More observations from the far side of the world

We´re planning to tune into the Rose Bowl here in just a couple hours. It´s on ESPN, which they have on cable. I expect we´ll be getting the spanish-language feed here, which will be interesting with all the Anglo terminology. The Gonzalez house is comfy and calm, and during these "horas de calor", it´s all about finding shade, a breeze or maybe even some A/C. Interestingly, our numerous Paraguayan hosts ask all the time what we think about the heat. I, thankful to be here and not freezing in Michigan, have adapted well, and don´t mind it until the thermometer peaks above 95. I just find shade and a cerveza. The Paraguayans, however, seem to sweat as readily as I do, so maybe they´re not all that tough!

Cable, A/C, ESPN, the Internet... These are relatively new arrivals in these parts, but they´re not uncommon.

The three most common types of bodegas here are "Gomeria" or tire-repair stands, which are announced approximately every 300 feet along all the highways. Most amount to nothing more than a dusty garage and a couple guys who sit waiting for a blowout or flat somewhere within a stone´s throw of their place. Must happen a lot, because there are a TON of these Gomerias, and each is advertised by a nearly-identical truck tire with "GOMERIA" painted on it sitting out front. The next most-common is the despensa, with the ubiquitous Coca-Cola awning (a minority feature local beers like Brahma or Pilsen). I´ve seen a couple Pepsi signs, but Jose says the Pepsi bottling plant here went bankrupt some time ago, so your soda choices are either "La Coca" or one of the domestic brands. The third most-common type of shop is the Tigo mobile-phone company, which has recently taken Paraguay by storm with good coverage and lower rates.

Today we took a short trip north into the fringes of the Chaco region. The rolling hills around Asuncion give way to flatter and drier ground north and west of the Paraguay River, and soon the only industry is cattle ranching. We got as far as Villa Hayes, a city of maybe 30,000 (???) named after the former U.S. President. There is, in fact, an entire province of the Chaco named Presidente Hayes. I am unclear on Hayes' precise role here, but he apparently performed some important diplomacy to settle a war between Paraguay and Bolivia. Something to read more about later...

In Villa Hayes, we found a large riverside plaza which could be quite grand with a little upkeep and some masonry, but which languishes somewhat unloved on the sultry banks of the swift-flowing Rio Paraguay. Just downstream from the threescore or so swimmers, I spied a yearling calf which had managed to get itself loose and find the river´s cooling waters. This prompted Jose's brother Isidro to name the place "Playa para las vacas". We didn't swim, ourselves. We just browsed the municipal museum, curated by a kind old man armed with a dot-matrix printer. In addition to some odd displays including a dry aquarium filled with shells and starfish and a large, gaudy nativity, there were interesting bits of Paraguayan natural and political history, including a big bulletin board about Rutherford B. Hayes. There were also skulls and pelts from a variety of deer and puma, which were more numerous in the Chaco before Europeans came and shot them.

That´s probably enough of my epicurean samplings of Paraguay for today. I´ll try to write a bit more often until we leave...