Chacoí: A little bit of Chaco on the Río Paraguay August 23, 2010
Posted by Tracy in : Paraguay , 5comments
Like any river city, one of the best parts of Asuncion is its location on the waterfront – in this case, the mighty Río Paraguay. Sadly, the riverfront has been neglected in most parts and has been populated with ramshackle settlements of the poor. Nonetheless, the area around the port and the government palace is quite beautiful and well worth a visit, and a boat ride on the Paraguay is a must for any visitor to Asuncion.
(more…)
Asuncion, Paraguay: Daily life in the plazas August 21, 2010
Posted by Tracy in : Paraguay , 7comments
ASUNCION, Paraguay – Life is settling into a rhythm here in Paraguay’s capital city. I start my day at a homey hostel called Casa da Silva with a cup of cafe con leche and some bread and cheese and conversation with Doña Da Silva, her granddaughter Angelica or Lola.
After this, it’s time for me to head to work. In the first days, it was an internet cafe down the street, but on my third day I discovered the Lugano Café, which has free WiFi – a scarce commodity in a city where only 16% of the population has internet access, according to a recent headline I read – so it’s become my unofficial headquarters. There, for the price of a couple hours at any other internet café, I can have a cortado, an espresso with cream, and log on and work to my heart’s content. I’ve discovered Asuncion is an excellent place to work because so little actually happens here, there is little to distract me.
My walk to the Lugano and back again has become one of my daily pleasures; I’m lucky to have along the route the city’s most important plazas, where I can watch the daily life unfold.
(more…)
Ica and Huacachina: Two marvels in the Peruvian desert August 18, 2010
Posted by Tracy in : Peru , 1 comment so far
A display at the Ica Regional Museum depicts a pre-Inca doctor performing brain surgery.
Less than an hour inland from Paracas is the city of Ica, where a huge sand dune looms behind the highrises. Friends with more money than I possess recommended Las Dunas, an all-inclusive resort, but I chose to stay near the city center at La Posada del Sol, which was clean and friendly and close to the internet cafes.
Partly I decided to stay in Ica because I needed to spend a solid day at work on an assignment due that night, and I needed a solid internet connection. But partly it was because of a kind offer by Raul Pino of Pino Tours, the city’s first tour operator and a student of Maria Reiche, the amazing German mathematician who brought fame to the region with her lifelong study of the Nazca Lines.
(more…)
Peruvian penguins and a touch of luxury August 8, 2010
Posted by Tracy in : Peru, ecotourism , 2comments
PARACAS, Peru – The pungent scent of the sea washes over the landscape like the rhythmic waves, and I contemplate the pleasure of lingering here in the peaceful beauty of the Paracas Hotel and enjoying a sumptuous breakfast buffet. But I’m scheduled for the first boat to the Ballestas Isles, and the penguins await.
I gather sweater and sunglasses and hat and head for the pier, where 22 people are buckling up with lifejackets and taking their seat aboard our skiff.
As if to see us off, a line of four Peruvian pelicans sails by just over the sparkling surface of the water in search of prey.
(more…)
Lima’s love affair with light August 6, 2010
Posted by Tracy in : Peru , 1 comment so far
LIMA – One more entry about Lima, just because it deserves it.
This city has been called grey and dreary and at first glance one might understandably think so, given that the coastal fog that shrouds the city lifts so rarely. But that’s given Limeños the inspiration to play with light in ways that other, more sunny cities don’t, to sparkling effect.
Case in point, the Circuito Magico del Agua, the water park in Central Lima.
(more…)
