Time to put our shorts and sundresses back on! After a seven hour bus ride west from Iguazu Falls, we had arrived somewhere we never thought we would…a new country and the sizzling capital of Paraguay. 🇵🇾 Bienvenidos a Asuncion, known as the “Mother of Cities” because it is one of the first cities in South America to be founded by European explorers in the year 1537. It’s certainly a place we never really desired to go, but as any true explorer does, we figured, por que no? We were eager to find something interesting in this sweltering and dusty capital of Paraguay.
To get there, our route crossed the bottom half of one of two landlocked countries in South America. Paraguay is known for being hot, humid and flat. It is filled with plentiful farmland and is inhabited by mostly mestizos, people of mixed European and Indian descent, and most are bilingual in Spanish and Guaraní. Guaraní is actually an official national language alongside Spanish and everyone speaks both. We were also excited to fill in our “Been” Country App. That donut hole was looking pretty stark in South America, so we knew where to head next.
We took another luxury bus from Foz do Iguacu to Asuncion. It cost $46 for two tickets. The seats were lazy-boy like recliners. What a way to travel!!
When we rolled into the Paraguay customs, we were immediately greeted with shopping, after shopping opportunities. This is what is Ciudad del Este, the border town is very well known for. Bienvenidos to Paraguay. Land of an insane currency conversion.
And for us? Boiled eggs. Because this has become our healthy, gluten-free go-to bus snack.
We spent three nights and two full days in Asuncion, which for us, was more than enough. It allowed us the chance to visit the pretty in pink Palacio de López, the former residence of Marshal Francisco Solano López, former president during the Paraguayan War. In 1869, the occupation of Asunción and looting also began, which seriously affected the interior of the Palace, converted from that moment into a Brazilian barracks, until the end of the occupation in 1876. The Palace remained abandoned for many years until its reconstruction began in 1890, inaugurated in 1892, and has been the headquarters of the Paraguayan Government since then.
Unlike other Latin American city centers, Asuncion was definitely not blanketed with charm. The most charming area we found was Barrio Loma San Jerónimo located around 2km from the centre. This authentic neighborhood, complete with lots of color and accents, is one of the oldest areas in Asunción.
We chose to walk out to it in the middle of the day and were practically baking, hardly seeing another soul. They were probably smartly taking a siesta.
Splashes of street art in San Jerónimo.
One thing we definitely noticed about Asuncion? A higher feline presence than is normal in LA cities.
Another thing? We were perplexed to learn that they carry around massive thermoses of water for maté, just like in Uruguay and Argentina. Why perplexed? Because the temperature often hovers around a 100 degrees F/38 C. Who wants to drink hot tea in that? Well, we learned from our uber driver that in fact the water is ice cold, and typically mint/limón flavored. When he offered us a taste we were surprised to learn it was indeed quite refreshing!
We wandered into the very dusty looking market, which was eerily empty.
One of the first colonial mansions we saw. They were few and far between.
The Spanish in Paraguay was slightly easier to understand than in Argentina and Uruguay but they still said “to have” differently, which definitely takes you for a loop. Why oh why?! 😁
So…although we showed you the pretty photos first, in actuality this is what the majority of the center of Asuncion looked like. It was ripped up, seemingly permanently under construction, coated your sweaty skin with a layer of dust and produced even more tripping hazards than were used to in Latin America. (Which is a LOT!)
However, we then rolled into a beautiful park in the center. Fittingly called …Parque de Uru-guay. Uh. Yeah, that makes sense. The guays sure seem different!
As with many American cities, you can find the skeletons of once immaculate train stations now in disuse. This one sadly stopped passenger service in 1990, and tourist service in 2009.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Asuncion was inaugurated in 1845.
The Plaza de Independencia honors, you guessed it, Paraguay’s independence from Spain, which happened in 1842. However, it would not be done fighting. The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadliest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin American history. (Wikipedia) For the record, the country has also been massively reduced in size over the centuries. It used to even have a coastline!
Another pink building in the background of the plaza is the cultural center of the city today.
The National Pantheon of the Heroes contains the remains of heroes from Paraguay’s history.
It was also among one of the nicer areas in the center.
What a powerful image!
The Independence House Museum is where Paraguay’s independence was declared. The flag of Paraguay was modeled after the colors in the French, not US flag in 1842 and is believed to signify independence and liberty. The flag is unusual because it differs on both sides. The observe shows the national coat of arms and the other side the seal of the the seal of the treasury. It is one of only three national flags worldwide which bears this feature, the others being from Moldova and Saudi Arabia (wiki).
Colonial charm in the foreground melds with dilapidated shells of edifices in the background. Unfortunately more of the city was the latter. Paraguay is one of the poorest countries in South America and it shows in their infrastructure.
An Uber driver recommended the Lido Bar to us for traditional eats. It has a fun diner style bar that made you feel like you were stepping back in time 70 years ago.
Greg had the Chipq Guasú, a traditional Paraguayan dish which is a salty cake made with corn grains, onions and Paraguayan cheese. It was delicious and tasted a lot like a dish called Corn Pudding which Estadounidenses eat for Thanksgiving. Mandy funnily had ravioli stuffed with cheese. Not at all Paraguayan. The total lunch bill was $12 which included two beers. We’d rate is on par with expenses in Ecuador.
Are we in the Netherlands? You’d think with those flags! 🤣 But once you look down, you’ll know you’re not!
More photos from the San Jerónimo neighborhood.
And…before we went home for the night, guess what else we found which tasted AMAZING in steamy Asuncion?! They had AÇAÍ!!! Hooray! Guess we weren’t done with our favorite treat just yet.
Our Airbnb apartment in Asuncion was designed by the architect owner based on Arabic architecture to keep out the heat. It has a completely stunning design with stain glass windows, vaulted ceilings and well-crafted furniture. And costs only $22.50/night.
The well stocked kitchen with full fridge, and everything we needed to cook a meal last night as well as a washing machine. It was so pretty we wanna have friends over! Too bad we don’t have any in Asunción! And we weren’t planning on sticking around to find out. 🤣
