Paraguay from every angle
Life, culture, landscapes. All that is Paraguay, and my life here
Farming in Paraguay
There are large mechanized farms in Paraguay but much of the countries farming is still done on family owned smallholdings. Paraguay is still to a large degree a rural country with many people working on the land rather than in its towns. Across the land there are to...
Clearing the dead wood
Yesterday I had a visit from a man and his chainsaw. He had come to cut down and turn into logs and firewood a couple of my old dead trees. I did not have to track him down or organize the work as that had all been done by my neighbour. he had actually come to cut...
Big Paraguayan storms
For most of the year Paraguay sits under a hot blue sky. There is though a chance of rain at any time of year. Often these come in the form of heavy summer downpours or cold blasts of winter. Occasionally the storms are something altogether more powerful. Thankfully...
A Presidential Inauguration
Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be in Asuncion on the day that a new president was inaugurated into office. The year was 2008 and the president was Fernando Lugo. After I had breakfasted in my hotel I headed to parliament and the cathedral where the events...
The Independence of Paraguay
What was to become the country of Paraguay formed part of Spanish South America. In 1776 from these was formed the province of The Vice Royalty of the Rio de la Plata which formed the southern portion of those land. Then shortly this province was itself divided into a...
Festival of San Juan
The Festival of San Juan is one of the major festivals of the Paraguayan year. It is celebrated in every corner of the country and is traditionally held on 24th June, the Feast of St John. However in practice as it is also a major fund raiser for every school, church...
Boat trip across the bay
In Asuncion just along from the Port of Asuncion is a small pier. From there small boats ferry passengers out of Asuncion Bay, across the Rio Paraguay and to the small ferry landing at Chaco'i. These boats being public transport rather than tourist attractions are...
Extinct volcanoes in Paraguay
Paraguay may seem to be a quiet geologically stable place but a good look around its landscape will show that that has not always been the case. Across Eastern Paraguay rising out of the flat lands are a number a steep conical hills which are all that remains of the...
Trains of Paraguay
Work on a Paraguayan rain network began in 1856 under to presidency of Carlos Lopez. It was one of the very first in the Americas. English engineers were bought over to supervise the works and by 1861 tracks had been laid as far as the town of Trinidad, 4km from...