Paraguay?

On 10/11/2012 I read a news story that made me decide to travel to Paraguay. We had chosen to go camping in Serra do Cipó, in MG, but that day Cipo Mountains, fires started and our plans went down the drain.

I wanted to take a relatively cheap trip, preferably by car, so I started researching other possibilities in Rio, SP or MG, since I didn't want to go to a place that was on fire. I took a look at the weather forecasts on Weather climate and practically every place I researched indicated rain or heavy rain. I became discouraged about car trips and started looking for cheap flights for the holiday, even though I knew that at the last minute everything gets more expensive…

I found some good flights (under R$$500) to Brasília, Goiânia, Campinas, Vitória and BH, but I felt like going abroad. I started looking at flights to the capitals of South America and saw that they weren't that much more expensive. Some of them could even be bought with miles, but I didn't think that R$10,000 per leg was worth it. I put in practically all the capitals and boom: the cheapest of all was Asunción! That's how I decided we would go to Paraguay! 🙂

I spoke to my boyfriend and after some resistance, I managed to convince him that it would be cool, even though I didn't know much about what to do there. I bought the ticket and then started researching what to do there.

One of the things I had in mind was to visit Foz do Iguaçu, but only after I put together the itinerary did I have confirmation that we would be able to go there.

Paraguay Tips

I only found cool tips about Paraguay on the website Backpackers. I looked at my book “1000 places to see before you die” and I was sad to see that the author did not dedicate a single line to any place in the country.

Even so, I didn't get discouraged... I knew that any place with the right company would be perfect, so I took a look at the tourist attractions and after my itinerary was half ready, I packed my backpack to travel the next day.

1st day – Friday (10/12/2012)

Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay

We left Rio at around 9am on a Gol flight to Guarulhos, from where we caught the flight to Asunción at 1pm. We arrived in Paraguay at around 3pm and quickly exchanged our reais for guaranis, still in the room where we picked up our bags. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF THE TRIP!

When we crossed the arrivals gate, we came across currency exchange companies with much better rates than ours, which was 1 real for 1,827 guaranis (at the casino we got 1 real for 2,100 guaranis). We went to stand tourist information to get maps and tips on what to do in the city.

We asked about transportation from Asunción to our hostel and the girl at stand confirmed what we had read in Internet: The taxi has a fixed price of 100,000 guaranis (approx. 50 reais) and the 30A bus, which goes to the city center, costs only 2,300 guaranis (approx. 1 real), taking two different routes: along Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez Street (which is better for us) or along Eusébio Ayala Avenue. We decided to take the bus, which took about 40 minutes to get to the street where our hostel was. It is all colorful, but a little uncomfortable, very similar to the ones in Rio a few years ago (style 175).

On the bus ride, we were pleasantly surprised by what we saw.

We arrived at the street where our hostel was located and soon came across some people watching TV. Yes, that's right. They take their TVs out of their homes and put them on the sidewalk. Crazy, right? But I discovered that there was a football match on, so maybe it's just for special events.

Our hostel in Asuncion

We arrived at the hostel Viajero Hostel and we were very well looked after by a Uruguayan guy. He gave us tips on what to see in Paraguay, helped us call several car rental companies and took us to the private room. He explained that the room had just been built and therefore did not have air conditioning, which was not what was agreed.

We could either stay in another room and share the bathroom or stay in this one without air conditioning, so we decided to stay in the brand new room. The hostel is very tidy and had just opened the pool, so there were still some renovations.

The people there were a bit strange, so I didn't even bother to talk to them. We went to the room, which smelled a bit strong of paint, and we quickly got ready to leave.

It was already 4pm and we wanted to see the city, since the next day we were going to take the car to go to Ciudad del Este.

We left the hostel and soon went to Church of the Incarnation, which was on the same block as the hostel. It is beautiful on the outside, but poorly maintained on the inside.

A charming square

We continued down 14 de Mayo Street, passing by Asuncion Super Center and other galleries, until we reach the square where the Town Hall, the National Congress and the Cathedral. It must be the best-kept and most visited square in Paraguay.

