The pet monkey at Granja El Roble in Paraguay liked to play with the puppy. The monkey would tug at its ears but he didn’t seem to mind.
Photo of the Week: Monkey and Puppy
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Tag Archives: Paraguay
A Practical Guide to Paraguay: Part 2 – Small Towns, Asuncion and Concepcion
In Part 1 of our Paraguay guide we shared our experiences of travelling to Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion, Trinidad Jesuit Ruins and Parque Nacional San Rafael. In this post we continue our journey through this little visited country and share what we learned along the way.
San Ignacio
San Ignacio
San Ignacio is a small town located between Encarnacion and Asuncion. We stopped to visit the Jesuit museum and to relax at the San Ignacio Country Club. There’s not much to see in the town but it’s pleasant to wander around and enjoy being the only tourists. After asking directions four times we finally found the Jesuit musuem in a beautiful old building. Needless to say we were the only visitors but a guide came along to show us around. Religious artefacts aren’t really our thing but, like at the Trinidad ruins, having the place to ourselves added to the attraction.
A Practical Guide to Paraguay: Part 1 – Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion & San Rafael
There’s no guidebook to Paraguay and we hadn’t met anyone who’d been there. No-one seemed to know much about this mysterious country in the centre of South America. This is why we wanted to visit – it seemed the ideal opportunity to get off the gringo trail and have that elusive “off the beaten track” experience. We didn’t regret our choice: we found a pretty, tranquil country with a crazy history, friendly people and no other tourists (well, we met three in three weeks). Our Spanish also benefited as no-one spoke English, and locals were curious about us so we had plenty of opportunities to practice.
Paraguay isn’t a place to visit for big name attractions – it’s a place for enjoying simple pleasures, appreciating the slow pace of life and trying to get under the skin of a different culture. That said, you will find UNESCO World Heritage sites, Jesuit ruins and museums, unspoilt countryside, a huge variety of colourful bird life, adventurous river trips and plenty of national parks for walks and wildlife-spotting.
Information is lacking about Paraguay so in this guide we aim to share practical details about our experiences.
Photo of the Week: Paraguay Sunrise
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Gorgeous sunrise at the farm Granja El Roble in Northern Paraguay near Concepcion.
June Update
Travels
After a few months of being settled in Buenos Aires, June has been a month of travel for us. We spent the first three weeks exploring Paraguay. We didn’t really know what to expect as not many people visit the country and there isn’t even a guidebook for it, but we ended up having a fantastic time. There are no major attractions but we loved the feeling of being the only tourists in the country, the slow pace of life, the rolling green countryside, the friendly people, the chance to practice our Spanish, and we had an excellent first couchsurfing experience.
You can read about our time in Paraguay, look at our photos from Paraguay and Argentina, and follow our route on our updated map.