Asuncion

Day 33 – Sunday again

Here in Asuncion we carefully replicated the mistake we made in Montevideo, trying to visit a large(ish) city on a Sunday. Needless to say everything was shut, and the stinking heat helped keep everyone off the streets. But we made the best of things and wandered round the old part of town taking photos and trying to stay in the shade.

A big church (no guidebook and I can’t remember the name)

The abandoned railway station

Mural with the top of the Presidential Palace poking over the top

The palace built by Francisco Lopez, subject of the aforementioned ‘News from Paraguay’ book we had read.

Butterfly sculpture in the main square

Everywhere we looked in Paraguay there were pool toys for sale, confusing when we first arrived, but understandable having experienced the heat!

Late afternoon we hopped on a bus back to Argentina, arriving in Corrientes quite late. We’d booked a place (Hospedaje San Lorenzo) over the phone, the prices had gone up considerably from what we were expecting, but then that seems to be the case everywhere in inflation prone Argentina. We got there quite late and had paid before we were shown to our room, which looked passable on first inspection.

On second inspection however the air conditioner did not work, the bed was nearly destroyed, there were no screens on the windows (which we had to have open to avoid roasting being on the second floor), the fan sounded like a jet turbine and you had to flush the toilet by reaching into the wall and jiggling the plumbing. But it was too late to go in search of an alternative…