We kept walking until the Government Palace, which was very beautiful all lit up. Take a look at this website to take a 3D tour of the city center. There was some event going on there, because there were a lot of guards and a very long red carpet. We stood there for a few minutes and soon saw some guards marching, in the European/American style. Very cool!

Dark streets at night

The tense thing there was that the streets around were kind of dark and deserted, with guards with machine guns in their hands providing security. It gave me a bad feeling, but thank God nothing happened! We kept walking and went to the Municipal Theater, quite charming indeed.

We continued and finally passed by the Pantheon of Heroes, which was VERY BEAUTIFULLY lit up. As it had already gotten dark and the little square where it is located was already a little empty of people and full of mosquitoes, we didn't think it would be that pleasant to be there.

Asuncion Casino

We decided to go and see the casino of the city, but since it wasn't on our map and we had no idea where it was, we ended up asking on the street. We asked a very nice guy, who insisted on taking us to the casino's entrance by bus, since he was also heading in that direction. He was with his younger sister, so we thought it was safe to go with him.

We got off after 20 minutes at a bus stop in front of the casino and went straight to play! The casino is so cute…it’s small, but cozy. We exchanged our reais for guaranis, with the best exchange rate we saw in the whole city (1 real for 2100 guaranis) and played at the roulette and blackjack tables, with very low minimum bets (like 1 real).

After doubling our money with great excitement, we decided to have dinner at the casino's own restaurant. We ordered beers (Baviera and Pilsen) and Paraguayan food (Chipas and a breaded meat with fries) and everything was wonderful. To end the night on a high note, a salsa show started and some of the people we had hired started to dance incredibly well.

We loved it…it made us want to dance, but we just wanted to. When we left the casino, we took a taxi to the hostel, which took us straight to the airport without trying to rob us (I kept the map in my hand). A happy day in Paraguay, well above our expectations =D

2nd day – Saturday (10/13/2012)

We woke up around 9am to have breakfast, which ended at 10am. Bread, butter, jam, dulce de leche, juice, milk, chocolate and cereals as much as we wanted, to our surprise.

After washing the dishes, we packed our things in the room and went to the reception to check in. check out and talk about the car that would be rented. The girl at the reception called to confirm the car and they said it would take about 1 hour to deliver the car to the hostel. We decided to go to the supermarket to buy snacks for the trip and we came across a shopping mall with a walk of fame and a supermarket in the basement!

We went back to the hostel thinking that the car had already arrived, but that wasn't the case. We waited for more than 40 minutes for it, that is, almost 2 hours for them to bring the car from the airport to the hostel (which takes 30 minutes at most). When we arrived at the hostel, the receptionist came to tell us that we had a problem. We had agreed on a price of US$$180 for two days, with unlimited kilometers (some companies don't rent with unlimited kilometers - BE CAREFUL!).

The problem was that the car he brought for us was a 2012 and therefore it would cost US$$250. What a joke, right!? We made it clear that we thought it was absurd and started getting ready to leave the hostel and go to the bus station. He said he could try to do it for US$$220, US$$210 and only when he saw that we were really going to leave with our backpacks to catch a bus did he agree to do it for the agreed price. What a joke…

Lesson: rent a car directly online, with large companies (Hertz, Avis, etc.).

On the way to Ciudad del Este

We left the hostel with the car and a map in hand, because the guy wasn't even able to give us the GPS...he wanted to charge US$$10 per day. I thought we wouldn't need it and thank God I was right.

We passed by Tourism Center on Calle Palma and picked up maps of the roads and of Ciudad del Este, which were more than enough for us. We left Asunción calmly and soon arrived in San Lorenzo, a city full of shops and street vendors. I confess that I thought the whole of Paraguay would be like this… lol.

After the chaos on the streets of this city, we finally managed to get on the road towards Ciudad del Este. The road was good, nothing spectacular, but at least I didn't see any potholes on the road. At times it becomes a two-way road, so it takes a while to get past the double-digit speed limit.

The drivers were very polite and the scenery on the road was nice, so it was a pleasant trip until we were stopped for the first time at a checkpoint. What a thrill… The guys were very serious, they looked at our documents (PID and Brazilian driver's license) and the car's documents, as well as our contract with the rental company.

