Paraguay. A trusted source confirms that it is known for 2 things, armadillos (of the giant variety) and sheltering Nazi war criminals. It should therefore come as no suprise that my time spent there ranks easily as one of the worst experiences of my life. Not that I have anything against armadillos.
I spent most of my time in Ciudad del Este, a town on the border with Brazil. CdE is the economic powerhouse of the country and produces 60% of the GDP of Paraguay, according to the Lonely Planet. The words pisspot, ramshackle and eyesore can easily be applied to a description of it, I fear (but only in passing) for the rest of Paraguay.
The one attraction that CdE does boast, is the Itaipu dam. It is the biggest dam in the world and according to government sponsored propaganda, supplies 80% of Paraguay's electricity and 25% of Brazil's and is therefore a 'good thing'. The dam is hailed as an awesome feat of engineering, mostly by engineers, and contains enough steel to construct 380 Eiffel Towers. Mysteriously, no mention is made of the magnificent (that is, puts Niagra and Iguazu to shame) set of falls that were drowned in the making of the dam nor is there a whisper about the displacement of people from the area that is now covered by a monsterous man-made lake. Another fact that is omitted is that the bill for the dam upon completion in the early 1980's, was an outrageous 250bn USD, and that a sizeable portion of that sum was stuffed into the pockets of corrupt beauracrats.
The tour of the dam is 'free', presumably the G have realised that people are not willing to pay at the point of use for it's spin (and they are probably right).
My advice is that if you find yourself in Paraguay for any reason, leave as soon as you can. That is, assuming you can get the migration officials to actually stamp your passport in the same 24 hour period you arrive at the passport window. I am not saying that they are incompetent, but I left the office dusting cobwebs from clothes.
And I didn't actually see any armadillos or Nazis, more's the pity.
I spent most of my time in Ciudad del Este, a town on the border with Brazil. CdE is the economic powerhouse of the country and produces 60% of the GDP of Paraguay, according to the Lonely Planet. The words pisspot, ramshackle and eyesore can easily be applied to a description of it, I fear (but only in passing) for the rest of Paraguay.
The one attraction that CdE does boast, is the Itaipu dam. It is the biggest dam in the world and according to government sponsored propaganda, supplies 80% of Paraguay's electricity and 25% of Brazil's and is therefore a 'good thing'. The dam is hailed as an awesome feat of engineering, mostly by engineers, and contains enough steel to construct 380 Eiffel Towers. Mysteriously, no mention is made of the magnificent (that is, puts Niagra and Iguazu to shame) set of falls that were drowned in the making of the dam nor is there a whisper about the displacement of people from the area that is now covered by a monsterous man-made lake. Another fact that is omitted is that the bill for the dam upon completion in the early 1980's, was an outrageous 250bn USD, and that a sizeable portion of that sum was stuffed into the pockets of corrupt beauracrats.
The tour of the dam is 'free', presumably the G have realised that people are not willing to pay at the point of use for it's spin (and they are probably right).
My advice is that if you find yourself in Paraguay for any reason, leave as soon as you can. That is, assuming you can get the migration officials to actually stamp your passport in the same 24 hour period you arrive at the passport window. I am not saying that they are incompetent, but I left the office dusting cobwebs from clothes.
And I didn't actually see any armadillos or Nazis, more's the pity.
1 comment:
Your writing is brilliant ....have you thought of a career change...Time for more....Isay give me more...APS
(addictive personality syndrome)
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