An afternoon outing

One of my goals for this year is to get out and explore pieces of Asuncion and close by towns (those within city bus service range) more. I suspect it is going to be quite a bit of asking around for things worth checking out and just going places for the experience since even the Lonely Planet guidebook only dedicates about 1 page to things to see in Asuncion and maybe 2 pages to things around Asuncion. (shame of them, I know there is more here then that!)

My first outing in fulfilling this quest was an afternoon in the town of San Lorenzo. In some ways I would hesitate to call it a town, as it is solid city from where I live to where we got off the bus. However, I am sure that at some point in its history it was a separate town that nowadays has just been consumed by Asuncion’s urban sprawl. Why San Lorenzo? I was asked that several times when people were discussing how they were going to use their weekend. I prefer to think, “Why not San Lorenzo?” I have been by the area several times in a bus and have always noticed the large cathedral sitting in the central square. Despite it being city all the way there I also knew that for some reason driving through San Lorenzo just felt different. Different enough that I wanted to go and see if I could figure out what made it that way.

We got off the bus at the main square in San Lorenzo. Easily recognizable by the cathedral looming over every other building (and yes it is a cathedral, because it turns out that San Lorenzo, despite being only about 15-20 km from Asuncion, is a different dioceses). At first it didn’t look like we’d be able to get into the church, but experience has taught me that you can’t say something is closed until you have walked completely around it. Sure enough, there was one gate open leading into the rose garden surrounding the cathedral, and since they were cleaning the church we got to spend a few minutes inside the soaring simple space. We probably enjoyed the peacefulness and sweet smells of the rose garden the most, a completely unexpected treat.

A wander around a few blocks of the town let us appreciate some of the old architecture which is lamentably not kept up. With a few coats of paint the downtown area could be quite cute. Down a side street to a green gate and we enter the park. A fitness park much like those in Asuncion, except for the duck pond in the middle (with these odd ducks that had balls above their beaks). The park stretched far enough that you could sit between the trees without hearing the traffic and feel like you really had gotten away from the city. Walking back to find the bus, we managed to walk through the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion (when you see guards, if you keep walking and look like you know what you are doing, they usually won’t stop you). It is a university that is still being built onto and has some interesting architectural features especially around its main entrance. So in a nutshell that is what there is to see San Lorenzo. A worthy half day escape from the Asuncion I frequent.

A run with security

Getting picked up for a run before I usually wake up for school just seems wrong. Especially since Asuncion is not a city that rises early on the weekends. I know, I know, we had to start earlier than normal as this year, for the bicentennial, they decided to have a marathon in addition to the traditional half-marathon and 10km runs. Have to give those poor people enough time to run all the way out to the airport and back (making use of all of the paved roads in Asuncion). The early morning, tranquil feel makes it all the more surprising when we get to the start and see just how much security has been organized for the event. What? It is just a run. And there has never been this much security before. There is a helicopter flying circles overhead. On the top of every building around the square are armed guards who look ready to use their rifles. There are three buses of policemen checking in and being set up in places, although at least some of them end up along the course to help control traffic. Enough of the armed guards stay to line the last 50 meters of the course though. What is going on?
As we line up in our designated starting area (marathon in the front with their red shirts, 10km (that’s me) in the middle in white, the blue shirted half marathoners bringing up the rear…look…it’s the Paraguayan flag!) I’m reminded that everything that goes on this year has something to do with the bicentennial. This run included. They’ve managed to get President Lugo to come out to give a speech and blow the opening horn. The President of the Republic of Paraguay. Just 100 meters or so from where I wait to begin my run. No wonder there is so much security! It also reminds me of just how small this country is if the president is the guest of honor at an early morning race. The run definitely has a different feel this year.
Can you pick the president out?
He's in the middle , of course, wearing glasses.

There is a bigger turnout and I enjoy the mix of Paraguayan colors as we wind our way for 6km through the downtown area (I believe we used every single paved road…happily avoiding the cobblestone ones). I’m distracted enough by the sites and people that I am almost surprised when I hit the half way mark. Turn out to be my fastest run in over a year (thanks in part I think to running in South Africa which was a good 1,500 meters higher up than Asuncion) and a different experience than I had expected. You never know what to expect when you show up at event here.

Unexpected Opportunities

Almost a month ago I headed downtown to go pick up my race packet for a run I had registered for. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going having just been told the cross streets of where the race expo was. Street names which meant nothing to me. Even if I had spent 10 minutes pouring over a map and finding the streets (the one map I have of Asuncion doesn’t have anything resembling a street guide, and you need to realize that quite often streets change names as they cross over another major road making it that much more difficult to find a location on a map) I still wouldn’t have known anything about where we were heading besides the physical location. Well, it turns out that the expo was happening at the old train station in the middle of downtown, the train station that I have never before seen open. The train station that housed perhaps four trains (at most) although I think it was closer to two that ran on the one track that cut through Paraguay. (Interesting history this…you can read more although it is all in Spanish)

I was more excited to get to explore the old station with its custom wood line barriers than I was to pick up my race information. The station is a simple, yellow building with the high partly open roof that you would expect of a station. There are only two lines which enter the station so you wouldn’t call it big anywhere but here. However, you can touch a little bit of Paraguayan history in the building. One of the old engines is at an end of the building with very little to keep you from clambering aboard to get a feel for the iron machine. On each of the tracks two cabins sit parked where you can get a feel for the style the rich travelled in. A bar room in each, leather covered seats, the ornateness still limited by the dimensions of any railway car. Down a narrow hallway you can poke your head into some of the sleeper compartments (how far did the train go anyways? From what I can remember they were just short round trip journeys…but perhaps short isn’t ever a good description for a train journey) and check out the light fixtures, the bed and the “facilities.” It definitely makes me feel like I’m being introduced to a piece of a very different past. Touching this piece of Paraguayan history is made all the more interesting because currently there are no trains running in the country (that is right, even the bimonthly steam train trip between Asuncion and Aregua is currently stopped) making one wonder how much business the train station ever saw.