A Transit Through Paraguay

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
Asuncion
June 12-14, 2013
June 15-20

Thus Far...

I knew nothing about Paraguay, except for a little bit of history.

I was aware that Paraguay had been involved in a destructive war in the middle of the 19th century, the War of the Triple Alliance, but aside from that it was a black box to me. On the map it appeared to be squashed by the neighbouring countries of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. I was keen to learn some more history, and meet some Paraguayans.

The Smuggling Capital Of Paraguay

As I crossed the border from Argentina into Paraguay, the bus stopped to let everyone off to get their exit stamps from Argentina. However, I could see no place to get an entry stamp into Paraguay. I asked the bus driver about this and he only ushered me towards the bus and stated ¨vamos¨ (¨let´s go¨). This seemed odd to me, but I thought that maybe the Paraguay entry stamp point lay ahead in a different building. Alas, the bus continued straight on and we eventually arrived in Ciudad del Este in the evening, and me with no entry stamp for Paraguay.

After disembarking, I decided to try and walk to the hostel I had booked using only my memory of a map that I had looked at the previous day. Unfortunately, it was dark and there were no street signs, so after ten minutes I realized that this approach was not going to work. I approached a couple of fellows chatting on the side of the road, and after we struck up a quasi-conversation with my jagged Spanish, one of them, Ricardo, offered to drive me to my hostel, although he had never heard of it. I quickly appraised him - he seemed alright, and the fare was reasonable. I accepted. We got on the road and after a while found my hostel, Casa Alta, in the middle of a grass field, surrounded by a few abandoned buildings. Ricardo turned to me and stated ¨esto parece peligroso¨, translated as ¨this looks dangerous.¨ I had to agree.

Fortunately, I was greeted warmly at the front door by Victor, the young fellow who ran the hostel, and his excitable little dog Lucas. Casa Alta turned out to be spectacular. It was a three-story mansion, with high ceilings, spacious rooms, multiple balconies, a beautiful swimming pool, and a fully equipped dance floor on the roof. Victor´s parents had built it a few years earlier as a sort of retirement home but got carried away, adding more rooms and floors over time. Ultimately, they decided not to live there, so Victor and his sister converted it into a hostel. It was magnificent, although a bit out of place.

I decided to pay a visit to the Itaipu Dam the following day. I had read about this dam before. I knew that it was the largest hydroelectric dam in the world by annual energy output, that it supplied fully 90% of Paraguay´s electricity and 20% of the electricity for Brazil, and that it was over seven kilometers in length. However, I wanted to see the behemoth for myself. 

As I rocked up to the Itaipu Dam, I was pleased to note that the staff were quite friendly. After a fifteen minute video, I boarded a bus and was driven around the dam for a couple of hours. It was impressive, so impressive that I returned the next day with a couple of Dutch friends from the hostel to see the dam at night. The night show was well worth the second visit. Our small tour group was positioned at an ideal vantage point and the dam was lit up slowly over ten minutes to thunderous classical music. I now know the reason that Itaipu Dam is classified as one of the seven modern wonders of the world. 

Interestingly, most of the Paraguayans that I spoke with had mixed feelings about Itaipu Dam. While they were proud of it as a marvel of modern construction, many were bitter towards Brazil, which had secured extremely cheap energy payments from Paraguay back in the 1970s when Itaipu was built. When you think about it, even though Itaipu Dam supplies 90% of Paraguay´s electricity and 20% of Brazil´s, Paraguay only has six and a half million people compared to almost 200 million in Brazil, so the vast majority of Itaipu´s energy is being diverted towards Brazil.

Back at the hostel, I asked Victor about my lack of an entry stamp to Paraguay. He chuckled and stated that it was a common occurrence, as it allowed the border guards to charge an ¨extra fee¨ upon attempting to exit the country without an entry stamp. It was no problem though, as I could walk back to the border and get the stamp in person. I decided to do this the next day, and was accompanied by another traveller who had also been deprived of an entry stamp, a talkative fellow from the UK named Dave. To get to the border, we had to go through Ciudad del Este.

Ciudad del Este is Paraguay´s second-largest city with a population of 320,000. It is a smuggling city, with some estimates putting the value of the black market in Ciudad del Este at five times the national economy. Essentially, people from Brazil and Argentina cross the border into the city to buy extremely cheap computers and other electronic goods. Ciudad del Este is noisy, dirty, and reminds me of Mos Eisley spaceport from Star Wars. Dave and I strolled around for a few hours, checked out a few shops, met a few shady characters, and walked to the border to receive our entry stamps.

After this little venture, there was little else that I wanted to see in Ciudad del Este, and I boarded a bus to Asuncion, the capital city. The landscape was not particularly stimulating, and consisted of fairly flat land with a few small trees and bushes. Dave had decided to accompany me again, however, and this provided for good company as well as several spirited discussions. We bought some chipa bread during the trip, a traditional bread of Paraguay. It was the best bread I have ever tasted.
From the outside, Casa Alta hostel in Ciudad del Este does not seem like much.
From the inside, it is a different story.
Spillways of Itaipu Dam. The maximum flow of all fourteen spillways is equivalent to 40 times the average flow of Iguazu Falls. Insane!
Behind Itaipu Dam. The amount of iron and steel used to construct the dam could be used to create 380 Eiffel Towers.
Itaipu Dam at night. The dam is lit up slowly over ten minutes, accompanied by thunderous classical music.
Ciudad del Este. Essentially a thriving smuggling center, this city reminded me of Mos Eisley spaceport from Star Wars.
Dave and I strolling the streets of Ciudad del Este.
No lack of advertising in Ciudad del Este.
Chipa bread from Paraguay may be the best bread in the world.

