214 - Paraguay travel advice

Paraguay travel advice from independent travellers who have just
been. We cover visas, Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion, the Jesuit
ruins and the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion. Our world fact book
claims that Paraguay and Bolivia have a very similar GDP, but our
experience of Paraguay was that it was much more affluent and
faster-growing than its andean neighbour. There seems to be more
indigent people living in Asuncion than the other cities we
visited, and there are large areas of farmland that provide little
more than sustenance living for its workers ... so maybe those
stats are true. All in all, we felt very safe travelling in
Paraguay, even when walking the streets in the late evening or on
long bus trips. While we've heard reports of some scams, we
encountered none at all. We never felt threatened, hassled or
oversold because we were foreigners ... which was a nice contrast
with our time in Bolivia. Paraguay's a great destination, with lots
more to see. There are wonderful natural sites, an intriguing and
accessible modern history, and is very well priced. I really don't
know why more people don't visit, so plan to go soon before tourism
really picks up.