WEATHER: SWEATY BETTY HOT
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Wine tasting that turned to Karaoke
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Sweaty Betty Hot
BUY OF THE DAY: My new pair of Crocs for 23AUD
WORD OF THE DAY: I Did It My Way in Spanish
We had a free day in Asuncion today. The only real time constraint we had was that breakfast finished at 10am and we had our wine tasting at 7pm in the evening. Gray had bought 18 bottles of Argentinian wine when we were in Ushuaia for the wine tasting and we all contributed 10AUD each to pay for it all. So it should be a good night. We were going to do it last night, but since there were no shops open we could buy nibbles so we are having it tonight. It’s not ideal as we have a truck day tomorrow and in the heat and being hangover could be a very unpleasant experience indeed.
We made it to breakfast at 9.30am and then we dropped our washing off at the Laundromat next door. She charges per piece and my washing bill came to 31,500GS but it is only like 6 bucks for a big load. I wouldn’t want her job for quid’s inside a small shop with the machines going and the dryers, it was hotter than an oven in there, but she did have a big fan blowing but how much good that was I am not sure. I feel bad only paying her 6AUD in that heat.
We braced ourselves for the heat and stepped out for our walk around town and have a look at some if their shops. I know I have said it but it was murder outside. I rekon if you broke an egg on the side walk it would cook and sizzle right in front of you. It is hot hot hot. As I hadn’t heard from Zeme in a few days I tried 2 cabinas to try and place a call and with both places I could get through. The South American phone system is so frustrating let alone their mobile phone networks. So I gave up on that pretty quickly and decided again no news is good news and things were progressing along. We continued along the main drag with a stop into one of their main department stores, there wasn’t anything there with buying, but to just get out of the heat refreshed us somewhat for the onslaught again as we stepped back into the street. Kate has been talking about getting a pair of crocs as I have talked up my 3 pairs the whole trip and low and behold we walked past a shoe shop that was a licensed Croc seller and they had a good variety I there. There were none in Kate baby feet size, but I managed to buy a pair of what look like deck shoes in RED and they are so comfortable and the extra bonus is that they were only 115,000GS!!! Which converted was only 23AUD. Where in the world can you buy a pair of original Crocs for 23 bucks? That was a bonus!!! I know not everyone is a fan of Crocs. Sean and I had this debate that his Haviannas were better than my Crocs, but I have to disagree. I am not a fan of the original Crocs with the rounded, covered toes, they look ridiculous on adults, they are cure on kids, but adults look yobbo in them. But MY Crocs are awesome and they are so comfy. It was weird to try them on to start with as I have been wearing the same 2 pairs of thongs for the last 6 months, seriously one pair I haven’t swapped for over 4 months, so one pair of shoes every day for the last 4 months. I hope my feet like these ones.
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay. The Asunción metropolitan area has more than 2 million inhabitants and is one of the oldest cities in South America and the longest continually inhabited area in the River Plate Basin; for this reason that it is known as "Mother of Cities". It was from here that the colonial expeditions departed to found other cities, including the second foundation of Buenos Aires and of other important cities such as Villarrica, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
In 1541, natives destroyed Buenos Aires, and the Spaniards fled to Asunción. Thus, the city became the center of a large Spanish colonial province comprising part of Brazil, present-day Paraguay and northeastern Argentina: the Giant Province of the Indies. In 1603 Asunción was the seat of the First Synod of Asunción, which set guidelines for the evangelization of the natives in their lingua franca, Guaraní.
After Paraguay became independent, there was significant change in Asunción. Under the presidency of Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia roads were built throughout the city and the streets were named. However, it was during the presidency of Carlos Antonio López that Asunción (and Paraguay) progressed, as the new president implemented new economic policies. More than 400 schools, metallurgic factories and the first railroad service in South America were built during the López presidency. After López died, his son Francisco Solano López became the new president and led the country through the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance that lasted for five years. After the War of the Triple Alliance (1865–70), Asunción was occupied by Brazilian troops until 1876. Many historians have claimed that this war provoked a steady downfall of the city and country, since it massacred two thirds of the country's population. Progress slowed down greatly afterwards, and the economy remained stagnated. After the War of the Triple Alliance, Asunción began a slow recovery attempt. Towards the end of the 19th Century and during the early years of the 20th Century, a flow of immigrants from Europe and the Ottoman Empire came to the city. This led to a change in the appearance of the city as many new buildings were built and Asunción went through an era more prosperous than any since the war.
The buildings are just beautiful here. There are a lot of run down ones as well but to some buildings to definitely see while you are here include: The Lopez Presidential Palace, The Godoi Museum and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (which contains old paintings from the 19th century), the Church of La Encarnación and the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the National Pantheon of the Heroes, a smaller version of Les Invalides in Paris, where many of the nation's heroes are entombed. Other landmarks include the Palacio de los López, the old Senate building (a modern building opened to house Congress in 2003), the Cathedral Metropolitana and the Casa de la Independencia (one of the few examples of colonial architecture remaining in the city). Calle Palma is the main street downtown where several historical buildings, plazas, shops, restaurants and cafes are located. The "Manzana de la Rivera", located in front of the Presidential Palace, is a series of old traditional homes that have been restored and serve as a museum showcasing the architectural evolution of the city. The old railway station maintains the old trains that now are used in tourist trips to the cities of Luqueand Areguá.
