Ciudad del Este, Itaipu, Asuncion and Laguna Blanca

Paraguay? Where on earth is that you ask! Well here are 10 fun facts that you didn´t know about Paraguay, the forgotten heart of South America.

1) Paraguay is the only country in South America to have an indigenous tongue (Guaraní) as its official language.

2) Cerro Pero, at 842m above sea level, is the highest point in Paraguay.

3) Paraguay is the world´s third largest exporter of soybeans.

4) Paraguay is the world´s largest exporter of Hydroelectric power.

5) At 61 years of continuous rule, the Colorado party of Paraguay were the longest serving political party on earth (although defeated in 2008).

6) The capital Asuncion means 'Assumption' in English, and according to Mercer 2008 survey, was the cheapest city on earth.

7) 10,000 archaic German speaking Memmonites live in the Paraguayan Chaco.

8) Paraguay has a population of 6.7m and has one of the most homogenous ethnic groups in South America with 95% of the population being mestizo.

9) Paraguay took on the triple Alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in one of the bloodiest wars of the 19th Century, and were unsurprising annihilated!

10) The national past time of Paraguay is sipping on Tereré (an ice cold infusion of yerba maté tea and herbs). Even the president likes to publically slurp away!

We walked over the friendship bridge between Brazil and Paraguay on a sizzling afternoon. Immediately we were presented with a kind of Paraguayan ´Tijuana´ with chaos, dodgy folk, styrofoam and cardboard boxes strewn all over the place. Ciudad del Este is known as the `shopping basket of South America` due to the preponderance of people selling counterfeit and smuggled electronic goods! We quickly sought refuge in the lovely Hotel Austria. Already we were seeing the evidence of a post World War II German invasion (even the hotel next door was called Hotel Munich!).

Our first outing in Paraguay was to the bi-national Itaipu Dam, owned by Brazil and Paraguay. This is the second largest hydro-electric dam in the world and it was like starring in our own episode of Megastructures. It was very impressive but we also learnt about the tragic cost of its construction as some of the planet´s rarest rainforest habitat was lost to the floodwaters, as well as waterfalls that rivalled Iguacu in their natural beauty and magnificence. Since then, Itaipu has had to invest heavily in ecological damage limitation projects, and now operates a very good zoo, gardens and museum.

We visited the zoo which sadly houses the very animals that were rescued from the flooded area. Although it is apparently one of the better zoos in South America there were still signs of distress from some of the larger animals, such as the large cats. They have a very rare black jaguar and a pure blue parrot (beautiful plumage!) that were impressive to see. The best part about the whole day was that everything was free including transport between sites, so come on down to Paraguay before they start charging!

We also visited the ´Salto de Monday´ Falls, Paraguay´s unflooded answer to Iguacu Falls. The 80m high falls were an impressive sight and benefited from being less developed and touristy. The refreshing spary was a welcome relief from the relentless Paraguyan heat (most days were between 36 and 38 degrees!). It was time to catch another air-conditioned bus to the Capital city Asuncion...

In Asuncion, the weirdest city we have so far visited, we arrived on the set of ´28 days later´, a ghost town with no-one to be seen. Even tumbleweeds were absent. A colonial city of mostly low rise buildings (due to the assasination paranoia of a former dictator) the city centre is deserted on evenings and weekends as the city´s middle class and richer residents prefer to remain ensconced in their expensive suburban homes and air-conditioned American style shopping malls. One immediately notices the bizarre contrasts when travelling in Paraguay, they have modern malls, roads, cars, houses and technology. Most of the urban areas could be any North-American suburb. Poverty is still evident however in the old painted buses, central slums and begging streetkids.

