These Crazy Border Towns

Ciudad del Este to Encarnación. The main difference are the Brazilian counterfeiters in C. de Este versus the Argentines here.

Actually, that proves to make a large difference. The general Argentine tranquilidad swam across the border and infected all the Paraguayans, resulting in a very calm city offering tons of unbelieveably good prices on fake and counterfeit goods!



A few kids catching lunch at the bus terminal in Encarnación. A good meal of pasta with chicken, a side of potato salad and a beer is just under $2!

I spent a few relaxed days in Encarnación, located at the southern tip of Paraguay, right across the Rio Paraná from Posadas, Argentina. While here I took advantage of the toll the last several hundred years took on the former Jesuit lands. Now the once magnificent examples of Jesuit conquesting glories stand in mere ruins of their former selves. Trinidad and Jesús are 2 good sites of large farms and areas controlled by the Jesuits before their Catholic expulsion because they were getting a little too powerful.



Here are a few shots from Trinidad. I like the traveling circus of sorts in the background. It was a very interesting place.



Southeastern Paraguay is made up primarily of colonies from when the government sold land at insanely low prices in an attempt to attract settlers (similar to the Mennonite communities in the north where land was given to them to keep them from continuing on to neighboring Argentina). Now there are many German and Brazilian colonies scattered on the iron-rich deep red land.

Encarnación´s waterfront is unfortunately sinking away slowly under the ever-rising Paraná thanks to the downriver Yacyretá Dam. However, it´s a really cool area because that´s where the black market is with all of its stalls and cheap food stands and general excitement.

Not having much room in my backpack, but wanting to have a Paraguayan national team jersey...I had to part with one of my 4 shirts. So I traded with one of the vendors and got the jersey for half-price, or $4, and he got a polyester red t-shirt! I am so Paraguayan now.

Actually I´m not. I stick out more than anywhere else. The entire world had told me that Paraguay is ugly or "¡Un país re-feo!" Although slightly darker overall than Chile, Argentina or Uruguay, the people are still very attractive and the countryside as well. I confess to still prefering Chilean and Argentine females, though...they´re just hard to beat!