Why Paraguay?

I’m not sure I can answer that question yet.  Our first impression was disappointing; our later impression was greatly improved but now???  We are still not sure.   

Unlike most places we have visited, there is little here to attract throngs of tourists.  There are no mountains, no amazing nearby hiking trails, and certainly no seaside beaches.  There is no big-city grandeur and no gentry country life. While there are lovely lake beaches and intriguing small towns, some are difficult for non-locals to visit without a driver and/or guide. In short, there is little fodder for tourist brochures as the country is simply not set up for heavy tourist travel. But we have adventurous spirits, and renting a 4-wheel drive vehicle will open the door for us.  

First, let’s learn a bit more about why this pretty country is not more attractive to visitors. Paraguay is in the center of South America, lying between Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil.  Its culture is kin to that found in these sister countries, and despite the horrific wars that took place among these neighbors, their people have put aside their differences and live in peace today.  However, unspoken feelings of resentment still seem to impede relations between Bolivia and Paraguay.  Perhaps that is because both countries are in direct competition. They are the “stepchildren” states of South America.  Not only are they land-locked, but Paraguay and Bolivia are the poorest and least developed of all South American countries. 

While they have no seaports with direct access to the sea, like many landlocked states on the Mississippi waterways, both have access to the Atlantic by way of the very large Rio Paraguay – Parana River system. There, long barges float valuable shipments of soy, beef, and chemicals to the Buenos Aires port. These rivers run north to south and divide Paraguay into two natural districts.  The Paranena region to the east is the highland and home to Asuncion, the nation’s capital. The Gran Chaco region on the other side of the river is semi-arid and is where most wildlife is found. If very lucky, visitors in Chaco can see large native animals like jaguar, ocelot, puma, tapir, and peccaries plus find a huge and varied bird population. The Chaco makes up 60% of Paraguay’s land and is home to 17 native Paraguayan tribes and several German Mennonite communities. Remarkably though, all these people account for only 3% of Paraguay’s population. Given the low population density and rich wildlife, Chaco sounds ripe for new safari expedition businesses. I’d sure sign up! 

While Paraguayan culture is distinctly Spanish, the country has welcomed immigrants from many countries.  Some came here seeking asylum, some to escape religious persecution, and some to take advantage of opportunities to obtain cheap farmland. During the Paraguayan War in the late 1800s. sixty percent of adult men lost their lives. Afterward, the country actively encouraged immigration to repopulate the country. Since women outnumbered men 6 to 1, some came here then to find a wife.  

The weather here is a an attractive positive. The climate is tropical/sub-tropical. It is very hot and humid during summer months and mild thereafter, but with the country’s flat landscape, winds can bring about dramatic weather changes with little notice. Since arriving here, a month ago, we endured several continuous days of downpours that flooded streets followed by days of clear blue skies with 75-degree temps, and then there were days with clear blue skies with 90-degree temperatues, Strings of days arrived with daytime highs no mre than mid-50’s and the lows hovered around 40. Today, for example, the daytime high is projected to be 88 degrees but is forecasted to reach only 60 degrees tomorrow. Obviously, some days need heat turned on in the morning and air-conditioning a few hours later. Because it is winter here now, most days bring us mild temperatures with soft breezes. We open the windows to bring in fresh air; no screens are needed. Mosquitos and creepy-crawlers are not a worry here in the city. 

We have walked several parts of this town so far going in and out of neighborhoods and sections of town. Asuncion is a dichotomy. While it is modern and rich, it is also decrepit and ungodly poor. It has a rich and intriguing history of wars and occupations, but the story is not readily brought to life because historic buildings and landmarks have not been maintained or restored. 

In our walking tour on one of our first days here, the guide presented a 3-hour lecture giving us a peek into Paraguay’s recent history, post-Conquistador and Spanish Independence times. And he added that Paraguay has a dark under-belly of governmental corruption and a history of former gun and illegal goods trade. The country even tolerated Nazi war-criminal hideouts post WWII. Every country has its story.  

I love to talk about food. The Asuncion walking tour we took early in our time here ended about noon that day and knowing most people like to eat, our guide gave us tips on the best restaurants in the city and also mentioned places where the locals go. Before ending the tour, he also told the group that although the city is very generally very safe, it is not wise to walk in the old city after 8 pm, and he specifically named Market Number 4 as an area that tourists should avoid and certainly not inadvertently stumble into. We took note of Market Number 4 but wondered in which part of town it might be.

Of course . . . on a recent adventure by bus late in the afternoon one day, I saw that our bus route began taking us away from ordinary-looking city streets and soon was going down the middle of a wild-looking place. Traffic was very heavy, and I saw that we were driving through a congested, dark street with a maze of side streets packed with market stalls. One dirty-looking, over-crowded place followed another. Noise on the street was loud and more than chaotic. People treated the streets like sidewalks. They dashed from stall to stall on this side of the street then the other with no regard for oncoming cars or buses while gesturing and hollering to others down the street. With wide eyes, I thought it just did not look right. My antenna went up. I started thinking, “What if a crazy person boards the bus and starts making demands? What will he think when he sees Stan and me shining out like Christmas lights on this bus otherwise filled with locals?”  I prayed, “Please God, don’t let the bus stop here!”

The bus door never opened. 

After making home safely, I checked the map. Yep, it was Market No. 4. Not only is the area wild, but it’s also very big! It covers a whole neighborhood! It is known to be the place for the best prices in town, but we have been told it is dangerous, the merchants are aggressive, and one can get lost in the tangle of streets. Clearly, it is no place for gringos like Stan and me.

Check! That’s done! Whew! 

