Spendthrift Shoestring

A German Bakery in Paraguay

Check out my blog post on Michael Bock, a German bäckerei/panadería in Asunción, Paraguay, for National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel blog.

A Mysterious Country: Visiting Paraguay

Paraguay is not one of South America's more popular countries for travelers. It's rare that the country's sights make it into contemporary newspaper/magazine travel journalism, although a number of fascinating books about the country—including John Gimlette's engaging At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig, which I'm currently reading—have been published. That longer monographs on the country have been written can be attributed to Paraguay's many dramatically interesting characteristics. Paraguay generates lots of fascinating stories—about the severe yet variously fecund land, the terrible dictatorship of Stroessner, the idealism of the country's many "colonies," the desolation of the Chaco, and the soupy heat of Asunción, among other subjects.

But for tourists, it's hard to find good information about the country. Most South America guidebooks have very thin Paraguay chapters. Add to that the narrative of danger and personal threat attached to so many stories about Paraguay, and the country seems to vaporize into a vacuum. I eagerly anticipate the publication of Bradt's first guide to Paraguay, authored by Margaret Hebblethwaite, later this year, which should rectify the situation to some degree. 

In the absence of good, reliable information, what did I do? I searched online for interesting sources. I found a great blog, Defringing Latin America. Written by anthropologist Christine Folch, it is full of interesting coverage of contemporary Paraguay as well as various Asunción tips. (Travelers to Paraguay should pay special attention to Folch's wonderfully detailed description of how to visit the Jesuit missions of Trinidad and Jesús on a budget, which is of great value). While in Asunción I spent an afternoon with Folch, riding a bus to the sadly closed Museo del Barro, and enjoying a long chat at a swank shopping mall cafe while a near-monsoon raged outside. I learned exciting and strange things about Paraguay during our long afternoon chat. Other advance research assistance was provided by Carlos, a Paraguayan friend of a friend, and the dynamic traveling duo Uncornered Market, who'd just executed an ambitious overland journey across Paraguay. (I made the acquaintance of Uncornered Market via the suggestion of another hardcore traveler, Jodi Ettenberg.)

The upshot, I suppose, is that friends of friends, interesting bloggers, and social media contacts made Asunción far more interesting and exciting than it otherwise would have been. The city itself was a dripping sauna of lush parks, cheap grub, red dirt, and huge skies. The center of town is crowded with colonial architecture and modernist outposts. Two nights was good for a ridiculously short introduction to the city, though there's nothing like knowing you haven't really scratched the surface to inspire the desire to return.

Slivers of a Summer Day in Asuncion

Asunción was hot, wet, and fascinating. I spent a day and a half exploring the old town's grid, at first quite vigilant for the threat of violence that nearly every guidebook and travelogue promised. So much for warnings. The central city definitely feels gritty and in some places intense, though I did not feel unsafe once. More on Asunción and Paraguay to follow; for now, some more images.

Graffiti and faded posters.

The remarkably lush Plaza de los Héroes in late morning.

Government Palace from the Manzana de la Rivera complex.

Central city corner in the evening, after the torrential rains.

Southern Cone Hopscotch

Friday mid-day I returned from a truly satisfying Southern Cone hopscotch, which took in Buenos Aires, Asunción, Montevideo, and Chihuahua, a beach settlement near Punta del Este. It was one of the most exciting trips I've taken in a while, full of moments of reconnection with favorite cities, exploration of new places, and the discovery of good new friends and acquaintances. I've got a lot to write about here and elsewhere on the jaunt.

Here, some highlights:

• Riding Asunción's public buses with anthropologist Christine Folch and learning a lot about Paraguay's sheerly fascinating cultures, economy, and history very quickly.

• Wandering through Punta del Este during the day and discovering that the South American Hamptons has far more charm and cute corners than the sterile corner of Long Island to which it is compared. (Apologies to any readers who enjoy the Hamptons, sort of.)

• Discovering new corners of Montevideo, including Cordón, Pocitos, and the Feria Tristán de Narvaja street market. 

More to follow.