Travel Report Paraguay 2017

Okt 11, 2017

Back in Paraguay

After breaking off the project “emigrating to Paraguay” for a while and spending a few months in Germany, I started a new attempt in early 2017. Now that I had the Paraguayan visa and spent a lot of time learning the Spanish language, I wanted to try again to gain a foothold in the country of my choice.

This time I lived for more than half a year in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. Since I was already able to win friends from my first stay in Asuncion, settling in was much easier this time than the year before. In addition, I was now in the Paraguayan winter in South America, with “mild” 15 – 35 degrees. In the summer of 2016, I was in Paraguay where we sometimes had several weeks at a time between 35 – 45 degrees. For a Central European an absolute ordeal, but also not very pleasant for the locals.

Pub Crawl Asuncion

I quickly became aware of the event “Pub Crawl”, which took place every Saturday. Here you join a group of mostly locals but also occasionally tourists, pay a one-time, relatively small amount and then go together in different bars and clubs. The perfect opportunity to quickly make new contacts and friendships.

The waterfalls in Foz do Iguacu

In the aforementioned Pub Crawl, I met a Paraguayan woman who told me that she would soon travel to Brazil (a neighboring country of Paraguay) to see the waterfalls in Foz do Iguacu. In addition to the Niagara Falls in North America, these waterfalls are the largest on the planet. When I asked her if I could accompany her on her journey, she did not think long. Impressions of this incredible natural spectacle can be seen in the pictures above.

Asuncion – Dia de todos los santos

The Day of the Saints (dia de todos los santos) is there to think about their fellow human beings and to do them something good. As I was already confronted for months with the comparatively high poverty that prevails in South America, I made a decision: I wanted to do something good for people I did not know and who lived on the street! Since my immediate neighbor Carlos was a pizza maker, I asked him to bake 10 pizzas on the day “de todos los santos” so that I could distribute them to people living on the street. I went out with the pizzas together with a Paraguayan girlfriend and her sister. We searched for people who obviously lived on the street and gave them the pizzas. The pictures were taken at the top. What moved me was the old woman in the pink top. She lived in a garbage heap on the sidewalk, near the bus station. When we handed her the pizza she had tears in her eyes. At that moment, I realized that in addition to giving people something to eat, it’s also about showing people who are disadvantaged, showing respect and giving them back some of their dignity. I took the next picture the next day as I drove past the bus station. It shows the place where the old lady “lives”. After all 10 pizzas were distributed, I invited my two friends then also on a pizza.