Paraguay travel blog by Mark Berman -
April 2016
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View Photoset (11 Photos)
San Bernardino
San Bernardino lagoon (Lake Ypacarai) is 2hrs by bus east from
Asuncion and attracts the well-heeled people of this city to its shores during
the summer months of December to mid-February. San Bernardino is a place of luxury hotels but also has budget backpacker accommodation available.
I arrived in San Bernardino after spending 4 days in Asuncion. I intended to just have a quick look around for a couple of hours and continue by
bus and stay in Caacupe. Being April, it was not peak season which was kind of nice really. I imagine San Bernardino is full of parties and fun
in peak season, it could be quite something indeed. Weekends are also popular for short stays throughout the year. Biking, walking, water-sports,
relaxing, there's plenty to do in San Bernardino all year round.
Tour of the Lake
I headed down to the lakes edge and was
asked by a man with a passenger boat if I wanted to head out for a bit of a tour around the lake. That sounded like a great idea to me, I wouldn't have to
continue walking around with my 2 backpacks strapped to my body! Of course it wasn't free - I paid him $20USD after the ride. Seeing the lake
from above the water may not be such a bad idea as I'm not sure how clean it is for swimming! So off we went for a bit of a cruise around Lake
Ypacarai passing around the marina, seeing amazing houses with private jetties on the waters-edge, views of the huge Hotel de Sol and beaches and
palm trees with grassy areas and recreational and sports facilities behind. The whole place is surrounded by green hills and thick bush, the land
and area looks like it is kept clean and maintained well. After about 30mins we headed back to shore, it was great being on a large-decked boat
by myself busy capturing photos as we travelled along. I hadn't thought that I would be doing a boat ride before arriving in town!
Caacupe Annual Religious Festival With 300,000 Visitors
Caacupe, 25 minutes by bus east from San Bernardino, is a small town with a big Burger King and is the center of a huge religious
festival held each year on December 8th. They say that up to 300,000 people converge on Caacupe on this date for a candlelit procession, where
they all stay is anyones guess. I bet Burger King make more money on this day than the rest of the year combined! This event is held at the
massive church - Basilica de Caacupe beside the large seat-less plaza. Luckily there is another plaza in town called Plaza Farina which does
have places to sit, it's named after Jose Maria Farina - a marine and navy hero born in Caacupe in 1836. Also we have Plaza Heroes del Chaco
which is more a park than a plaza with grass, trees and a monument to the Chaco War. Beside this plaza is the fountain and a river. I found a
small blue church next to a quiet little plaza as I wandered around also. I stayed the night at Caacupe's best central hotel - Katy Maria, see
review below. If you are interested in the annual religious festival in Caacupe, take a look at these pages at
Sacred Sites and
Mary Pages.
Bus to Villarrica
From Caacupe I headed by bus 1hr east to
Coronel Oviedo, then another 40mins south to
Villarrica.
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