If all we want to do is eat good food, we could certainly keep busy here. There is an abundance of good restaurants and lots of them are highly upscale. Even the best, most expensive dishes are not expensive in terms of prices we are accustomed to seeing. The greatest price we have seen so far is a fee of about $35 for a complete never-ending carne meal at one of the many and very popular Churrascaria’s. As a note, these restaurants are Brazilian-style steak houses we know at home but Paraguayans proudly protest the name. They say they should be called Paraguayan-style steak houses since the concept was created in Paraguay where the best beef is grown and served. The nasty Brazilians just stole the idea.

There are homestyle eating places too. These are frequented by locals who come to enjoy a plate of fresh-cooked plate of traditional Paraguayan food often for about $2.50 American a plate. We visited the Mercadito 1 a few days ago to see what these places are all about. Our walking guide had suggested it as such a place and added it is not far from the center of town. Of course, we tried it out. It’s not one restaurant but a collection of small ones situated in one big open hall. Colorful tables distinguish one tiny restaurant from another. Yellow tables with blue chairs mark one restaurant, white tables with white chairs belong to another, etc. It made us think of the very popular Mercado De Marisco fish market and restaurants on the Cinta Costera in Panama City Panama. Small kitchens line all four walls of the hall where foods for breakfast (desayuno) and lunch (almuerzo) are cooked fresh in great pans and kettles by senoras and their hijas from early morning to about 3 pm daily. Between the kitchens are tiny make-shift kiosks selling everything from toys to fruit and vegetables or even underwear or hardware. Guests walk in, look around, and pick a restaurant by sitting at one of their tables. Often sharing a long table with other diners, they choose from four or five main dishes of the day. The food is served pronto and hot. The mama does the cooking and collecting of cash; the daughter takes orders, serves, and cleans up. No English, not one bit, is spoken, and no beer is served but a glass of juice comes with each meal. Like what your grandmother might have made for dinner in long ago times, the food was simple, delicious, and filling, and the atmosphere was ummm . . . unique. We marked this as another experience I dare say most of our family and probably all of our friends wouldn’t care to undertake. Personally, I’d give it a go again, but Stan says he will not make the effort. 

Paraguay’s greatest asset is its people. These are a friendly and helpful bunch. Most speak a little English, and it thrills them to get to practice the language while we, in turn, are delighted to try our extremely broken elementary Spanish. Everyone we meet greets us with a smile and a “hola” or “que tal.” 

Paraguay’s greatest attraction is its untamed lands and its wildlife. However since soy was introduced to Paraguayan farmers in 2019, forest and jungle land is giving away to crops, especially in Chaco but even today, green space is abundant.

To see Paraguay’s big wild animals in their natural habitat, visitors must make a journey to the heart of Chaco. Even though these 5- to 6-hour one-way driving trips on rough roads are ridiculously expensive and require a 2-3 day stay, a trip there is something we are thinking about even if we must do it independently. Wish us luck! Finding birds and waterfowl though is simple; one must only go to the river. As we walked the Costanera along the Bay of the Paraguayan River a few days ago, the marshland was alive with birds. We saw great hawks, a tiny owl, and numerous small flitters and tweeters.

A few days later we kicked things up a notch by taking an all-day guided boat trip on the Paraguayan River to a point about 30 km upriver from Asuncion. There along the peaceful and quiet waterway, we heard songbirds and spotted numerous birds like several varieties of Kingfishers doing what they do, hunting for fish, and we saw an owl, smaller birds, hawks, and lots of waterfowl like colorful ducks, egrets, and cranes. Our guide pointed out each bird by name and handed us his guidebook to learn more about each species, but their names evaporated by the time the tour was complete. Quite simply, the glory of the day was leaving the city for a while seeing the countryside where once we were reminded that this is a very lush and green country but also is a very poor place for many to live.

Once we finally arrived at the river, we had to check in with the Navy and pay a fee. At the landing where our guide launched our long flat-bottomed boat, a gang of feral but friendly dogs ran loose. Trash and debris littered the dirt landscape. Much of it was smashed flat and appeared thrown out years ago. A family living in a house on the property makes their meager living assisting boaters get their boat in and out of the water, unloading and loading gear while the kids hop in the boat to check lights and ensure they are working on the boat and trailer. They work quietly and efficiently; they know what they are doing. The family earns a few Ganas for their work and takes home any snacks leftover from the tour.  

Our photos of the day are gorgeous. 

So, again, why come here?  

Stan and I chose Paraguay for two reasons: One, we like South America and have visited Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Columbia before.  We even spent a day in Uruguay a couple of years ago but have never been to Paraguay. Two, living here gives us another chance to improve our Spanish proficiency. While that is reason enough for Stan and me, finding stimulating, exciting things to do here for two more months will require work. There probably won’t be symphony concerts or even native flamenco or tango shows. I won’t be telling stories of high-flying balloon rides or parasailing, and we won’t be able to share any underwater snorkeling photos. So what in the heck are we going to do? 

We will see more of the city, leaving no leaf unturned. We are going to eat good food and grow fat. We will visit towns and places we can see during day trips and may rent that 4-wheel drive vehicle to find the tallest hill, the best river beach, and maybe spot a puma or at the very least a tapir in the Chaco. And as we did in Panama, we will settle down and trade a glitzy tourist life for that of a local. We are searching for a church with services in English and will look for a place where we might work as volunteers. And since we intend to eat well, we are committed to regular visits to the gym upstairs in the apartment building, walking several miles a day, enjoying the pool, and planning the next stop . . . which we think will be a short stay in Brazil and a boat trip up the Amazon, wrapped up with a visit to Bolivia. 

We have two months yet to live here. . . these may be the best! 

WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY AND THANKFUL 4TH OF JULY! GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY!