Paraguay is a forgotten little country: sandwiched between larger neighbours, it is known - if at all - for smuggling, unpleasant former dictators, and as a place of exile for Nazis after the war.
We crossed the frontier bridge from Brazil to the Paraguayan town of Ciudad del Este, better known as "The Shopping Centre of South America", where you can reputedly buy anything; its street full of shops and stalls selling electrical goods, fake luxury goods, clothes and all duty-free.
We took a bus west to the small capital of Asuncion with very little to see on the way except farming villages, big fields, estancias (ranches) and forest.
Paraguay suffers from extremes of temperature with baking hot summers and cool winters with periodic cold snaps. We managed to time our visit to coincide with one of these: a surprising sudden drop in temperature that had us delving to the bottom of our rucksacks for our fleece jackets. It was however perfect weather for the Asuncion Half Marathon and we watched and applauded the runners and felt rather nostalgic.
The centre of Asuncion is an odd mixture of decayed grandeur and 60s concrete, with the ancient Mercedes taxis fitting in perfectly. The nineteenth century palace of the Lopez family - former half-crazy dictators - stands out from this, as does the swanky and far too large new parliament building paid for by the Taiwanese government in thanks for Paraguay recognising them.
Like many South American cities, Asuncion has an enormous cemetery for the wealthy and important former citizens, with elaborate tombs that outdo anything in Highgate: many family tombs are the size of small houses, giving the cemetery the feel of a housing estate.
The north of Paraguay, the Chaco, is sparsely populated, largely forested and hard to visit. It has sad associations for Paraguayans as a bitter war was fought here with many lives lost, pursued doggedly by Lopez who was egged on by his Irish mistress Eliza Lynch. There are isolated Mennonite and German immigrant communities and a few surviving indigenous Guarani people still living here. The wildlife is meant to be superb but arranging a visit is difficult.
So, from Asuncion we caught a bus south to Encarnacion; the 300 kilometre journey took a good 7 hours through pleasant countryside with neat little, old-fashioned settlements along the way and wilder country beyond.
Near Encarnacion is the site of one of several missions that the Jesuits founded in Paraguay to convert the local Guarani people and which they ran almost as mini-states, before the Spanish Crown grew jealous of the Jesuits´power and expelled them from all the Spanish colonies.
The remains of the large mission village at Trinidad are in marvelous condition, built by the Jesuits with home-produced red bricks. We had this lovely site to ourselves with its massive church, houses for the indians, workshops, bell-tower and cloistered house for the fathers.
From Encarnacion we crossed the frontier river bridge to Argentina before catching a night bus south to Buenos Aires. And what a bus! We have taken quite a few night buses in the last year but this wins all the prizes. The reclining seats were extra wide with a soft blanket and pillow. Our steward served dinner which was like you used to get on airplanes (before most of them stopped serving hot meals). There was a choice of wine and then coffee after the meal. We joked that all we needed now was an after dinner liquer. Five minutes later the steward came round with whisky and champagne! In a country like Argentina, with big distances between places, buses are competing with airlines and offering lots of extras to win customers. We slept well (possibly partly due to the champagne) and arrived fairly fresh in Buenos Aires the next morning.
We were last in Buenos Aires in November 2001 (on holiday), just before the financial crash. It was a time of uncertainty for Argentines and, because of the dollar/peso parity, rigidly maintained by the government, a time of high prices. Argentina has now recovered from the subsequent debt default and currency crash and there is an air of prosperity and optimism here today. For us the cost of living is pleasantly low as you now get three pesos for a dollar.
Buenos Aires is the most European of the Latin American cities that we have visited - very reminiscent of Paris or Madrid - and full of cafes and restaurants serving strong coffee and good food. A great city for a few days of relaxing, eating and taking in some culture. We went to a concert at the beautiful Teatro Colon opera house last night.
Written by Louise
