Paraguay - January 2023

After arriving back in Buenos Aires following the Antarctica trip, I went on to Paraguay to spend a few days in Asunción and the surrounding area.  I switched out my heavy warm Antarctic clothing for lighter and cooler tropical clothing.  Thankfully Mary Ann was heading back to Sacramento and could take my extra bag and clothing back with her.

I caught an early morning flight on New Year’s Eve from Ezeiza airport to Asunción.  The arrival in Asunción was straightforward with no customs issues.  I got some money out of an ATM - around 7,400 guarani to the dollar and took a taxi into town, to my hotel, a very nice restored old hotel, the Palmaroga.

Governors Palace, Palacio Lopez

After checking in I went for a walk around the city. It was very hot and quite humid and I was soon quite damp.   For a Saturday, New Year’s Eve, there were remarkably few people around the streets and even fewer shops and businesses open.  The main part of the old city is quite small and was easily walked around that afternoon. There is a beautiful Governor’s Palace and a modest Cathedral next to a shabby park, two or three shabby parks with a few statues and a lot of nice murals. 

Murals in the old town

This old part of the city was a mix of older historical buildings from the colonial period and more modern buildings.  All of them, even the newer ones, were looking a little disheveled and in need of attention.  The damp humid climate ages things quickly there.  Mildew and mold grows in the damp climate and it particularly seems to attack concrete buildings that while perhaps not too old are stained with black mold.  Then there is the scourge of every poor country (and a few rich ones) - pavements cracked and uneven. 

Derrick Cranes in the Old Port

I walked down towards the port which is on a bay off the Paraguay River called the Bahia de Asunción.  There were some beautiful old derrick cranes that one time ran on rail tracks along the dockside.  Nowadays they are no longer functioning but they look nice 

 

The Bahia de Asuncion

I returned to the hotel in the evening only to find that for New Year’s Eve the hotel’s restaurant was fully booked and they couldn’t squeeze me in.  When I asked about nearby restaurants all I got was no, there’s nothing open.  I walked out onto the street and the street was indeed empty and all was quiet.

 

New Years Eve Asuncion

All I could do was room service - a hamburger and fries. Not what I had expected for New Year’s Eve but it sufficed and I was tired.  I went to bed early and then got up just before midnight and went up to the roof of the hotel.  There were a few people up there already in anticipation of the celebrations. 

Fireworks at Midnight, New Years Eve

Strangely the streets by the hotel were completely quiet but then as midnight approached fireworks started going off in the distance.  There is a modern area of town some miles away and that looked like where all the action was.  There was a great cacophony of fireworks over that side of town and it went on for quite a while.  The old part of the city where I was was quiet. I watched for a while and then returned to my room.

Palacio de Lopez

The next morning, Sunday, New Years Day, I set off for another walk around the town.  By 10:00 am it was already quite hot and humid.  The old town was almost deserted again, though perhaps that was not surprising as it was both a Sunday and New Years Day.  I walked down to the Governor’s Palace, the Palacio de Lopez, a beautiful red colored building, perhaps the most impressive building in the city.  It was built to be the residence of Governor Lopez in the 1860’s.  Unfortunately the Triple Alliance War (Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia versus Paraguay) prevented him from taking up residence and it fell into disrepair.  It was later renovated and, in 1890, it became government offices, still its function today.

Mariscal Lopez

Monument in Plaza de Indepencia

Next to the Governor’s Palace is a park, the Plaza de Independencia. It was in the process of being renovated and parts of it were fenced off.  There are several statues and monuments in the park.  A statue of Juan de Salazar de Espinoza, the founder of Asuncion in 1537, with his sword outstretched.  Another of Mariscal Lopez on his horse.  He was the president of Paraguay in the 1860’s.   There is also a monument in the form of a tree trunk.  This is to commemorate the founding of Asuncion.  Apparently it was the habit to place a tree trunk in the middle of a fort in those early days.  

Asuncion Cathedral

The Cathedral is at the other end of the park.  It is relatively simple and plain inside for a Catholic church.  It was empty too, even though it was Sunday.

Railway Station with statue of Carlos Antonio Lopez

Steam Train, Asuncion

I next came across the old Railway Station.  President Carlos Antonio Lopez initiated the building of a railway, one of the first in South America, in 1854.  By the time it was finished his son Mariscal was the president and the triple alliance war put an end to the glory days of Paraguay.  The railway was eventually extended to the Argentinian border and it was in operation until 1999.  The station itself is a lovely building and there are a couple of old steam engines inside along with some old carriages.  Alas the Station, like everything else on a Sunday, was closed.  A short way away there was another old steam train by the side of the road that now ran through where the tracks once lay.

Jose Artigas in Plaza Uruguaya

Just south of the railway station was Plaza Uruguaya.  A pleasant park with a few statues, one being Jose Artigas the National Hero and Liberator of Uruguay.

Casa de Madame Lynch

Nearby was the Casa de Madame Lynch.  Eliza Lynch was a very interesting woman.  She was born in County Cork, Ireland and escaped the famine to live in Paris spent time in ALgeria with her first husband then returned to Paris where she met Mariscal Lopez and followed him to Paraguay.  They never married but she bore him 6 children and at one time was the most important and powerful woman in Paraguay.

