Paraguay: Ciudad del Este and Asuncion

Oh my. Where to begin?

Paraguay is a mess. It really is a country where anything goes, and for that it is truly impressive. I spent the last three days exploring the famous city of Ciudad del Este, known for it's multi-million dollar a day trade of black market goods. Really I went to the east of Paraguay to gain access to the UNESCO environmental wonder, the Iguacu Falls, located in Brazil, but I was thorougly impressed with the Ciudad del Este as well.

Situated right at the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, Ciudad del Este is a city of commerce. The people who work in the daily business of pushing their goods live a tough life. They are constantly selling, unpacking, repacking, shipping, trading and doing their best to make it all worth while. Here too was the first time I saw kids working the business - mainly boys 10-14 who have the appearance and mannerisms of being 40-year-old men, sat at their stalls and bargained with you to make a sale.

Most or the market is in the downtown center of the city. With a population of around 200,000 the city isn't too large, but the center is bustling when the markets are open. All the goods are priced in American dollars, and in fact most sales are done in American dollars. When I went to the ATM to get my money, I was asked if I wanted US dollars or Paraguayan Guarani as my currency. It is the first time I have seen a country offer a foreign currency at their instant teller machines.

I must admit I do like shopping when a deal can be had. So the first day I got the lay of the land, figured out where the different sectors of goods were located including electronics, perfumes, sunglasses, hunting gear, clothing and bedding, then I returned home to research the prices that were being offered. I quickly learned if I wanted to pay with my credit card I would have to pay 10% more or if my friend Nilsi wanted to buy something, she would have to pay a 10% Paraguayan tax. Obviously being a foreigner, I knew I would be at a disadvantage for prices. And realistically, if you think you will get a good price just for buying in a city where deals can be had, you will be taken advantage of very quickly. I went home and searched the product reviews of the items I wanted to purchase and the Canadian prices that were the lowest possible buy back home.

The next day, when we went to the market, I was there to buy a camera and a pair of sunglasses. The camera I found has everything I have ever wanted or needed in a camera including being waterproof, freezeproof, dropproof and shoots panorama! There was only one store that was selling the camera I wanted since it is more on the high-end of the market. The first price I was given was way over what I was willing to pay. When Nilsi asked if he could do better he took off $7?!?! What is that? I told the salesman that I wasnt interested in buying in Ciudad del Este if I couldn't get the camera cheaper than what it is sold for in Canada and I knew the prices I could get it for in my own country. So he agreed and dropped the price an extra 15% - little does he know that to find the price I listed in Canada I would have to search high and low and then still pay the taxes on top of the base rate - so I was happy with my negotiations.

Once you agree on a price with the sales clerk, then you receive an order form. You then take the form upstairs to the glass encased cashiers who take your cash and mark your order form as paid. You then walk down the halls to receive your goods from the storage area and last go to a testing table to ensure everything is working properly. Honestly the halls are lined with boxes of electronics and I imagine the atmosphere must be like that of the stock exchange on Wall Street. Move fast, know what you are talking about, make decisions, or get used and abused.

I was told that the market at Ciudad del Este does 5 million dollars in cash transactions daily. If you go a little further out from the town you see too large scale agricultural products, such as tractors and turbines for sale. EVERYTHING goes across the border. And it is known, though I didn't have any bad experiences, that in a community that deals primarily in cash and in contraband goods, that is at the epicenter of three different nations, and only has a slight appreciation for the law, that robberies, kidnappings and bribes are very, very common.

On the first evening I went to a birthday party in the downtown - definitely a rough area. We had an asado, barbeque, including blood sausages, in the back veranda of a depanneur storefront, where Nilsi's friend and family live. We listened to American pop-music, talked about work and life while the streets were busy outside the gates we hid behind.

In Paraguay, there is a zero tolerance for alcohol and driving, which one of Nilsi's friends knows all too well. He was driving home drunk one night and got caught. The officer told him he could either go to jail or pay him a bribe of $1000, a new iBook or a new air-conditioning unit to avoid going to jail. The officer was $1000 richer the next day. Every night we drove home, there were cops with blockades at every intersection. It is impossible not to get caught on the major roadways.

We went to Brazil twice during my stay; once to go to the movies and the second time to go to Iguacu Falls. In South America there is an agreement between a number of countries where you can have free pass between the different nations with only your identity card. The countries are known as Mercosur. In Ciudad del Este going across the border and back is so common, that you aren't even stopped and asked for your documents if you are in a Paraguayan car. So I literally went to Brazil twice without ever being checked - definitely easy to sneak into Brazil.

The Iguacu falls were very beautiul. I was told that the water level wasn't very high, but with the sun on my face, the mist from the fall water spraying on my body and good company, I thought it was a fabulous day! I even got to test out my new waterproof and panoramic view camera.

Again I was very fortunate. I got to stay in a friend of Johnny's home with her family in a very nice house. Her sister's family lives in a gated community in Ciudad del Este as well where the houses are phenomenal. I wish I could have done a walking tour of the neighbourhood just to admire the homes. Really what this has taught me, that for the people with money, life around the world is pretty similar, it all depends how much you are able to spend to have the same quality of life irregardless of your location, and in countries such as Paraguay, how much you are willing to spend on security (bodyguards with rifles, bullet proof cars, and so forth) to keep the life you have from those with much less who are desperate to take what you have away.

Before travelling to Ciudad del Este, I spent a day in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. There I was touring with Johnny and his father, Don John, who was visiting the Estancia from Buenos Aires, to get errands done and see some of the city. The city is very old, and in fact Asuncion used to be the capital of all of South America. At one time, Paraguay was the power house of the continent until it engaged in three wars with Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, the War of the Triple Alliance, at the end of the 19th century and lost everything. It is said after the war, no Paraguayan man over 18 years still lived. Paraguay lost most of its land after this war as well.

Still you can see the history and the European influence in the detailed architecture of many houses and buildings. Though the city has fallen into ruin in many parts, these are the signs that it was once something great and majestic.