Paraguay 2026

Asuncion, Paraguay 2026

5th stop on 2026 South America Walkabout

I found Paraguay to be a contradiction. Or at least the capital, Asuncion. I stayed near the old city center. I have usually found that approach to be very successful for being in walking distance of sites in my travels. But the old historical part of Asuncion was largely run down. They have curb-side drop-off trash. Unfortunately, it looks like the last garbage pick-up was done by the Spanish, who left two centuries ago. The rest of the city was much cleaner and in much better condition. Same with the countryside I road thru when I left Asuncion for a five hour drive to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. 

I walked different tour routes I found online each of my two days in Asuncion. My first full day was a Sunday and the next day (Monday, June 22) was a holiday, The Oath of The National Constitution. So nearly all the museums and historical buildings were closed and the old part of town was largely deserted. The National Pantheon of Heroes was open and guarded by an honor guard 24/7/365. This is where the war heroes of Paraguay are honored and some are buried within. The presidential palace, Palacio de Lopez, next to the Paraguay River, was impressive. I wanted to visit the National Railway Museum, but it was closed both days. That might have saved my life, since it was so poorly maintained it looked like a good wind, or even a stiff breeze, would take the building down. Some of the buildings in the old town would be well maintained, but next to them, or down the block would be a string of ratty deserted buildings with garbage.

Walking along the promenade on the Paraguay River there was a huge bust statue of Mahatma Gandhi. I couldn’t figure out the connection of Gandhi to Asuncion. Boy, that would have really confused ole Columbus, thinking he had discovered a shortcut to India and then finding a bust of the most famous Indian of all times. I did what I always do when I see something that doesn’t make sense – ask Google. It seems that India gave this bust to Asuncion in 2022. Evidently they do this frequently around the world to celebrate peace. Perhaps someone, like Putin, could respond in kind and donate a bust of himself to countries around the world that support chaos. I would certainly nominate Bolivia for one of those!

I witnessed one interesting event on the Monday holiday. I was headed back to the old town around 10 in the morning and ran into some roadblocks manned by both police and military. Not by angry citizens like in La Paz, Bolivia. Using Google Translate, I asked if the road was closed to pedestrians and a police officer gestured for me to go through. At the next intersection, a restaurant had gigantic banners of the Paraguay flag and the massive doors were propped open. In addition to the soldiers and police, there were 30-40 people dressed in suits standing around, some holding professional-type cameras. I stood to the side to take all this in and the procession started. First, several police motorcycles with lights flashing came down the street I had just strolled, then 5-6 black limos with flashing lights and antennas waving the Paraguay flag. Before the first vehicle stopped, all doors opened and heads peered out scanning all directions. A flurry of suited men, all dressed in dark suits, red ties, and ear pieces jumped out and surrounded the second car, where the President of Paraguay alit. As he walked up the steps, some of the waiting suits stepped up to greet him and behind him a couple of generals in full dress uniform and additional suits marched.

I thought I was videoing all of this, but my iPhone chose that specific moment to act up (pretty sure that Steve Jobs and Satan were in Hell leaning over a keyboard laughing hysterically at this) and I completely missed getting any of it. I only got photos of the initial procession coming down the street and the last of the procession walking into the restaurant. But it was an exciting event regardless! I was very surprised, and a little disappointed, that I wasn’t considered a threat and removed before, during, or afterwards. The Secret Service, military, and police probably need additional threat identification and response training. Or maybe they voted for someone else. The next morning at breakfast, the local news had an interview with the President standing outside the restaurant I saw him enter. Everything was in Spanish, however, so to me it sounded like an adult talking in a Charlie Brown cartoon. 

My next stop in my walkabout was Foz do Iguazu, Brazil. There weren’t any planes, trains, or direct buses from Asuncion and 200 miles was a little far to walk. During the planning of this trip I found a car service that drove this route. My driver, Elian, picked me up on day three in Paraguay in a Chevy Onix. I hadn’t heard of Onix because it is only built in Brazil, China, or Uzbekistan and not sold in the USA. That probably meant it either couldn’t pass safety and emission standards in the USA, or was too affordable and it would destroy the manufacturer profits in the USA market. Elian kept the car immaculately clean and it was a smooth ride. It helped that the 200 miles of highway to the Brazil border was in remarkable condition. It made the new part of the Northwest Highway 290 in Houston look like a dirt path through the jungles of the Congo. But that’s a crime for another conviction.

As we drove from Asuncion in the west of Paraguay to the eastern border with Brazil, I saw thousands of ant or termite mounds one to two feet tall made out of red clay. These were on the cleared area next to the highway, but could also be seen in the open fields. While these mounds were small compared to those I’ve seen in Africa that were 10-12 feet tall, they were much more plentiful. A couple of hours into the five hour drive, we stopped at a gas station called Martinez. I didn’t understand if this was a single station or a chain, but these guys could give Buc-ees a run for the money. Their banos, or as I refer to it in Spanish - casa de pee-pee - were large and immaculately clean. The main difference with Buc-ees was that a female attendant was on duty in the men’s restroom cleaning. And Martinez had tables to sit and enjoy the acre or more of snacks and meals. Buc-ees doesn’t provide chairs or tables, preferring that you fill up your car, empty your bladder, buy your beaver nuggets and jerky, and get the heck back on the road.

The conclusion to my peaceful road trip was anything other than peaceful or relaxing. There are three cities and countries near Iguazi Falls, my next destination. There is Ciudad del Este, Paraguay; Foz Do Iguacu, Brazil; and Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Of the three, Elian explained that there are no taxes on goods purchased in Paraguay. So citizens of Brazil and Argentina, both across the Parana River, flock to the Paraguay side daily to buy goods. We got caught up in massive traffic jam of citizens of the other two countries walking and driving into Paraguay to buy goods, or crossing back over after purchases had been made. I’ve been in some massive traffic jams around the world and in Houston commuting and this was one of the most congested. The main road crossing into Brazil slowed, but was moving. However, as a non-citizen of Brazil or Paraguay, I had to get an exit stamp from Paraguay on my passport. That required exiting onto a side road where the shops were located and nothing was moving. After an hour and a half of moving only a few precious inches, Elian pointed out the immigration building a couple of blocks ahead. I got out of the car, walked to the building, got my exit stamp and returned to the car. Elian was then able to turn and fight his way back to the main road. In summary, the five hour commute from Asuncion ended up with almost two additional hours of just sitting in traffic.

So, other than almost meeting the Head of State, and running into the entire countries of Brazil and Argentina trying to buy tax-free goods, not much else was going on during my few days in Asuncion and Paraguay. Not very impressed with the old city, but the rest of Asuncion and Paraguay seems really nice. Well, not the area around the border crossing into Brazil.

The newly appointed Paraguay Minister of iPhones and Traffic,

Keith