Little-visited, little-known Paraguay lies in the heart of the continent South America. I spend a week in Paraguay on my way between north Argentina and Bolivia. They speak Guarani in Paraguay, but Spanish is also widely spoken.
Ciudad del Este is a duty free shopping heaven and many shoppers from Brazil try to find here their bargain. Always a nice surprise when you only have 2 pages left in your passport. The bus stopped at the border of Paraguay, I showed my bag for inspection and waited in line for my stamp. After a half hour I got my stamp! But the bus already leftβ¦. So I started walking into unknown Paraguay. The road which starts at the border is a lively marketplace.
It looked more like a garbage dump. It was extremely hot, dirty and smelly. There were stacks of rubbish everywhere and I passed by heaps of homeless people. The poorness of Paraguay hits you right in the face. I wandered around the back streets of Ciudad del Este and started to get lost. All of a sudden I heard a lot of barking and 2 not so friendly dogs started to ran towards me with a face like they rather see me as their dinner for tonight. I stood still and acted like a statue. Well that only gives you 1 extra day in order to run to your nearest hospital; better to avoid and head back to where I came from.
When I started to walk back I heard gunshots! Where am I?! I ran back to the safe garbage dump and walked into the first hotel I saw. Thanks for the advice! A man was preparing chicken on his bbq next to my hotel. I ordered a few wings, sat down on a plastic chair besides the road and waited for my chicken. Two minutes later an old car with high speed came around the corner. He hit the pool of water located on the ground next to me and I ended up ready for another shower.
Interesting first day in a new country. Despite the not so great start I decided to give Paraguay a chance and started exploring. For me as an engineer it was great to see the power of the Itaipu dam up close! I continued my trip in Paraguay by visiting the city of Encarnacion and the nearby ruins of Jesus and Trinidad. Encarnacion is by far my favorite city in Paraguay, so I would say skip Ciudad del Este and skip the capital to get a more pleasant vibe of Paraguay.
