The next capital: Asunción

After our last days in Argentina, we returned to Paraguay once again, as we had already booked our flight back to the western side of the Andes from here a while ago. The bus ride from Buenos Aires to Asunción marked our longest so far, with 19.5 hours. Since we had read beforehand that there isn't much to see in Asunción, we compensated for this by booking a slightly fancier hotel for our three days there. It did not disappoint, and we enjoyed the great rooftop terrace with a pool.

Asunción is remarkably green and is characterized by low houses rather than large apartment blocks or skyscrapers, which was a nice change from the other big cities we visited in South America. Additionally, the entire city is very calm and relaxed, and everything feels somehow small and cozy. We were able to explore the entire city center and several small neighborhoods comfortably using the hotel bikes. Within a short time, we visited the few sights of the city: the presidential palace, Plaza de Armas, the pantheon where national heroes are buried, as well as the riverside promenade. Unfortunately, we once again encountered the garbage problem that we have observed many times in South America, which seems to be particularly pronounced near water and ports.

We spent the rest of the weekend strolling in the mall, by the pool, and at the nearby cinema - it really felt like a vacation with an outside temperature of 30 degrees, and we were sometimes reminded of Florida. Then we had to say goodbye to the second country (after Argentina) on our trip. We will see Chile again briefly and then continue to Peru for the final leg.