We left Encarnación with a Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (NSA) bus, mainly because the lady in charge of our guesthouse recommended it. We had asked around the previous day and found at least one company offering the trip for Gs65'000 but apparently the cheaper ones are a lot less comfortable and slower, going through all the little towns on the way. NSA promised an estimated travel time of six hours (five during the night) and we weren't too inclined to stret...

Talking to people in South America about going to Paraguay is sometimes a little strange. The immediate question is "why?" and the follow-up usually something like "why not … instead?". Well, we'd read on Lonely Planet that Paraguay is something of a hidden wonder, missed by most tourists but definitely worth seeing. So who do we trust - the locals who think that there's very little to see, or one of the most widespread travel guides around? The thing is tha...