San Bernardino

We were within the law and so they released us in less than 10 minutes. We went a little off our route and continued on to San Bernardino to see the Lake Ypacaraí, a place where people who live in Asunción go to spend summer days or weekends. The city is very pretty, but the lake… is polluted and the surroundings are nothing special.

We returned to the road to Ciudad del Este and were soon stopped again by another blitz. Butterflies in the stomach again, serious guards and 10 minutes later, we were released.

We continued on and after a little over an hour, we were stopped again by another police checkpoint, with the same characteristics. How tense, you know… the whole time we thought we were going to be extorted and if we didn’t pay, we would be kidnapped. Thank goodness it was just our imagination!

East City

We continued on the road and after 6 hours of travel, we arrived at East City, already at night. This city is a big hustle and bustle of shops, malls and street vendors, right on the main avenue, very close to the border with Brazil.

We hadn't booked a hotel in the city, but we received a recommendation from a friend of ours. Hotel Casino Acaray, which if not the best in the city, is among the top 5. We decided to go there and check the price and when we found out it was US$$160, we decided to stay right away. What a luxurious hotel… restaurant, casino, pool, sauna, hot tub, gym… in short, everything was great. We went up to the room, with two queen beds, and rested a little before going down for dinner.

When we arrived at the hotel restaurant, we were surprised with a special buffet with Paraguayan food, costing $120,000 guaranis (approx. 60 reais) per couple. We ate everything and had a bottle of Casillero del Diablo, which went down really well.

After dinner, a little tipsy, we went through a door and arrived at the hotel casino. I loved staying in a hotel with a casino! We went straight to the roulette tables and blackjack and we realized that the casino's currency was US dollars and not guarani, the currency of Paraguay. The exchange rate was pretty bad, but we decided to exchange it anyway, to have a little fun.

We won at times, but in the end, we ended up losing everything. That was a maximum of US$$30… lol. I confess that I found the atmosphere in the casino tense, very different from the casino in Asunción. Maybe because there were only Brazilians and Chinese smugglers making a lot of noise. We went up to the room and slept like logs, in wonderful comfort…

3rd day – Sunday (10/14/2012)

East City

We woke up around 9, had a great breakfast and went to the hotel pool to enjoy the sun.

Our check out It would only be 12pm, so we made sure to spend the last few hours in “boss” style. When we got to the pool, we came across wonderful round chaise lounges on the edge of the pool.

We stayed there enjoying the sun and the view from the hotel, which had a view of Brazil (the city of Foz do Iguaçu) and the Friendship Bridge, which connects Paraguay to Brazil. When it was almost 11:30, we got on with sadness and a feeling of “wanting more”. When we left the hotel, we came across teenage beauty queens from several cities in Paraguay. They were all very pretty… in fact, I found both the Paraguayan women and men very charming. If compared to the Bolivians and Peruvians, then…

We put our backpacks in the car and headed to Iguazu Falls. Goodbye, Paraguay! At least for now.

In a short time we were at the Friendship Bridge, passing through the Brazilian and Paraguayan borders, which were practically abandoned. We were not stopped by either side…

Iguazu Falls

With the map in hand, we headed straight to the Iguaçu National Park, which is about 20 km from the bridge. When we got there, we came across a great infrastructure, which reminded us a bit of Disney. We were forced to park the car in a very large parking lot and then when we entered the ticket office area, we came across very explanatory maps and extremely friendly and patient representatives of the park's attractions.

We were approached by a guy from the tour Macuco Safari, which consists of a 2-hour tour with a trail and a speedboat, which we really enjoyed. It costs R$140 per person and the entrance fee to the park is no more than R$140 for Brazilians (there are no half-price tickets). We also thought about taking the helicopter tour, which cost a little over R$140, but when we saw that the flight lasted less than 10 minutes over the falls, we didn't think it was worth it. After we bought the park ticket and the safari, we got on a highly-priced bus. high tech and we continued through the park, until our stop.