To amuse ourselves we took to indulging in the national past-time of thoughfully sipping tereré. In Paraguay one cannot walk down the street without seeing all the locals carrying around their tereré kits consisting of a large Thermos flask, metal cup and straining straw. Indeed it seems to be the main Paraguayan status symbol, they come in a whole range of weird and wonderful designs. Tereré tastes like a mildly medicinal herbal ice tea and is usually mixed with mint or lemongrass. The whole process of enjoyment takes more than an hour and made us wonder what affect this was having on national productivity levels. It is an invigorating brew and we were hooked in no time!

Amusingly, we also found `Tres Leónes Whisky` and a vino tinto called ´Fray Leon´. At 30p for a half bottle of whisky we found it to be surprisingly palatable. As for the wine, we´ve certainly tasted much better but at 1 GBP for a litre who´s complaining!

The final stop on our whirlwind tour of Paraguay was Laguna Blanca, one of South Anerica´s best kept secrets. At 270 km and 8 hours on public transport from Asuncion, Rancho Laguna Blanca is not the easiest place to get to, but the beauty and solitude of this place made it all worthwhile. Without doubt this is the most stunning, unspoilt lake we have ever seen. The pure silky water (which was drinkable) was of perfect temperature and clarity. While the white sand beaches and lake bottom was positively tropical. Indeed, it was like swimming in a giant tropical fish-tank. We had a marvellous time swimming, feeding the tame fish and kayaking. It was a paradise and we were the only guests there, definitely the highlight of Paraguay.

Our rustic accommodation was also visited nightly by giant toads who took great interest in the large bugs ricocheting off our porch lights. The area was a haven for wildlife, with wild maned wolves roaming the area and a variety of wild birds. The flocks of green parakeets were particularly memorable.

Finally, Leon´s life long dream of being a millionaire before 30 has been realized in Paraguay. Although a million guaranis is only worth about 140 GBP, it still felt good to bask in the warm glow of acheivement!

We spent just over a week in Paraguay and it certainly felt like we were off the Gringo trail. We found the people to be warm, polite and friendly but there really isn´t that much to do or see in Paraguay so we booked our bus tickets to Argentina.....

Ouro Preto, Rio, Costa Verde, Sao Paulo and Iguacu Falls

Think Italian Renaissance painting, think Ouro Preto, a beautiful colonial town nestled in the rolling hills of Southern Minas Gerais, Brazil´s historic mining state. The name of the town itself means ´Black Gold´ and hints at the riches extracted from the area. At the peak of the gold rush, Ouro Preto was amongst the richest towns in Brazil and still boasts the finest Baroque architecture in the country. The UNESCO heritage site started life as a basic mining camp but soon became one of the most attractive cities in the Americas, rivalling Edinburgh or York with its old buildings and breathtaking scenery. By the second day of our visit we were well acquainted with the artesanal chocolate shops, delicious delicatessens and wholesome tutu a mineira dishes (a selection of lentils, meat, spinach and sauces).

To get up close and personal with the town´s raison détre we went to the largest visitable mine in the world, Mina da Passagem. This vast sprawling complex of underground tunnels, some 30km in total, provided the largest reserves of gold in the continent. Bizarrely leased by a British company, the profits from mining 35 tonnes of pure gold were siphoned out of the country. The mine was in operation for 166 years and closed in 1985 after extraction of remaining deposits became unprofitable. As the water pumps were turned off when operations came to an end many of the lower tunnels became flooded. This now provides the fortunate opportunity to cool off in crystal clear waters and swim amongst the cavernous stoop and room workings. The local scuba diving club also undertakes cave diving in the fascinating watery labyrinth. Most fun of all was the method of transport into the mine, a rickety old mining cart which felt like a subterranean rollercoater ride taking you 120m below ground! The whole experience was in stark contrast to the cramped, dingy mines of Potosi with high ceilings and relatively clean air.

