When we were buying our bus ticket to Asunción, there were a number of potential vendors, so as usual we shopped around for the best price. There were two stalls next to each both offering the same price (50,000 Guaraní [G]), leaving at the same time and showing us buses that looked very similar. After some deliberation, we decided to go with the first guy because he seemed nicer. However, when his bus arrived it looked nothing like the pictures he had shown us. It was a run down, non air-conditioned, plastic seating (the type your skin sticks to when it’s really hot), local bus and my stomach dropped when I realised how much time we would have to spend in this sweat-box. To make it worse, the second guy’s bus (who we stupidly didn’t choose) pulled up right next to ours and looked exactly like the luxurious, air-conditioned, comfy seating photo he had shown us.
We went back to the first guy to demand an explanation but instead of being embarrassed by his obvious lie he just grabbed our bags and snuck us on to the nice looking bus. Always wanting to do the right thing, I spent the whole bus ride feeling mildly guilty and hoping they wouldn’t do a second ticket check! I was distracted from my guilt though by the hoards of people constantly coming on the bus to sell almost anything you could possible want. There were men with fake sunglasses, toys, pirate DVDs, USB sticks and memory cards and women with empanadas, chipas (a cheese bread made with masonic flour), fruit, snacks and both hot and cold drinks. I thought if I was a local, there would be no need to go to the supermarket because you could just buy your goods on the bus while sitting down!
We arrived in Asunción quite late, after our 7 hour bus ride from Ciudad del Este that went painfully slow because of how many times the bus stopped. There are no such things as official bus stops apparently in Paraguay, so people just flag it down wherever, even if it’s only 10 metres away from someone else flagging the same bus! One man on the bus even requested it to stop so he could jump off and get some hot mate (a yerba tea that EVERYBODY drinks in Paraguay. They take tea addiction to the next level because they usually carry around a large thermos with them so they can refill regularly)! It can be a bit nerve-racking arriving in a new city after dark, especially if you don’t know where you are going. However, in this case it gave us our first example of our nice and friendly the people of Paraguay are. We jumped on a local bus and I asked an older lady where we needed to get off, she then proceeded to hand draw me a detailed map of the streets in the area to show me exactly. When she got off the bus she also told the bus driver so he could stop at the right place. Without my little lady next to me I must have still looked nervous, because a younger lady then came and sat next to me, speaking in English and assuring me she would tell us when to get off.
The city of Asunción is nothing special, 1-2 days is adequate time to spend here and get a feel for the city. The city centre is quite small, all in walking distance and you only need a couple of hours to see the ‘sights’. It was here, that we were reminded again of the lack of tourism infrastructure in Paraguay. To begin with we only saw a handful of tourists, many of the recommended attractions were actually closed, all the attractions were in Spanish only (even though foreigners have to pay up to double what the locals pay) and one local guys even straight out asked us “What are you doing here in Paraguay?”
Our day in Asunción looked like this:
Mercardo 4: Wondering around the largest and most chaotic open air market in Asunción is a fun experience, because you can buy almost anything you want (including snacks for the day) while getting a real-life, crazy, local experience of everyday life in the capital. Entrance is at the intersection of Avenida Petirrosi and Calle República Francesa.
Estación Ferrocarril (railway station): One of the first railway lines in South America is between Asunción and Encarnación, which was inaugurated in 1861. No longer in use, the station now displays one of the trains that used this route. There is a small museum attached (everything is in Spanish) which has original artifacts, log books, tickets and mechanical equipment from this period.
Panteón de los Héroes (Pantheon of the Heroes): It is one the most famous landmarks in Asunción and located in the heart of the city right next to the plaza with the same name. It is a mausoleum that holds the remains of key figures in Paraguayan history including presidents Carlos Antonio López and Francisco Solano López, top military personnel and two Unknown Soldiers. The building is protected by miliary soldiers and a changing of the guards can be seen daily.
Artisanal Markets: A large variety of stalls set up in Plaza Juan E O’Leary sell local, handmade art crafts which are interesting to watch being made and make perfect souvenirs.
Casa de la Independencia: The house was built in 1772 and became the place where Paraguay declared its Independence in 1811. Unfortunately it was closed for restoration when we were there, however usually it’s a museum that holds original documents and artifacts from the time of independence.
Palacio López: Ordered by the first president of Paraguay, Carlos Antonio López, who intended it for his son, Francisco Solano López, construction of the building started in 1857. It served as a workplace for the President and the seat of government.
Museo Naval Humaitá: Docked behind the Palacio López, this naval museum is on a battle ship used in the Chaco War against Bolivia in 1932 – 1935. When we got to it, there were two guards on the boat, who showed no interest in letting us on board, so we missed out on this tourist attraction as well.
Teatro Municipal: Feeling cultured, we decided to catch a show at the city’s theatre, despite the lady trying to convince us otherwise when we went to buy the tickets. Our Spanish wasn’t good enough at that time to understand why, but we found out soon enough when it turned out to be a school performance we were watching. We left half way through, but if you check their schedule, they do have professionals play on a regular basis.
Britannia Pub: After our long day, it was nice to get to a pub with familiar, hearty meals and unwind with one of their locally crafted beers.
Every Country 