The Panteon

Walking on I found the Plaza de los Héroes.  This is a large park comprising 4 separate parks, Plaza Juan O'Leary, Plaza de la Democracia, Plaza de la Libertad, and Plaza de los Héroes.  In the corner of Plaza de los Héroes is the Panteon, a beautiful building that houses the mortal remains of several Paraguayan heroes. 

 

Palmaroga Hotel

Back at the hotel in the afternoon I went up to the roof of the hotel and cooled off in the pool.  Quite nice but it soon got very hot again and drove me indoors.  

Beach on the Bahia de Asuncion

Afterwards in the late afternoon I again walked down to the port and out along the waterfront.  There was a small beach area further to the east.  Not a great beach but the only place where I saw a lot of people congregating during my entire stay in Paraguay. For some reason there is a Gandhi bust on the promenade above the beach.

Gandhi

I returned to the hotel where I was able to get a seat in the restaurant and a good evening meal.

The next day I arranged for a driver, Pedro, to take me on a tour of some of the surrounding area.  There is a route called the Circuito del Oro that is a circuit of some of the old Jesuit and Franciscan towns to the east and southeast of Asuncion.  I wouldn't have time to visit all of these towns but in a 5 or 6 hour tour I could sample a few of them. 

Conmebol Football Complex

We drove out of Asuncion over to the newer modern part of town known as Luque.  This is where all the new growth seems to have been going on.  On the way we passed the center of South American Football, the CONMEBOL complex.  Football is huge in Paraguay, as it is in all of the South American countries and the governing body for South American Football is located in Luque.  There is a museum there but that was not high on my list of places to visit.

Church - Aregua

Leaving Asuncion and Luque behind we drove to Aregua.  This is a town that is the center of the ceramic and pottery industry.  We stopped and walked up the main street which consisted of many shops all selling the same colorful pottery.  How can so many shops survive when they all sell the same items, I don’t know.  On top of the hill in Arequa there is a beautiful old church.  Alas it was not open.

Train Station - Ypacari

We moved on to Ypacarai where there was an old railway station with a steam train in front of it.  This was a station on the line from Asuncion to the Argentinian border.  The steam engine was a beautiful machine just sitting on the rails outside the station.  In the hot and humid climate it perhaps is suffering some damage and that is a shame.

Church  - Ypacari

Moving on from Ypacarai we next stopped in Paraguari, another small town with a small church.   Again this church was not open though you could see through the window that it was a relatively simple interior.

Interior Yaguaron Church 

From Paraguari we drove to Yaguaron where there was the most beautiful little church.  It had a relatively simple exterior but the interior was wonderful.  It was covered with the most elaborate and beautiful wood carvings - simply amazing.  As seems to be the norm here the church was locked but Pedro knew the caretaker so we stopped on the way to pick him up and he let us in.  The church was definitely a real treasure. 

Steam Train - Paraguari

We then drove back to Paraguari to the other side of the town to visit another train station.  Again there was a beautiful old steam train sitting outside the station. 

Church - Caacupe

We moved on to our next stop in Caacupe where there was a relatively modern large church.  This church has become a pilgrim site and many people make their way there on foot from the surrounding area.  Indeed there were a large number of people in and around the church.  I was not particularly impressed by the more modern church.  The older and simpler churches were much more attractive.

Lago Ypacari, San Bernardino

Next stop was San Bernardino which is by the side of Lago Ypacari.  This is quite a large lake and it looks like in the right weather it could be quite nice.  There is a beach and restaurants and bars.  However on this day it was not so inviting.  It was gray and cool and quite windy.  We didn’t stay long.  As we left town we passed by a fine old hotel - Hotel del Lago.  Apparently Antoine de Saint Exupery stayed there - that is its claim to fame.

That was the end of my tour and we headed back towards Asuncion and my hotel.  Pedro did a good job as a guide.  It was late afternoon when I arrived back in Asuncion and I again went out walking around town.  I enjoyed taking photos of the decaying buildings and there were some lovely murals to photograph too.

Asuncion

The next day, Tuesday 3 Jan, was to be my last day in Paraguay.  I had an evening flight from Asuncion to Sao Paulo.  In the morning it was again gray and raining.  I took an opportunity to get out during a break in the rain but I didn’t get far before the rain came bucketing down again and I beat a hasty retreat to the hotel.  

Military at the ready

Finally later in the morning there was another break and I got out for another walk around town.  For some reason, there was quite a prominent military presence around town.  Armed combat vehicles were parked around the government buildings with attentive soldiers on guard.  Previously whenever I had seen a soldier or policeman they had been either sleeping or looking at their cell phones.  Today they were paying attention.

I went to the Cathedral again and then tried to get into the small museum next to the Cathedral.  It was closed though the sign said it should be open.  There were 5 or 6 others waiting to get in the museum and when someone came out we asked what was happening and they said it wouldn’t be open until February.  Our dismay made them reconsider and they opened especially for us.  It wasn’t that great a museum - mainly religious artifacts from the 18th and 19th Century.

Back at the hotel I had lunch, and then after a late 3:00 o'clock check out I took a taxi to the airport.  An early arrival at the airport and an uneventful short flight to Sao Paulo where I arrived around 10:00 pm.  Paraguay is perhaps not the most exciting place to visit but I got to like its shabby rundown appearance and relatively small city feel.

There are more photos here.