Paraguay - our summary

  Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná, Paraguay Friday, June 3, 2016

Our Summary Paraguay is one of those destinations that you really can't do much research. There's next to nothing about here on the internet and what you can find, is't really interesting enough to attract a tourist all this way. But that is partly what attracted us in the first place and we did manage to find one or two things to entertain us too. We were very surprised at just how contradictory it is - modern in some ways but at the same time, there is a lot which isn't very modern at all. We struggled with the electricity supply here - it was really difficult to get our gadgets charged up and even leaving things plugged in overnight would sometimes only yield a 30% charge by morning. Seems as if that big dam needs to work some overtime! We loved ~  The Dam and our taxi driver in Cuidad del Este - Ronaldo We didn't like ~ mate, some of the monotonous boring scenery, being charged at ATMs to withdraw money was a bore too :-( The people ~ were very, very nice indeed. Hardly any English spoken here though so we are glad we came at the end of the tour of Spanish speaking countries when we had picked up enough to understand and be understood! The Food ~ hit and miss. The cities had an excellent selection of places to eat which were very modern and wouldn't look out of place in any western city. But in Ybyuci restaurants were practically non-existent and unless you liked the local food it was pizza, pizza or pizza. The Transport ~ Buses only and they were very manky The Weather ~ varied. Some days were sunny and others overcast.  Miles travelled ~  we have travelled 1230 miles (1980 km) Capital ~ Asunción Population ~ 6.8 million They drive on ~ the right Currency ~ Paraguayan guaraní   £1 = 8,251 PYG Language ~ Spanish & Guaraní (the indigenous language) Did we feel safe? ~ Yes ~ but we stuck to the nicer areas Things which will remind us of Paraguay ~ drinking tea through a straw, butterflies, Jesuit ruins Would we recommend it?  only if you really want something non touristy and well off the beaten track