonies speak little Spanish. They seem to speak Guarani with the non-German Paraguayans.

I have not been able to use the ATM machines at all in Paraguay. I came back to Asuncion to go to the HSBC Bank. It closes at 1:30 every day and is not open on Saturdays. I canceled the trip I was planning to the Ciruito de Oro, the village known for their crafts, because I'm in the mood with go with little cash. I use my credit card for everything including meals and gas.

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Photos

The Hotel Royal Gardens
In Villa Morra area of Asuncion.