Paraguay from every angle
Life, culture, landscapes. All that is Paraguay, and my life hereSupermarkets in Paraguay replace traditional stores
When I first arrived in Paraguay supermarkets were a common sight in Asunción but few and far between in the rest of the country. This has changed completely in the years that I have lived here. As I mentioned, years ago when I first came to Paraguay supermarkets were...
Back to school for the children of Paraguay
After the long, long summer holiday it is finally time for the schools to open their doors once more. Locally they actually reopened last Friday, but Monday is a far more sensible day for the children to begin their new school year. As always in Paraguay due to the...
The first cool spell of the year
Whist winter is still several months away and it would be quite an exaggeration to call it cold the weather now is very different from that of just a couple of days ago. Summer here is a long hot season and although it is a time of great pleasure by mid February...
A day in the English school
The days started early in our English school in Naranjo, Piribebuy. At first light a strong bright sun burst into life. If that was not enough to waken everybody in their tents and huts then the sound of the chickens getting going for the day certainly was. Once...
The Cocotero or Coco Paraguayo
The cocotero is the ubiquitous tree of Paraguay. There may be more graceful trees and there may be trees with more edible fruits but it is the tree many think of first when describing Paraguayan trees. No scene or image of Paraguay would be complete without one and...
Paraguay. A green land.
Despite the inevitable illegal logging and forest fires Paraguay remains a very green and heavily wooded land. Even where the trees have been cleared they are on the whole replaced by pasture rather than concrete. The picture is a little different in the thorn...
Eating out in restaurants in Paraguay
Anyone eating out in Paraguay will very quickly discover how common buffet restaurants are. They are to be found everywhere from high streets to supermarkets to shopping centers. What they offer is good reasonably priced food without all the hassle of making a...
Fire! Fire! Dry season danger in Paraguay
Winter in Paraguay is the dry season, a time of year when the grass dry or if there has been frost, die back leaving just straw behind. All this turns the ground to a tinderbox in grave danger from fire. So it was for me a couple of winters back. I returned home after...
A cow for the home
In rural Paraguay it is common for a household to own a cow or two and for some to own many more than that. Those animals are often to be seen tied up along roadsides or in gardens chomping away on the grass. As well as representing an investment a cow can also...