The cool thing about this bus system is that they are of the type hop on – hop off, that is, you get on and off wherever and whenever you want and there are double-decker buses, with the top floor open, very similar to tours from abroad. We got off at the Macuco Safari section and were directed to an electric cart that was going to take us on a ride to a point closer to the river.

The boat trip

We got off at this point and walked a 600-meter trail (not mandatory) to the port where we were going to catch the boat. We put on our life jackets, took off our shoes and got on the boat, eagerly awaiting the ride. I took my camera, which was great because I was able to take some great photos while the ride passed far from the waterfalls.

Then there was a moment when the guide said it was the last photo stop. People started passing their cameras to him, who was wearing a very thick raincoat. I wanted to be naughty and kept my camera with me, inside my short, protected by the life jacket. Suddenly, the boat headed towards a waterfall and stayed there for about 5 minutes, leaving everyone on the boat completely soaked! I couldn't stop thinking about my camera, which was certainly soaked... The feeling of the falling water was wonderful and made me forget for a moment my material loss... it was totally worth it! After the first bath, we moved away from the waterfall for a bit, took a boat ride and came back for another farewell bath.

A little disappointed…

I loved the tour, but I felt a little misled. The representative said it would be a 2-hour tour, so I thought it would be a 2-hour boat tour. It wasn't. It's a 2-hour tour from the electric cart, which goes very slowly along the trail until it gets close to the water, until the cart takes us back to the bus stop. So if there was 30 minutes left for the boat, it was a lot, which was a shame. Another thing they didn't tell us at the time is that the boat doesn't get very close to the falls...it's in the region of the "3 musketeers", which are waterfalls on the Argentine side, a little far from the main waterfall. Even so, I still think it's worth it! =)

Exploring by land

We left there completely soaked and, to our surprise, my camera hadn't broken. We took the bus to the bridge closest to the falls. We saw a lot of people getting off at the stop before the bridge to hike to the bridge, but we thought it would be better to go all the way to the end and then hike back. Best decision of the day! The park was very crowded and going against the flow was great because it saved a lot of time and stress.

We took the elevator down to the bridge, taking lots of photos along the way. What a magical place!!! The amount of water falling is incredible and the beauty is enormous. If there weren't so many people, you would be able to feel the peace of the place too, since it is pure nature, with lots of birds and animals along the trails.

We crossed the bridge, which was completely crowded, to see the waterfalls up close, but we soon wanted to leave because of the huge crowd that the Brazilians were creating. It's amazing how you can see Brazilians from afar...just look at someone pushing another person or taking 500 photos of their face to post on Facebook, even though they're taking up a strategic place for people who want to take photos or see the waterfall itself. We even asked some people to take photos of us together, but it's amazing how they thought my foot was more important in the photo than the waterfall...the outsourced photos came out terrible! =(

Waterfalls and Animals

We left the bridge feeling relieved and went on the trail to the bus stop at the Hotel das Cataratas. The trail was empty, with only people going in the opposite direction to us. It was so peaceful… We saw several waterfalls from above as well as several cute little animals. This part of the park was definitely worth it.

We took the bus back to the parking lot and realized how hungry we were. It was almost 6pm and we hadn't had lunch...we left the park determined to visit the Argentine side, because we had heard that there are several great steakhouses there. We noticed that most people who visit the falls just buy the park ticket and go straight to the bridge, from where you can see the waterfalls up close. It really is very beautiful there, but the park also offers other attractions, such as rafting, tree climbing, abseiling, kayaking and a boat trip on the river before the waterfall. Each one has its own price and departure frequency, but they are extremely attractive. It's worth checking out!

The famous 3 Marks

On the way to the Brazil-Argentina border, we stopped to see the 3 landmarks (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay). They are cool to see, but don't go with too high expectations, which was my case. Here's what it is:

We headed to the border and when we were stopped by the guard, he immediately told us that we couldn't enter the country because our car didn't have a license plate. I couldn't believe it when I heard that. I wanted to explain that the car was new (and it really was) and that the license plate that should have been in its place was stuck to a piece of paper on the window (because there hadn't been time to get it registered), but my boyfriend insisted on saying "Thanks" and quickly went to turn around. I missed my chance =(

Dining in Foz

We returned to Brazil a little frustrated but at the same time excited to find a decent steakhouse. We passed by Rafain, but it was closed on a Sunday, a holiday! We ended up asking around on the street for directions and went to the steakhouse La Cabana, which was empty but soon filled up. We ate so well there…to the sound of live music played on harp and piano, delicious. The service was also great…all for approximately R$$60 per person.

