Towns and countryside - Paraguay
- kmanhartsberger
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Just outside Ciudad del Este is a hydroelectric installation, in fact the third largest in the world. It was built jointly by Paraguay and Brazil, and of course we had to see it!
It is big, and impressive, and the visit was well organised and free.
From there we started on our zigzagging through the country. It felt like going back west was returning to the Paraguay we liked so much. The countryside is nice, and the people are friendly. There is no mess, and it is not so busy.
First we went towards Villarrica. On route we went to a village, Yataity, recommended to us by one of the receptionists in Asunción. This is the birthplace of the cotton industry in Paraguay, and they still produce clothing and other cotton products, with a particular design and craftsmanship called ao po'i. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yataity
We spent the night in a third place, Mbocayaty. There was a rather new hotel, or they called it resort, and we enjoyed watching the horse in the next paddock going about his evening routine.
Next stop was San Bernadino, but it turned out it wasn't as good as we thought so we went to the other side of Lago Ypacarai, and stayed in a hotel in Areguá with history relating to the railway installation in 1862. While in San Bernadino we saw the lake from one side where it was developed to deal with tourists, and it was reasonably pleasant. On the other side there was much to be desired and the locals didn't have as much to enjoy. Areguá is known for its craft and art, and they do produce high quality items.
Going north towards the area El Chaco we visited the town Pozo Colorado on our way to Concepción. Both places were a bit uneventful, but the drive there most certainly wasn't. All was quiet until we arrived in Pozo Colorado, so we decided to carry on to Concepción. The surprise we got when we found out that the road PY05 was being completely rebuilt, and we had to share the space with trucks and cars, as well as heavy machinery that was used in the actual rebuilding. After this experience we wondered what it would be like for the rest of the drive towards the border to Brazil!
Our midway stop between Concepcion and Salto del Guairá, where we would spend a few days before crossing to Brazil, was San Estanislao. The road was full of trucks and other slow traffic, and we were concerned that it was due to more roadworks. It wasn't, but it was a hard slog to drive with a lot of overtaking and stop-starting for all sorts of reasons. Once we arrived to San Estanislao, we found a good place to have a coffee and then a place to stay. It was hot, unbearably so.
The last leg to Salto del Guairá was a pleasant experience and we drove through both the flatland with huge farms and soybean fields, and the hilly parts with much more interesting topography. In the hills there was no huge fields, and people likely would not have amassed the wealth of the enormous farms in other areas. When we arrived in the border town, we had the usual task of finding somewhere to stay, this time somewhere good enough for a few days without driving to have a break. We did, after some searching, and we even had the pleasure of sharing our balcony with a pigeon laying on her eggs. Very cute. And very hot, phew. We had a shower coming through, it helped but just a little.
