Asuncion

I arrived in the centre of Asuncion - the old part of the city - to find it completely deserted then I realised it was Sunday and my guidebook which I had read on the bus over had said that at the weekends everyone heads out of town to the suburbs!!

I did like the TV´s in a box at the taxi ranks to keep the drivers entertained when there was no business.

The Cabildo - old government building which is now a museum.

The Cathedral - nicer lit up at night than during the day!

In the Plaza near where I was staying there was a group of indegenious people living in tents made from plastic sheets - I was told at the tourist office that they had initially moved here in protest to the poverty in their villages when the police had moved them several times they came back so in the end toilets and water supply were put in to the area for them to use. I passed here every day and not once did I get asked for money or anything else....at night you would see them sorting out the empty plastic bottles and cans they had collected from the area to re-cycle for cash.

The Panteon de los Hereos - the monument to heroes was started in 1863 but not finished until 1937 at the end of the Chaco War - a war fought between Paraguay and Bolivia over control of the Chaco area where at the time it was thought (wrongly) that there was a lot of oil - both counrtries are believed to have been funded by oil companies during the war!! The coffins are off unknown child soldiers as well as a couple of war heroes.

When I arrived in Asuncion the night before I couldn´t believe the number of police officers that I saw in an otherwise deserted city - became apparent the next day that a lot of them were there for some political protest - generally there were a lot of police in the city anyway but this particular afternoon you couldn´t go 10m without meeting one - all the public buildings, museums etc were closed to the public as well!!

This guy had chained himself to the cross in the main plaza - he was still there the next day....this was a little away from the main protest so I couldn´t work out if it was for the same reason or not!!

The street vendors didn´t waste the opportunity and were out in force selling their goods to the protestors.

The police check out the dodgy DVD´s that this guy was selling but only to see what new titles he has.

A common sound to be heard in cities I visited in Paragauy was the clink clink of the taca taca balls (think that´s what they called them here we called them knocker balls or something!!) - and it wasn´t just the kis who played with them.

The Palacio Lopez - the government building where the President of Paraguay works.

Less than 100m behind the Presidents Palace there was a slum area of poor people living in wooden and tin shacks -- you can see in the first photograph the back of the palace and the heli pad as well as the shacks - come contrast!!

Some of the kids who lived in the slum area - they were sweet and happy to see photographs of themselves and again there was not one request for money/sweets.

Manzana de la Riveria - restored traditional houses dating back to the 1750`s.

Generally the food on sale in Paraguay was junk food - pizza, hamburgers etc - and as there were no hostels only hotels I had no choice but to eat it!! I quite liked the Empanada´s they sold in Paraguay - little pasties filled with beef, cheese etc....

The guys at the market entertain themselves with a board game - looked like a version of draughts using different coloured bottle lids as pieces!!

A multi coloured kid at the market.

Shoe cleaning and repair seemed a popular vocation if not in demand.....

Cementerio de la Recoleta - some of Asuncion´s dead had better accomodation than the living!!

This is evident in the grave of Irish Eliza Lynch - who was the mistress of the Francisco Lopez the first President of Paraguay when it became a republic - she was notorious for living a life of granduar whilst the people of Paraguay were starving...

Window cleaners - wonder which one needs the highest insurance cover - the one dangling from the building or the one dodging the cars???

Once out the old centre of the city Asuncion had a more modern feel but even in the middle of the new shopping complexes the old ways of life were still apparent...

Parque Ne Guazu a short bus ride outside the city centre - a pretty park where the locals were out in the late afternoon doing the keep fit and there were some pretty birds and sculptures - I liked the bird having a rest on the horses back!!

On the way back to town I found a big modern shopping centre....with a cinema :-)

A member of staff in the supermarket buzzin up and down the aisles on her rollerblades.

Would you believe I found a new travel companion already - meet Oso Feliz (Happy Bear) who likes to be called Feliz. He heard me talking about my travels and asked if he could join me as he has never been outside of Asuncion....

Estacion de Ferrocarril (the old train station) is now a museum - the carriage on the old train was more comfortable than most of the hostels I have been in!!

Some of the old video camera´s used in the early days of Paraguay television.

Casa de la Independencia - the house where the revolutionaries secretly met and arranged their plans for independence and the lane at the back of the house where the revolution it all began.

A shope full of whiskey - could be an off licence at home....though there was no buckfast!!

Some nice old colonial buildings in the city as well.

Even with the new supermarkets the old market stalls still had a lot of business and seemed more popular with the less affluent.

Drying my clothes the way the locals do it...

Momia Calchaqui - I couldn´t read the information board with this mummy in the Natural History Museum all I could work out is that she is 670 years old....

I spent an afternoon at the Botanic Gardens where they had a small zoo - this Tepir was a lot more friendly than the wild one I saw in The Pantanal.

The Ant Eater who liked to pose for photo´s.

This hard working little and was glad the Ant Eater was a poser as it allowed him to get away with his goodies....

The first time I saw someone with one of these I thought it was a funny pipe!!

But Feliz explained that it is fact a calablash gourd - a drinking cup with a spoon that doubles for a straw - Paraguayans drink there terere (herbal tea) from these - they put the herbs and various other flavourings into the hot water and sip it through the spoon/straw so they don´t intake the actual herbs!!

They come in all shapes and colours and were one of the most popular things I saw on sale in Paraguay.

Locals carry their flask with them and top up there terere with hot water wherever they are - even on the bus....

And like anywhere the police like their cuppa too.....

Every other stop through town someone would jump on the bus selling food, drink and a variety of other stuff.....

Kids would come on the bus with boxes of chocolates and leave them on your lap and walk down the bus and come back up and if you wanted it you paid them if not you just left it and they would pick it up again.

This was one of only two encounters with beggars I had in Paraguay - a young boy of about 10 handed out this piece of paper on the bus - which askes for money for his family with a ´God Bless you´ - he never said a word and just collected the paper and any cash that he got with it.

There were TV´s everywhere and they were all on when Paraguay was playing football - in the supermarket....

In the resteraunts....

Even the street food stalls had them.....

There was of course the suburban areas of town where the more wealthy stayed....

There was some quite strange art work in the Museo del Barro - listed as Paraguays top museum......

Feliz couldn´t work out if this was one of the art exhibitions or just a cleverly designed coat hanger!!

He appreciated the indegenious relics from Paraguay and neighbouring countries from the days of the Inca´s etc much more.....

Some interesting and different religous relics on display in the museum as well - not sure qhat skeletor was doing in amongst it all.....

Feliz was so excited on his first big bus trip outside of Asuncion he wouldn´t sit in his seat!!