Why Paraguay?

People ask why Paraguay exists. The short answer is that although it was the loser in the war against the triple alliance ( Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) in 1860 to 1874, Brazil and Argentina thought it best to have a buffer state between them and, thus, Paraguay exists to this day. It has lots of jungle, cattle and the largest navy of any landlocked country in the world.

So why visit Paraguay people asked when I mentioned it. Good question since there’s not a lot of tourist attractions. The jungle creates a wealth of birdwatching opportunities and nature hikes, neither of which interest me. Asuncion, the capital, is largely devoid of architecturally interesting buildings as, so my guide told me, Paraguayans didn’t really care about that and destroyed most of them. The former governor’s house, where the Spanish governor surrendered to rebels in 1811, paving the way for Independence, was razed and a park now stands there.

One of the few colonial buildings still standing is Independence House. It’s a museum detailing Paraguay’ s road to Independence. It’s furnished as it was a few hundred years ago, with a mix of Indigenous wood furniture and imports from France:

Other than a few historical buildings and government offices, the center of Asuncion has largely been abandoned for the suburbs. 1960 era apartment buildings stand vacant:

The new Parliament sits downtown. The funds to construct it were donated by Taiwan, one struggling democracy to another:

Other downtown highlights include the Presidential Palace, painted pink as it’s the second cheapest paint colour after white:

There’s the main cathedral and the Pantheon, both a church and a mausoleum housing the remains of many Paraguayan heroes. One person who is not there is the dictator, Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled with the help of the USA between 1954 and 1989. His legacy includes thousands of “disappeared”, child sex slavery rings and providing refuge to Josef Mengele, the maniacal doctor from the Auschwitz concentration camp. There are no memorials to him that I saw, but there is a memorial to the disappeared:

A small museum is dedicated to the railroad in Paraguay. Constructed in 1861, it ran between Asuncion and Encarnacion, until 1999. Powered by steam engines, the train was one of the earliest in South America. The museum is in the old Asuncion station and has memorabilia relating to the 1800 and 1900 train experience in Paraguay.

So, why Paraguay? I confess I’m counting countries and as I’d never visited Paraguay, it was hot and on my way to Argentina, it seemed like a good stop. Sadly, most of the tours I wanted to take, to ruins of Franciscans and Jesuit missionaries, were not running and all the wildlife tours wanted at least two people, not ideal for a solo traveller.

But I enjoyed my time in Asuncion. I walked to the Museo del Barro, which showcases both pre-Colombian artifacts and modern Art. The people were kind, prices cheap and the weather great. I won’t race back but I’m glad I spent a few days there.