We made it to one of the squares that had some handicraft markets, so we took a stroll around them with Kate buying Paraguay wrist bands for her, Paul and Liz. They have been collecting and wearing them after they visit each country as they go. It looks pretty cool now that they have 7 on their wrists. After the last few truck days I wanted to get a cooler to put my water in to try and keep it colder than 40C. The done thing in Paraguay are the look alike blue 2L drink bottles we have back home that have the handles on them on the top and sides. The locals here fill them with hot and cold tea. I have decided to buy a tourist one covered in leather and I plan on buying ice and filling that baby with water that will stay cold. I’m smart aren’t I!! So I made deal with one of the stalls and I got a lovely one for 120,000GS (24AUD) which I think is a steal as he offered to personalize it for me, so I got Paraguay and my name on the front and it looks awesome. By this time we had just about had enough outside so we made our way back to the hotel on the other main street where I was able to buy a dodgy magnet and a stick pin for my collection. Considering it is the capital there wasn’t that much ‘souvenir stuff’ bar the leather and craft things. I didn’t see any postcards to buy. I need to get back into the swing of my postcard writing, I have been so slack lately. I now have Sean’s new address and David has found somewhere to live, so his address won’t be far behind. I have sent Lisa postcards in their absence but I have been neglecting them all lately including my God-daughters……...
I had to head back out as I am trying to get my USD kitty cashed up and you can withdraw local currency or USD in most Paraguay ATM’s. It was tough to leave the coolness of the hotel room to hit the hell streets of the city, but I just had to do it. There is a daily limit of 400USD withdrawals so I took what I could and stopped in at BK on the way back and got Kate and I a late lunch and carried it back to the hotel where we stayed till 5pm where we met Sven, Paul, Mike and Liz at the pub just up the road from the hotel to watch Liverpool play Tottenham. Not much of a football (soccer back home) fan, but Paul has got me into Liverpool, with King Kenny, Suarez No.7 who was back from suspension, Stevie G No.8 and the money man Andy Carrol No.9. No bad hey! So if someone was to ask if I was to follow a football team, I would have to make Paul proud and tell them Liverpool. Zeme like football, I wonder what team he supports? Speaking of Zeme, I got a text message from him today saying he has an appointment next week and to not worry. Cool. If he’s not worried and things are moving then I am a happy camper. Just get that damn visa in the damn passport. For the record it was a draw with Liverpool and Tottenham so they will share the ladder points.
We had to then quickly head to the Laundromat to collect our washing and then I had to head straight up to the hotel roof top for our wine tasting session. Kate had declined the wine party, so she was tucked up in our little air-conditioned room watching movies, skyping and on the internet while we were on the rooftop sweating our arses off drinking chilled whites, a rose and 4 red wines over the space of a few hours. It was a great view from the top and I got a few sunset pictures as well, but boy it was HOT. The type of hot that had beads of sweat running down your kegs and your face kind of sweat. I guess we are all in the same boat, so we just need to suck it up, but man it was HOT. Have I told you that already?
The tasting was a success, so thanks to Gray and Mark for organizing it all and getting some snacks and meat and cheese platters, it was a really good evening. Julia went and got my laptop to get some tunes cranking, I said if I go I won’t come back once I get into the air con, which is exactly what happened to Mick when he went to the toilet, never to return as a victim of the air con.
By this time, some people had wandered off to bed; some went to the bar where we watched the footy as they had karaoke jiving there and the stayers, the ones who drank the dregs of the red wine. Once they were poured (thanks Sven), considering I don’t even drink red, I was ready to pack it all in and head to bed, when Paul came bounding back up and said you just have to come to karaoke it is going off over there. So a handful of us made our way over to enter the bar and see 6 people sitting in there. Oh yeah going off like an old peoples home. In Paul’s defence, well all of us actually, we had all consumed a fair amount of wine, so with the song lists in our hands, we picked out a few tunes for us to sing. Lizzie and I sang Belinda Carlisle Heaven is a Place on Earth, we did a group Bon Jovi song, Living on a Prayer that I can remember and Sven and I sand with another guy I Did It My Way in Spanish, but just from the table and they finished the night off with Bohemian Rhapsody. I am sure we were terrible, but we had a good night and at 2am thought it best to hit the hay as we had a travel day in the truck tomorrow. No drunk walk is complete without a munchies stop, so I stopped at the 7-11 equivalent and bought a packet of Doritos that we all hoed into.
So I enjoyed my time in Asuncion. Tomorrow we leave Paraguay and head into Brazil where we will be for the next 55 days, bar one day we go back into Argentina to view the falls in Iguazu. So it’s a drunk **hiccup** from me **burp** and let’s see how we pull up in 4 hour’s time.
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