Out and about in Asuncion, Stef was very tuned in to the number of
police/military types there are around and the quantity and size of
their guns. Its 27C at 10:30 in the morning and feels set to be a
hot sticky day.
Plaza Uruguaya
We ambled down Palma, which seems to be a main
road. Outside tourist info there's a small stage with girls dancing.
They are all dressed in white and perform a slow and graceful dance
which, when they add carafes and wine bottles to their heads is a
display of poise and deportment.
Tomorrow is a public holiday celebrating the end
of the Chaco war. Its not clear if the dancing, later replaced by a
guitarist and harpist, is a weekly occurrence or just due to the
holiday. There's a buzz about the place. Makeshift stalls line the
road selling lacework, clothes, food. Men are walking around trying
to sell fake watches - so far they still go away with an initial
firm "no gracias". We're not the only tourists here (there's one
other couple!) but we stand our by miles. From the others I've seen
here and in Uruguay its not just our appearance but there's also an
element of wary apprehension which seems to mix feelings of "I'm not
comfortable here" with "of course I am, I just wish I knew which way
to go without having to look at a map".
We talked what the economy here is probably like
and concluded that there's a small proportion of the population who
are very wealthy but that most are pretty poor.
At Plaza Uruguay we sat in the shade to get our
bearings and to decide which bus to get tomorrow down to Encarnacion,
to see the Jesuit Mission ruins. Stef spied a lady selling the local
drink terere - its like mate tea but made with cold water. Its only
after he's bought it and drunk some tat he pondered about how clean
the water was and the bombilla (straw) that you drink it through -
time will tell! I couldn't work out if he really liked it but he
later confirmed that he did.
A couple of German men stopped to have a chat -
one was very short with an incredibly round belly (must hold loads
of the local German style beer, Baviera), the other is a young chap
in his mid 20's. Despite the heat they both have shirts and ties on
and are carrying document wallets - everything about them shouts
that they are religious missionaries. Sure enough, after making
genial conversation for a while, they started to bring out leaflets
and pamphlets which they left with Stef. They were Jehovah's
Witnesses.
As the top end of the square a building that
looks like an exhibition hall turns out to be a bookshop. It was
mainly educational books but they did have Harry Potter. Next stop
was the bus ticket office where they recommended we got a later bus
than we'd planned to because it didn't stop so often along the way.
It costs about £5 each for a 5 hour trip, just short of 300km.
This will be our first trip on a real bus. I'm a
bit apprehensive about what's in store, how comfy it will be and
whether it has a (usable) loo on board! I think we'll possibly pinch
the spare loo roll from our hotel as its the first soft one we've
come across since we left home. We checked to see how secure our
bags will be. Stef's wary because he's read in one travel book that
people hide in the luggage compartment and spend these long trips
opening up bags at their leisure. We're reassured that the bags are
effectively checked in and we're given tags that we need to show at
the other end to get our bags back.
Near the bus office is the old railway station,
now closed for trains (as only a tourist train runs in Paraguay now)
but used as a car park. There's a couple of old carriages and the
first steam engine that was used here. It's sad to see but at least
the building is being maintained and used - the ticket hall is now
used by a flamenco dancing association. The old carriages are from a
bygone age with dark, heavy wood paneling and red leather seats. Its
also a first sign that the area we're in becomes the red light
district at night. Even though its only 1pm, the ladies are already
out plying their trade.
Heading back towards downtown we took a different
road and stumbled across the Munich restaurant. As its name
suggests, it has German roots and the lady serving is definitely of
German origin. They had a courtyard behind the restaurant which
provided a cool shady spot out of the heat of the day. It was a real
mix of a place with heavy, dark wooden tables and chairs set in a
mediterranean style courtyard with sub tropical plants and a
fountain trickling in the background. We decamped for a couple of
hours until the breeze started to pick up and it cooled down.
Cámara de Senadores
Whilst there we started to replan our trip beyond
Paraguay. We had intended to go to Bolivia but the political
situation there at the moment is a bit tricky and the Foreign Office
are advising against non-essential travel. Although disappointing,
it gives us options - try for the Galapagos Islands, more time in
Peru/Ecuador/Canada or fit in another country.
In the afternoon we saw the main sights of
Asuncion. The Catedral was shut but we were able to go into the
Cámara de Senadores - the main senate house and former home of
Carlos Lopez, one of Paraguay's famous leaders.. Its a large pink
building and I wondered if the colour was a conscious choice to be
similar to its counterpart in Buenos Aires. Inside there are a few
rooms with displays of indigenous costumes and information charting
the development of the city. The
Further round the Plaza de Armas is the Cámara de
Diputados (the congress building) which was originally built by the
Jesuits. Its has a main inner courtyard, with a sunken middle. The
steps down to the middle run the full length of the courtyard
creating the feeling of an amphitheatre. Set within one corner is a
further inner courtyard. This has a small but beautiful garden
surrounding a statue of (I think) Jesus. It's a very calm inner
sanctum. The walkways around the courtyards are covered providing
shade from the sun. Each door and window is the office of a
different government department.
The main Palacio de Gobierno is a huge white
building with immaculately tended gardens. Unlike the last two
buildings, there's no visiting this one. Soldiers stand guard but
are OK with photos being taken. We're becoming acclimatised to the
sight of so many soldiers and guns and have found them all to be
friendly when we've said hello and asked for info.
Opposite the palace is a small sector of houses
that have been restored. These are part museum and part art gallery.
The museum has one room refurbished in original style showing the
furniture of the day. It also has town plans and postcards showing
how the city has evolved and developed. Much of the colonial
architecture has been destroyed in various programmes of modernising
the city. The ones that are left as highly decorated and it would
have been fantastic to see the city in its pre-modernised state.
The art gallery is extensive with rooms leading
off one another. In the central courtyard there's a small group
having what sounds like a very intellectual discussion/debate about
something. Its frustrating that my poor Spanish doesn't allow me to
eavesdrop and find out what they're chatting about.
We headed back to our hotel via a German bakery -
it was closed but just the signs on the shelves had Stef oohing and
aahing with remembered pleasures of those breads from when he worked
in Germany. At the hotel we went for a swim in the rooftop pool.
There was a warm breeze, nice after the heat of the day, but the
water was so cold that neither of us made it deeper than our knees.
Next to the pool there was a small games room
with a pool table. With memories of a terrible (and very long) game
in Darjeeling in India, we again attempted to play. Stef's not
great, I'm dismal. He won by 3 games to 2 and I have to confess that
I only got those because Stef fouled on the black!! I obviously need
more practice.
