Asunción - a sign from heaven

Finally arrived in Asunción, although the bus ride was long. I didn't take the bus recommended by Lonely Planet, Chaco Boreal, but instead chose Sol de Paraguay on the recommendation of the hotel staff in Ciudad del Este. It sounded better and was a good choice.

Red carpet on the bus and a stewardess - nice. They served empanadas and drinks - okay! However, the roads got worse the closer we got to the capital, so I was jolted awake from my nap several times. The weather was also getting worse - pouring rain and thunderstorms - very dramatic. But it's not cold. The streets were flooded - drenched street dogs. The taxi driver said it had been raining for days - oh dear. Then comes the surprise: in my slightly oversized hotel room on the 8th floor, I open the curtains and the sun peeks out - the sky suddenly clears up! Well, if that's not a sign from heaven? On a building across the street, the flag of Paraguay - we sing the national anthem:

Paraguayos, Republic or death. Somehow it sounds familiar from Cuba - but there it wasn't the Republic - uh - let's forget that.

City walk: morbid charm - not everything is beautiful, but you can still feel the beauty from the colonial times. It was relatively quiet on this Sunday afternoon. Some restaurants were crowded, an old man was playing hot rhythms in a backyard while sitting on a chair. The security forces in the government district were bored, there was a tent camp (probably a protest camp) with families on the Plaza de Armas - children playing and finally at the wide Rio Paraguay, which forms the western border with Argentina, couples walking, people sitting on benches contemplating or dreaming, watching the sunset, maybe they're also content - at least that's how it looked for some people. Few tourists - mostly just a few Germans - fellow countrymen.