Asuncion has a center with a sprinkling of original colonial and beaux-arts building; unfortunately they are falling apart. The heavy traffic and diesel fumes and shanty shacks on the banks of the Rio Paraguay are not pretty either. But it has new suburbs with shopping malls, nice shops and smart restaurants with excellent local and international cuisine.
This night we all did not sleep that well – we all felt the altitude! Early breakfast at 07.00h, pick-up at 07.45h and in the air at 09.00h. Blue sky and our lovely plane is covered with some ice. After take-off we follow the beautiful snow mountains for some time, they get smaller and after two hours we are over the plains of Paraguay.
The weather in Asuncion is not that great and it is quite cool – only 20 degrees. The handlers are very efficient and we are through this tine airport in no time. It looks rather like something out of Disney Land. In the hotel we have lunch and are surprised that the Sunday buffet seems to be the thing with the local upper class. There is also a large table where the party speaks in perfect German; maybe there grand-fathers came here some time ago.
We decide to do some sight-seeing in downtown Asuncion. The center is deserted and we are surprised in which shape most of these buildings are. They must have been beautiful some 60 to 80 years ago, but now they are falling apart. Memories of Havana or Rangoon are coming up. The sky is overcast and the place looks even more depressing. Some of the big squares look like influenced by socialist planners. But as we all know from the grim past of this country, the contrary has been the case. The most amazing thing are the shanty town right behind the parliment building. We really wonder what they are discussing in there.
We decide to go back to the hotel and put the feet up for a few hours. The last few days were quite demanding. Dinner we have in a very fashionable, nice neighborhood. There are Porsche dealerships, shops that sell trop international brands and some Harleys ride past us. The restaurant is excellent with a nice wine list. What a contrast to the city center! As it looks like, things are not evenly distributed in this country.
Indians speaking Guaraní—the most common language in Paraguay today, after Spanish—were the country’s first inhabitants. In 1526 and again in 1529, Sebastian Cabot explored Paraguay when he sailed up the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. From 1608 until their expulsion from the Spanish dominions in 1767, the Jesuits maintained an extensive establishment in the south and east of Paraguay. In 1811, Paraguay revolted against Spanish rule and became a nominal republic under two consuls.
Paraguay was governed by three dictators during the first 60 years of independence. The third, Francisco López, waged war against Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina in 1865–1870, a conflict in which half the male population was killed. A new constitution in 1870, designed to prevent dictatorships and internal strife, failed to do so, and not until 1912 did a period of comparative economic and political stability begin. The Chaco War (1932–1935) with Bolivia won Paraguay more western territory.
After World War II, politics became particularly unstable. Alfredo Stroessner was dictator from 1954 until 1989, during which he was accused of the torture and murder of thousands of political opponents. Despite Paraguay’s human rights record, the U.S. continuously supported Stroessner.
Stroessner was overthrown by army leader Gen. Andres Rodriguez in 1989. Rodriguez went on to win Paraguay’s first multicandidate election in decades. Paraguay’s new constitution went into effect in 1992.