Next, we headed to Rio de Janeiro, the so-called ´Cidade Marvilosa´ (Marvellous City). Our first experience of this bustling Metropolis of 6m people was unpleasant as we boarded a rush hour bus with our luggage to Copacabana. The locals constantly shoved us back and forth and refused to help us with our bags, the misery compounded by the muggy heat. We eventually made it to Copacabana and were immediately disappointed to find a decrepit selection of ugly 1970´s style tower blocks a bit like what you would find in Hawaii or Miami. Furthermore, the streets were full of weirdos, small yapping dogs and people down on their luck. However, our mood improved when we went to Copacabana and Ipanema beaches where we spent the afternoon wallowing in the warm waves and taking in the sunset. There is no doubt Rio is situated in a beautiful setting, it is just a shame that there isn´t more character about the place, but maybe everyone was still suffering from a massive post-Carnaval hangover! Most surprising of all was the weather, as it then proceeded to pour down for the next 2 days under grey Edinburgh or Vancouver like skies. It got to the point that we wondered what all the fuss was about and we just couldn´t wait to get out of there. Our only tourist forays were a 0.6 Real tram ride to the Bohemian neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, with its collection decaying colonial buildings perched on a jungly hillside with commanding views of the city, and a visit to the strange Mayan pyramid like Nova Catedral built between 1964 and 1976. Also, we were hoping to hanglide over the city but were thwarted by unfavourable conditions.

Unfortunately, we found Rio to be the biggest disappointment of our trip so far, it lacked the friendliness of Belo Horizonte and the beaches were not a patch on those we found in Salvador. Indeed, the main highlight of our time in Rio was seeing Avatar in an air-conditioned 3-D cinema! As you can see from the photo of Lydia above, we were delighted to get our bus tickets for our next destination.

The Costa Verde, with its luxuriant Atlantic rainforest and pristine beaches was exactly what we needed after Rio. This 280 kilometre stretch of coastline between Rio and Sao Paulo must be one of the most beautiful places on earth, and sums up the quintessential Brazilian beach paradise. We stayed in historic, colonial Paraty, built in 1650 and ingeniously designed with self-cleaning sloping cobbled streets that flood during high tides. Twenty km south of Paraty is the idyllic hippie village of Trinidade. We loved the laid back surfer vibe, the beach football and crab shacks and I think we were in serious danger of getting lost in time and never returning to Edinburgh! The natural piscina was particularly memorable, formed by giant boulders encircling a portion of the bay, we lolled like happy sea lions under lush foliage until we shrivelled up like prunes. We also had the chance to spend a day on a schooner touring remote beaches, snorkelling in azure waters and relaxing on deck listening to live acoustic guitar. It was a perfect Sunday!

Thoroughly bathed and relaxed, we were ready to tackle the third largest city in the world, Sao Paulo and its 15 million inhabitants. We arrived to a rainy Sao Paulo but with its energy and friendliness we immediately preferred it to Rio. With the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, it is an Asian foodies dream! We wasted no time getting stuck into the sushi bars conveniently located next to our Japanese business hotel in Japantown. Despite the size of the city, it was easy to get around with an efficient and clean metro system. As well as Japantown, we enjoyed exploring Little Italy with its Soprano like atmosphere and cheerily painted green, white and red buildings. Going up the 32 storey Banespa Tower (free!), we were blown away by the sheer scale of Sao Paulo. There were skyscrapers as far as the eye could see in every direction (or more precisely, as far as the smog would let you see!).

Our final destination on the Brazilian beach coco tour was the immense natural beauty of Iguacu Falls. With nearly 300 cascading waterfalls surrounding you on all sides it certainly made you feel humbled by nature´s raw power. This is one of the most impressive natural sites we have so far seen in South America and was well worth the visit.

All in all, Brazil has been a fascinating contrast to the traditional and indigenous cultures of Peru and Bolivia. At times it feels like a very brash, modern, western country full of economic vitality and consumerism. However, we discovered the essence of Brazil on the beaches of the Costa Verde and in the streets of Salvador. The people have a wonderful energy and on the whole are very friendly and welcoming. In Brazil your taste buds are always tantalized, the variety and range of food was world class and we´ll have to return someday for more sushi, coco verdes and acai smoothies!