The Real Capital Of Paraguay

Dave and I arrived in Asuncion and made our way to the fantastic El Nomada hostel, run by the warm and generous William and Patty. I quickly learned that William and Patty treated their guests like royalty, with pancake breakfasts every morning and frequent asados in the evening, and they went beyond the call of duty in extending assistance to their guests. I figured it was a good place to stay for a few days. I met several great people at El Nomada, and it formed my launching platform for exploring Asuncion.

Asuncion is a large city, with a metropolitan population of over two million people. It is one of South America´s oldest cities, being founded in 1537. My first impression was that it was decidedly quiet for a large city, although after doing a bit of exploring I discovered that Asuncion has a tumultuous history. A few buildings in particular deserve mention:

(1) Palacio de los Lopez (Palace of Lopez) - This building is the seat of the government of Paraguay. It was started in 1857 by Carlos Antonio Lopez, and afterwards passed onto his son, Francisco Solano Lopez. Solano Lopez was the leader of Paraguay during the era of the War of the Triple Alliance from 1864 to 1870, during which Paraguay fought against the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. It ended with the total defeat of Paraguay, with the country losing about half of its land, and over half if its entire population, with up to 90% of the male population wiped out. Proportionally, it was the most destructive war of modern times. 

(2) Panteon Nacional de los Heroes (National Pantheon of the Heroes) - The mausoleum of Paraguay, this building houses the remains of many national heroes, including Solano Lopez as well as Jose Felix Estigarribia Insaurralde, the latter of whom led Paraguay during the Chaco War of 1932 to 1935. This war was fought against Bolivia over the Gran Chaco region, thought to be rich in oil and containing the Paraguay River which allowed access to the Atlantic Ocean, vital to both the landlocked countries of Paraguay and Bolivia. The Chaco War was the bloodiest military conflict of the 20th century. Paraguay won this war.

(3) Bolsi - Not much history here, just a great retaurant that is ¨the place to be¨ in Asuncion. It has a great atmosphere, and great food.

I had an opportunity to visit several museums and speak to a few Paraguayans over the next few days in Asuncion. Since the country had experienced a rocky history, I was curious to see what the typical Paraguayan thought of their past wars, particularly with regards to Solano Lopez and the Triple Alliance War. Prior to visiting Paraguay, most of the sources I had read about Solano Lopez demonized the man, painting him as almost solely responsible for the war, but surprisingly, every Paraguayan I spoke with viewed him as a hero. At the hostel, Patty, who was Paraguayan, also told me that most people viewed Solano Lopez favourably. I was also interested in the history of the Jesuits in Paraguay. The Jesuits were founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola and consisted of a Christian male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, whose members were willing to accept orders anywhere in the world and work in any conditions (the order actually still exists). In the 17th century, the Jesuits formed reductions (native city-states) in many parts of Brazil and Paraguay, which partly served to protect the Guarani natives from slavery. Most of the Paraguayans I spoke with had a positive outlook with regards to the Jesuits.

After nearly a week relaxing in Asuncion, I was keen to move on to Bolivia, and so one evening I found myself en route to the bus station. Dave had left a couple of days earlier. Upon arriving at the bus station, I ran into a couple of girls waiting for the same bus as me who were being interrogated by an unsavoury-looking character. One of the girls turned to me and said, ¨Can you ask him what he wants? I don´t speak Spanish.¨ I thought that was pretty odd, especially considering that she certainly looked and sounded like a latina. I told them that he wanted some money. After a polite refusal to the man, the same girl turned to me and stated, ¨I actually do speak Spanish, I just didn´t feel like talking to him.¨ Fair enough, I thought. Little had I known that I had just met my travelling companions for the next few weeks: Marlen from Costa Rica, and Ellie from Germany.
El Nomada, a great hostel to rest and relax in. This is an asado.
Asuncion is relatively quiet for a major capital city, but it does possess an exciting history.
The Palacio de los Lopez is the workplace for the president of Paraguay, and the seat of the government.
Francisco Solano Lopez (1827 to 1870) is generally regarded as the prime mover behind the War of the Triple Alliance, which devastated Paraguay. However, the Paraguayans I spoke with generally viewed him as a fearless hero led his troops to the end (sourced from wikipedia).
Paraguay before and after the War of the Triple Alliance. She lost half her territory to Brazil and Argentina (sourced from www.economist.com).
Panteon Nacional de los Heroes contains the remains of many famous Paraguayan leaders, including Solano Lopez and Jose Felix Estigarribia Insaurralde.

Looking Beyond...

After spending a week and a half in Paraguay, I felt that the country was a victim of its central position in South America, surrounded by larger countries that had taken advantage of their smaller neighbour in the past, and who continued to take advantage of it in the present. With regards to Paraguay´s landscape, this was essentially uninteresting. The people, who are generous, humorous, and friendly, constitute the real wealth of the country; I guess one could say this about any country, but it was especially apparent in Paraguay. At any rate, it was time for me to get on a bus to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.