Paraguay

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Paraguay - 8 Days (9th - 17th Feb)

From Iguazu Falls I travelled through Paraguay to Bolivia, taking 8 days to absorb what I could from this little visited, dirty, poor country.


I spent 2 days in Encarnacion, so that I could visit the Jesus and Trinidad Jesuit Ruins, preserved religious missions founded by the Jesuit missioners during the colonization of South America in the 17th century.


Then I went to the capital, Asuncion to explore all the colonial architecture (the Palacio López was the most attractive thing) but it was your bog standard, nothing special city, so I enjoyed some corn flakes and waited for an American friend coming from Brazil


On the way towards Bolivia we stopped at Filadelfia in the Chaco region, right in the heart of the Mennonite settlements.
Mennonite settlers came to Paraguay from Germany, Canada, Russia and other countries to find some religious freedom in the 1920's and 30s. There was evidence of their influence everywhere and they were friendly and charming, although strangely all dressed the same.
After 2 days in Filadelfia we took a number of incredibly full and uncomfortable buses towards Bolivia, the main bus to Santa Cruz didn’t arrive until 3 in the morning.


The road in the North was awful, no asphalt on the roads and therefore a pretty bumpy ride.

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Photos

The Tri-border
With Argentina and Brazil

Ciudad del Este
Crossing the Bridge from Brazil

Trinidad
The ruins of a Jesuit Mission

Trinidad
Great details

Encarnacion
Loads of Street Sellers

Encarnacion
Loads of Street Sellers

Encarnacion
Loads of Street Sellers

Asuncion
A traditional dance

Asuncion
The Palacio López

Corn Flakes Time
In Asuncion

My American Companion
"True"

Filadelfia
A dusty town in the middle of the Chaco

Filadelfia
German for the mennonites

Waiting for the Bus
It was quite late