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Paraguay: international rejects, toilet city, more meat, a town called Jesus

Fat chance

Rhymer1
2005-03-26 19:15:38

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A few days at Iguazu falls gives you a feel for the average waterfall tourist. And, unless you are an average waterfall tourist yourself, you're unlikely to unlikely to enjoy their company overmuch. The AWT is oldish, North American (or North American Aspirant) and seems determined to videotape their every waking waterfall moment. They are also, to a tourist, in varying stages of terminal chubbiness; my heart went out their hearts, pumping away beneath all those pounds. Their heft is reflected in the signeage around the waterfall. Warnings such as "This path involves 39 steps - are you sure that won't kill you?" predominate. Indeed, on one side of the waterfall there was an elevator to spare the truly obese the indignity of waddling up the rather less than hundred metre climb from the top to the bottom. Sadly, it was closed due to a landslide, meaning that, as we watched, some fatties were no discovering the extreme sport of walking uphill.

All this rather leaves you in the mood to get away from it all. Luckily away from it all is not far. For the third country at the triple border zone is Paraguay. Yes, that's right - for anyone who thought Uruguay was, well, a bit of a mainstream destination, here's Paraguay. Sort of like Uruguay. Without beaches. Or money. Out of the South American countries of any size (i.e. not the three tiny ones atop Brazil nobody can remember) Paraguay scores lowest on tourism receipts. Interestingly Bolivia is a very close second, which is rather peculiar as Bolivia makes Peru look rubbish. Obviously Peru has better marketing people.

Paraguay not?

In fact, a lot of tourists do go to Paraguay. Or rather, they go to one very small bit of it, the bit directly opposite Foz do Iguazu on the Parana river, Ciudad del Este, or City of the East. This is something of a shame because to enter Paraguay though Ciudad del Este is to enter the country through its arsehole. ...