My Travel Diaries of
Paraguay
Summary
Currency: Guaraní
Capital: Asunción
Drink like a local: tereré (cold mate)
Special facts:
- Nobody knows anything about Paraguay
- Paraguay is the only country besides Bolivia that has no access to the sea
- There are no mountains in Paraguay either. Pastures and jungle dominate the landscape
- In Germany, Paraguay has a reputation as an emigrants’ paradise for those who cannot do anything with a democratic constitutional state or pandemic prevention rules
- Argentina begins directly behind the capital Asunción
- In Paraguay it is compulsory to drive with the lights on
- The police are very corrupt and like to take every opportunity to cash in. For example, if the lights on the car are not turned on
- The national currency, Guarani, was named after the local indigenous people
- In summer it gets over forty degrees in the capital Asuncion
Language
Without Spanish you are lost in the country. Only in Asunción can you possibly find people who speak English. The most important vocabulary:
- Good day – Buenas dias
- Hello – Hola
- Drunk – Borracho
- Steak – Churrasco
- Rain – Lluvia
- Hot – caliente
Currency
The Guaraní is named after the indigenous people of the Paraguay area and is so incredibly worthless that the entire paper is printed with zeros. During my stay in the country I get 0.00013 euros for one Guaraní. Conversely, I get 7748.07 Guaraní for one euro.
My Lesson:
Paraguay’s greatest strength lies in its location in the heart of South America
Travel Diaries
Paraguay is a country about which few reports are written. All neighboring countries have special tourist magnets right on the border with Paraguay. Brazil has the Iguazu Falls and the Pantanal, Chile has the Atacama, Argentina has Salta and Bolivia has the Uyuni salt lakes within sight of Paraguay.
So when I ask someone what I should see as a tourist, the answer I get is the route to one of the neighboring countries.
This also gives the country a real advantage: it is strategically located in the middle of South America so that you can start a journey in any direction from there. Be it a trip to Brazil, the Amazon, the Andes or Patagonia, from Paraguay it is the same distance in every direction.
The country is not particularly dangerous and offers a good opportunity to gain your first experiences in South America.
