Paraguay all summed up.

Conception via Filadelphia Jan -

The next morning we are up early to get our passports stamped so that we can get down the road to Filadelphia for breakfast and a bank machine. The breakfast buffet we had read about at Hotel Florida was closed by the time we got there so we ordered off the menu and waited, and waited. Finally, after the brunch buffet was put out we received our meals. Brenda got the largest omelet we have ever seen, it was the full size of a dinner plate, ¾” thick and must have contained a full ring of sausage held together by at least 6 eggs. My burger was large as well and the hand-made patty was a real treat. Obviously the German influence was present in more than just the Colonies, somebodies Grandma was cooking in the back. The brunch buffet was very popular with the locals and at one point it looked like a family reunion for Brenda, lots of big German people enjoying a meal.

We ate a little before remembering to take the picture.

The rest of Paraguay can be summarized as “very similar to Alberta”, the roads are in very good condition to allow the European cars to speed along without hassle. Every third car is a high end Mercedes or BMW. The farms have changed from peasants with hand tools to the latest New Holland and John Deere equipment. The cities are well equipped with all the amenities one would expect and the prices are similar to home. Gas is one of the items that is more expensive than at home, just under $2CDN per liter, good thing the bikes get 70mpg. Paraguay has a large Mennonite population that dates back to the First World War when European and Canadian Mennonites were sold large tracts of land in the Chaco. They unknowingly bought this land thinking it was productive farm land but instead it was dry sandy soil as mentioned in my previous post. Through persistence and hard work they have turned the area into something productive.

The roads South of Mariscal are also similar to the Canadian prairies, straight and flat. We realize that although the scenery is repetitive, there is a lot of it. The vast farm lands and well maintained yards remind me of rural Alberta or Sask and we find ourselves feeling a little homesick. The cities are more modern than in other countries, they have wider streets and we see less and less vendors. The markets are smaller and more sterile in appearance, and although we are still in a warm climate the fruit is imported and we see more and more Equador or Chile stickers. The beef is second only to Argentina, all those ranches we see produce some of the continents best steaks which are all ordered al a’carte, so it is common to see someone eating a big chunk of meat with nothing else, no starch or veggies just meat and maybe a piece of bread.

Lots of these wandering around.

A little warm today.

We visit cities such as Conception, St. Estanislao, Asuncion, and Encarnation. All very similar and nothing really unique in each, or at least that is our experience. Encarnation has a nice waterfront along the Parana River that stretches for about 4km, the river is very wide and it almost feels like a lake instead of a river. This waterfront also serves as a great vacation spot for residents and a place to host the Carnival Festivities that occur the whole month of February.

A helpful and friendly tire repair guy, added air to low front tire.

Weird Craft town

Impressive seed plant operation

Encarnation waterfront

Encarnation waterfront.

 We partake in a Hydro Electric dam tour in Cuidad del Este, it is the largest facility in Paraguay and is shared with Brazil, as the city is located on the border between the two countries. There are 20 turbines in total, the power from 8 are used to power 25% of Paraguay, the power from the other 12 is sold to Brazil as they have a much larger population and infrastructure to service.

Cuidad del Este also has a nice set of waterfalls that are only about 4km from city center so it makes a nice afternoon outing to go for a leisurely walk and have a picnic. This is also good location for visiting Iguazu Falls which are a short drive across the border into Argentina or Brazil depending on which side you want to look at them from. Very much like Niagra falls that can be viewed from Canada or USA. We do not have Brazilian visa’s so we cross the border into Argentina via a ferry and see them from Argentina.