We left there super satisfied and went looking for a hotel. We stopped at a few located on the main streets, but all of them had daily rates around R$$200. I wanted something cheaper, to make up for the hole in the wall of the tiny hotel the day before. And then I found this one. Hotel Flor, with a daily rate for a couple of R$$100! Before we booked with them, I made sure to stop by one more place…the Supernova hostel, which cost R$$85 for a couple. I went in and didn’t like anything about it. The receptionist, the guests, the shared environment and especially the room made me want to spend the R$$15 difference and stay at the Hotel Flor. We went there, parked the car in the hotel garage, took our showers and went to bed. A long day!

4th day – Monday (15/10/2012)

We woke up early, around 5am, and crossed the Brazil-Paraguay border. We stopped at a Petrobras gas station to fill up and buy our breakfast, which was basically meat pies. Our flight to Brazil was at 3:30pm, leaving from Asunción, and we had to return the car at the airport at 1pm, so we thought leaving early was the best option.

On the road to Asuncion

We hit the road and, not to break the habit, we were stopped at a checkpoint. Serious guys, struggling with Spanish, made us open our bags, even though they didn't even look properly. It must have been just to scare us (and it worked!). They messed with a typical Paraguayan drink that I had bought for my father, Cane, but they let her stay with us. They asked us several questions about our lives in Brazil and then let us go. What a wonderful memory I will have of Paraguay, huh…

On the road, we listened to Paraguayan and Brazilian radio stations, which played mostly country music. That’s funny… I thought I would only hear Paraguayan music, which is very upbeat at first, but after listening for 4 hours, I just wanted silence. Nothing else. After a few hours on the road, we were stopped again at another checkpoint, this time faster. We finally arrived in San Lorenzo, a city with 500,000 little shops, and soon arrived in Asunción. I think we made the trip back in about 4.5 hours at most.

Farewell to the Casino

We decided to spend our last moments in the car driving to the casino, where we had won money on the first night. We got there right away, with the help of the map, and when we arrived, we found only electronic games. The tables would only open around 2 pm… =( We played electronic roulette to spend our last guaranis and even managed to triple our money… but in the end, we lost everything… lol. It was exciting, though… We drove to the airport, dropped off the car and had to pay a fee of R$10 for the car to be cleaned… how clever of them! We went to the check in and we soon realized that there were only Brazilians, with absurdly large suitcases and lots of bags. We must have been the odd ones out in line, with only our backpacks.

After checking in, we went to eat at the only restaurant in the airport and took the opportunity to try the lemon juice. Grapefruit, which is the WORST DRINK I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!

We left the restaurant and went to buy some souvenirs in the shops. souvenirs…I even bought a bracelet from a street vendor lying on the ground at the airport. We entered the boarding lounge and went to the Duty Free Shop there. Amazing! It was 15% cheaper than all the others and had several sets of products on sale. It was totally worth it!

And so we say goodbye to Paraguay!

We caught our flight with a slight delay and two hours later, we landed in Guarulhos. We waited 5 hours for our flight to Rio, watching the chaos that was the airport. We stopped for a few beers in a cozy bar on the 2nd floor (I don't remember the name) and didn't even notice the time passing. We took the opportunity to give our families some news and organize the photos... Total balance: 630. =D

Our assessment of Paraguay

I enjoyed visiting Asunción, but now that I know it, I don’t need to go back… It’s a common city, without much charm. I think it’s worth taking a plane to Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, or Ciudad del Este to see the region. The waterfalls are truly unmissable and shopping in CDE must be really worth it.

If you are going to rent a car, make sure it has a license plate so you can visit the Argentine side. I ended up not being able to do that this time.

If I ever return to Paraguay, I will take dollars, because it is the currency used in casinos and is very well accepted there.