A Paraguayan RoadTrip

To tell the truth I never really had this small South American country on my travel list. It's small, landlocked and dry and hot throughout the year. Most people will tell you that Paraguay doesn't stack up with other South American tourism powerhouses like Brazil, Columbia and Argentina. And, when thinking about the fact that the country's biggest attraction is a gigantic hydraulic dam I'm inclined to agree. But in this article I want to shed light on what you can find in Paraguay and why I genuinely enjoyed the 10 days I spent there.

Ascuncion is the largest city in Paraguay and needless to say it's the working capital of the country. Ascuncion sits on a slowly declining hill toward the Paraguay River. We arrived in the middle of the summer and 35 degrees was the average during our stay, but that didn't stop us from exploring the small city and learning about it's culture. Something that caught my eye was the colored architecture, reminding me of what you would find in Santa Fe. Almost every upkept building had a darker peach tint to it, even the national government building. This color almost made the buildings seem shiny. It was clear the Paraguayan's were proud of there architecture and their history.

After stopping in one whiskey distillery toward the center of the city we found ourselves talking to a highly patriotic Paraguayan lady. She explained a lot about the history of Paraguay and the difficulties the country faced during the dictatorship of Alfredo Straussner. She also explained how Paraguay wasn't always land-locked, it once stretched over to the atlantic ocean and had trade ports and more power among the South American empires. Over enthusiasic leaders crippled the nation over time with failed war after failed war.

As a whole, there wasn't too much to do in Asuncion. In the middle of the summer many locals travel to the outskirts of the city or to lakes in the east. The cities main offerings are some good restaurants where you can find cultural cuisine including Pira Caldo and Bori Bori, both of which are forms of soup. You can also find some small museums about the history of the country and the inhabitants that have lived there. The nightlife was also nearly non-existent (mainly because of the time of year). That didn't stop us from checking out the bar scene and meeting some cool Paraguayan people. Oddly enough we found that they took no exception in bashing their own country, explaining that it was poorly run and showing no sign of improvement.

We stayed in Asuncion for about 4 days before renting a car and heading east. The Paraguayan country side wasn't really worth writing home about either, aside from a few small towns and lakes. It was mostly farms and jungle. We did stop in a small town called Caacupe, famous for it's large catholic church named the Caacupe Cathedral. It was very large and honestly pretty stunning, with a quiet combination of dark blue and a white base. We also stopped at Lake Berryessa, but we didn't stay long as the locals were ready to collect a large payment just for us to park in a public area. (this was common practice in Paraguay and I haven't seen it in any other countries since then)

Eventually we arrived in Ciudad del Este. A small city of the east boarder alongside Argentina and Brazil. A place where many Brazilians cross to shop for the day and get anything they needed for a cheaper price. I wouldn't truly call it a city if I was being honest, it was more of a larger town. It did have a steady inflow of people making their way in or out of the country. We stayed a night or two there before heading across the boarder to Brazil.

Oslo on a whim

I finally made it to Scandanvia and it was not how I expected it. No one tells you that Norway is one of the richest countries in the world because they struck oil in the North sea 55 years ago. Or that Norway has one of the richest coffee cultures in Europe. No one tells you that Norway has one of the highest percentages of African refugees per capita. But I guess no can tell you these things because Norway just isn't at the top of most peoples travel lists.

My time in Oslo was very brief, visiting a friend on a complete whim without much planning. I arrived in mid October, just before the cold front hit Europe and booked a hostel on the Northeast side of the city (Anker hostel, very cheap but populated). My first impressions of Oslo? Small and cozy, yet somehow very strict and business-like. On one side of the street you had churches and small store fronts and on the other you had large international corporate offices and wolf-like Norwegian businessmen. Everyone I ran into or met spoke fluent English without failure, in a large part thanks to the free and high level education systems Norway has implemented since they struck oil. Something that caught me off guard was that the demographic of Oslo was completely diversified, something that you might not find in the smaller Norwegian cities of the North. Instead of your classic blonde viking types I found that all walks of life inhabited the streets of Oslo. Muslims from Turkey and Egypt, Eritreans and North Africans, and even a somewhat prominent sized Asian population.

The question is what do all these local people do besides work? The unfortunate, or by some perspectives, fortunate truth about Oslo is that doesn't have a whole lot going on. In fact, half the locals I met were wondering why I would go out of my way to visit their city in the first place.

