Blogs from Paraguay, South America - page 5

It’s my last day in Asunción and in Paraguay. Asunción is a city to pass through to the interesting areas of the country, not to visit for a long time, from what I have seen of it. The old part of the city has a “down at heel” look about it while the banks, hotels, and businesses of all capital cities are located in the down town area. The Shopping Sol center near where I’m staying in the suburbs has stores, food court, and a nice supermarket like centers everywhere and there is a bustle and decoration for the Christmas season. There are interesting place to visit in Paraguay. A partial list is: Iguazú Falls, the Jesuit and Franciscan Misiones ruins, the Ciruito de Oro small towns with different crafts, and many areas of special plants, ... read more

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 ... read more

Driving south on the Trans-Chaco Highway I passed some vaqueros (cowboys) driving some cattle next to the road. They looked so happy doing their work that I had to stop and ask for photos. They agreed so I have pictures of real cowboys on a cattle drive in Paraguay.... read more

Since I read the children’s book called “Henry’s Red Sea” (1955) by Barbara Smucker as a youngster I’ve been fascinated by the place where these refugees settled fleeing from Stalin’s cruelties and the terror of World War II. Mennonites settle many places and move again, but one the strangest places where they made a community is in the Chaco Region of Paraguay. It’s 250 miles into the wilderness and then the wilderness continues another 500 miles across the border and into Bolivia. Filadelfia is the place I’m staying in the Mennonite Colonies in Paraguay. Some pioneers first came from Canada to the Chaco in 1927 to nearby locations, but Filadelfia was settled by German speaking refugees from the USSR starting in 1934. A flood of refugees joined them fleeing the suffering of World War II, and ... read more

Crossing a border to a new country is always a little bit stressful even if you have done it hundreds of times. In the end it is all new, starting with people and their attitude, money that you have to change and get used to, price levels and orientation. Little did we know about Paraguay except for the fact, that it is by far the most unacknowledged by travelers part of South America. Information you find is a little bit confusing as on one hand it is supposed to be the most secure country in SA and on the other hand Brazilians would swear it is deadly dangerous. One can think that this coming from them is a big statement. The bridge linking Brazil and Paraguay is also supposed to be a dangerous place to walk ... read more