Paraguay

What do we actually know about Paraguay?

Good question! Not too much, I would have answered if I had been asked the question BEFORE departure. And it should probably stay that way AFTER departure, but more on that later.

When it comes to the distribution of natural spectacles, unique landscapes, access to the sea and other attractions on the South American continent, Paraguay somehow came up short in all the draws compared to its competitors. This country seems to have very little that is exceptional to offer, there seems to be nothing that cannot be found elsewhere on the continent and even the only Paraguayan I have met so far on my trip - Andres - who has lived in Rio for a long time, would not reveal much to anyone when asked about his home country: "There is nothing to see" was the short and to the point answer.

To get an idea of what was going on, we boarded a bus in Iguazu to travel the 350 km to Asuncion. The capital of the only landlocked country in South America, in which around 1 million people live, is by far the largest city in the country. In fact, most of the urban life takes place in the eastern region of the country, where almost 97% of Paraguay's inhabitants live on around 40% of the country's surface area. In the west of the country, the groundwater is largely highly saline and the lack of fresh water means that this region is very sparsely populated.

The accommodation we booked in advance was unbeatable at a price of less than 7 euros per night per person for 2 rooms - at least on paper. The reviews were also pretty good, only the location was viewed somewhat critically. About 2 hours before arriving in Asuncion (and already slightly late), the host contacted me via WhatsApp to find out where we were staying. Nothing unusual so far, but the number of inquiries increased and the content from the sender became increasingly cryptic and incomprehensible. With a delay of almost 1.5 hours and the clock pointing to well after midnight, it was perhaps somewhat understandable.

When we finally arrived at our destination, we changed from a bus to a taxi and covered the last few meters to the final destination of the trip. Shortly before arriving at our hostel, it quickly became clear why we had to give the location a lower rating - the area by the harbor was more like a township than a city-like settlement, and in the immediate vicinity of the hostel, all kinds of fucked up and completely stoned characters lived between wooden shacks, right next door to our domicile. The crackling of the campfires between the shacks at least created some atmosphere - even if it took on more apocalyptic overtones. The grotesque scenery could not have been better thought up as a script for an end-time blockbuster.

Phew – not a nice area and given the view of the neighborhood it's hard to imagine stepping out the door here, at least not after dark.

While we were hauling our luggage out of the trunk, the host opened the door of the accommodation, yelling loudly, and invited us in. The waiting time was apparently passed by with the supply of alcoholic soft drinks, which also explained the somewhat confused messages. Somewhat surprised that there were three of us, we were led into a kind of children's room with a bunk bed and a third mattress was organized at short notice. This part of the house was obviously not part of the hostel area; it seemed more like we were being put up in the innkeeper's private quarters. The heavily intoxicated colleague did not want to know anything about a booking with 2 rooms and 3 beds and further communication was quite difficult due to his condition. He quickly explained to us that this was the only room available, closed the door behind him and disappeared. Since the bunk bed unanimously failed the short static test, the sleeping configuration, at least for that night, was: 2 completely worn-out mattresses on the dusty floor and 1 bed on the lower level, also with a completely worn-out mattress - and all of that on a floor area of perhaps 10 m² and an outside and inside temperature of around 30°.

We quickly realized that we couldn't and didn't want to spend any longer here, so before we could go to sleep we canceled the remaining days and headed off to dreamland.

The next day, the move to a hotel in the city center was not entirely smooth, as the innkeeper was quite annoyed about our cancellation and repeatedly asked us in disbelief what we were expecting for the price - my advice and the booking with 3 beds in 2 rooms that was shoved in front of him was ignored - after all, you should check beforehand and ask whether the price offered for the stated price is actually realistic, in principle. Absolutely illogical but never mind, after all, the thermometer was already well over 30° early in the morning and they didn't feel like arguing and made off. At least, despite a bad review, they gave us the money we had already paid back without any problems - great!

The first impressions of Asuncion should also remain the general impressions for the entire stay. A settlement of rather unspectacular and aging buildings with no recognizable city center - it all seems more like the suburbs or outskirts of other big cities. You walk through the similar streets with the expectation that something worth seeing will appear around the next corner - a building or something that stands out from the rest of the monotony - but unfortunately without success. The trudge through the city is more like a stroll through an industrial park, because at least fans of retail get their money's worth here: there are countless pharmacies, supermarkets, furniture stores, clothing stores and gas stations. And not much else. Not a bad thing, because at this time of year the sun burns mercilessly and heats the air to more than 45° during the day. If yours truly prefers the far too heavily air-conditioned rooms to outdoor dining when visiting a restaurant, that says a lot about how bearable the heat hell of Asuncion is - at least in the South American summer.

There isn't really much more to report about our stay in Paraguay. Sweating heavily, we took a short stroll through the city to see the few buildings and squares that didn't quite fit in with the industrial area, and we attended a few football matches, which for the reason mentioned above all took place at 7:30 in the morning or after dark - even for fit bodies, sporting activity is only recommended to a limited extent in these climatic conditions. It should also be noted that Paraguay is unbeatably cheap - lunch costs no more than the equivalent of 5 euros, and a taxi ride of over 30 km to the surrounding towns costs around 3.50 euros. It is so cheap that before leaving by bus it became a real challenge to convert the remaining 8 euros into useful goods.

Perhaps there are other places in this country that are worth seeing and spectacular - unfortunately we only found them to a limited extent in Asuncion. However, the people were generally quite nice and interested and that is an added value that you take home as a memory. Paraguay - take care!