I only spent a few days in Oslo, seeing the minimal nightlife and bars in the Sentrum district and wandering the streets in search of learning more, but on my last day I found myself on a fjord based ferry boat. I say that because I practically stumbled onto a gangway just past the Kronprinsesse park along one of the Oslo wharfs. No one checking tickets, no signs or check in desks. The ferry didn't go very far but circled the various islands in the Metro area. I saw enough to realize that there was something different about the water. It was as if the yearly snow, cloud cover and lack of sun cast a new ending shadow. The water was essentially black. When I touched it it had the sensation of being heavier than normal water, as if the lack of sun had somehow altered the density levels.

Would I ever consider living in Norway? Yes. I don't know what I love so much about are dark and ominous city, but it really appeals to me. There's a lot of career opportunites with all the main international corporations littered throughout the main area of the city. People are kind (once you get to know them I should say). I even loved the weather, although I can't say I experienced the worst of it. I guess I have to return in the midst of a winter storm to get the full Oslo experience

Some recommendations:

Accommodations:

Anker Hostel - While it's a bit out of the way, Anker hostel is the cheapest accomodation for an unbearably expensive city. It is highly populated but there are always young travelers in the hallways in the outside the lobby doors.

Bjorvika Apartments - If you're traveling with family and have a bit higher of a budget than me (a broke recent college graduate), Staying in the Bjorvika apartments would be your best option. It's toward the city center and has beautiful views with a warm vibe to match.

Museums:

Noble Peace Center - Had a lot of interesting history about the history of the Noble peace prize, and some interesting perspectives to match

Nasjonalmuseet - It was interesting to hear that Edward Munch grew up in Oslo and his famous "scream" is held at the Nasjonalmuseet.

Interesting notice

Something I found interesting was that I barely saw any posters of Eerling Haaland, a Norweign soccer player who is amongst the top 3 players in the world at the moment. During my time in other countries, there was always a never ending plethora of posters and videos celebrating their countries stars. Nedved in Prague, Messi in Buenos Aires, Kane in England. Maybe it's because Norway just doesn't share that "futbol is larger than life" perspective.

Oxford and London

England was exactly how I expected it to be. Cloudy and full of people with funny accents. It was nice to hear my native language in the tube and in the club. I had no trouble feeling at home with the English, trying my best to adopt an english accent for the majority of the trip got a lot of laughs but also some weird looks. I guess that can be expected.

I spent most of the time in Oxford. It wasn't the city I had pictured in my head. When I think of Oxford I think of an elegant churchy city, full of the smart and proud students aspiring to be the next Stephen Hawking (minus the wheelchair). In reality, it had a great small town vibe and a relatively good amount of partygoers. Most of the city was green and farmland scattered the outskirts of the downtown district. It was calming to see that the weather in England is what I thought it was, gray and rainy even in the middle of June.

French, an Oxford native and good friend of mine, hosted me for a few days. Having a local show you around, can make the experience a dozen

times better for many reasons. I actually met French on vacation in the Caribbean, which just proves that making friends and meeting new people can create more memories and possibilities than you could ever imagine. He showed me the best restaurants, the cheapest bars, and invited his friend group for a fun night out to the clubs. I had to go to Nando's and I think that it had to be the most overrated restaurant I've ever been to. It's basically just a grilled chicken restaurant, with bad service, high prices and mid food. Don't be mad if you disagree, but please stop hyping it up.

I spent the last day in London. Besides transportation issues and high prices it was a great city. My airport bus (that cost me 20 euros), broke down just as it got to Liverpool street, forcing me to try to catch a train to the airport. Unfortunately, my card kept declining and I had to force myself through a barrier and into the train before a station attendant could stop me. I thought everything was going to be smooth from there, but once we got to

Stansted they had 3 stations attendees side by side checking tickets. (Honestly, what kind of sad life do you need to have, to spend your time checking tickets and fining people) Anyway, I didn't know how I was going to get out of the situation without paying a 100 euro fine, until I saw that one of the attendees was barely looking at the writing on the tickets. I rummaged through my pockets and found an old ticket from my arrival in London. I quickly passed it to the attendee and ran up the stairs and into the check in line, taking off my sweatshirt and hat before 3 station attendees got to the top of the escalator.

Best tradition:

Cheesy Chips sounded like a weird, and honestly non appetizing snack, coming from a hater

of cheese on fries. But apparently they are a staple point of English nightlife. Dozens of

kebab shops sell cheesy chips deep into the night when the partygoers get out of the clubs. While I was hesitant to try them, I have to crown them as best post party snack I've had in a while. Maybe it was the garlic aioli and chili sauce, but either way we may have to steal this idea and bring it to the States.