I wrote the below for a FB post because friends are always curious about my travels. I don't share specifics of where I stayed on FB. In this case, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza, in old Asuncion, and it was a great property. Also ate at Bolsi and Lo de Osvaldo in old Asuncion. The tour guide advised that the current administration has big plans to rehab (gentrify) old Asuncion in conjunction with hosting the World Cup in 2030. Let me know if you have specific questions.

Paraguay is not known for tourism. It essentially land locked, but interestingly enough it has one of the largest navies in South America due to the Paraguay River (Rio Paraguay), which goes through Argentina and out to the Atlantic Ocean. It also gained independence from Spain in 1811 without injury to anyone. I am over simplifying the story, but essentially a group of Paraguayans told the Spanish governor that they wanted independence from Spain. The governor looked around, didn’t see any help coming, and an independent country was created the next day. Today, it seems that Paraguay is not a wealthy country, but there are big plans for it, including co-hosting soccer’s World Cup in 2030. There is a lot of controversy about this, but I am not going to try to interpret it as I don’t live there. So why Paraguay? Basically, it adds to my country count easily when I’m already in southern South America, in other words, I was relatively nearby.

I stayed in old Asuncion, which was laid out by the Spanish. A lot of the classic architecture remains. But a lot is dilapidated. Apparently part of the World Cup plan is a revamp of old Asuncion. While I enjoyed walking around during the day, I was told to be on my guard at night. The only night I actually went out, I used Uber to take me to the new city, basically just for a cigar walk.

Again, tourism is not a thing in Paraguay yet. There are no walking tours or do it yourself tours. I asked the hotel for recommendations and it gave me the business card of someone associated with an university. I contacted him, made arrangements, albeit quite expensive, for a day tour of Asuncion and a day tour of the Golden Circuit (a U-shape of locales surrounding Asuncion). I could have done the Golden Circuit with a rental car (which does not bother me), but I am glad I didn’t because I could have spent much time wandering the streets of each of the small towns that we toured. If I were to ever go back again, I would rent a car and see the Jesuit missionary ruins, and the German Mennonite communities that are in the Chaco region of the country.