Tourism in Paraguay

When I got my Invitation to Paraguay from the Peace Corps I did as much research as I could about the country I was going to live in for two years. A few times in  my research I saw Paraguay referred to as the "Forgotten Country." As we are surrounded my two powerhouses Brazil and Argentina this can be true sometimes especially when it comes to tourism. Paraguay is a small country compared to Brazil and Argentina and doesn't have some of the big tourist spots that they do, but, there are definitely some great things in Paraguay that are worth visiting and as I travel around in these next 19 months (yep 8 months down!) I'm going to write about them for you all to read. 

I had the chance recently to visit Mbatovi (prounounced "bahtovee") Eco-Tourism. One of my volunteer friends boyfriend was visiting from the States so we decided to make a day trip out there. It is about an hour and half course of hiking through the woods, a small rope course, ziplining and repelling. This being my first time doing anything like this I had a great time. I think for someone who has gone ziplining before it might be a little underwhelming because there was only one ziplining part. I definitely would have liked it more if there was more of that. But overall I definitely recommend it to others. The views were spectacular, some of the best in Paraguay I've been told. Also the staff were great, very nice and helpful and made me feel safe and secure, and they actually took most of the pictures I have from the day. They knew just what us Americans wanted ;)

The whole gang (Matt -visiting from the states, Bree, ME, Frances, Ian)

What a view!

Trekking through the woods

Almost there!

Ropes course.

Ziplining!

This is the scariest part when they tell you to lean back!

But then it was fun!

We had to take a taxi to and from Mbatovi because there are no buses that "consistently" run past it, which was a little annoying. But we stayed the night at a very nice and quaint hotel in the town of Piribebuy about 20k from Mbatovi and we had yummy pizza for dinner.

I also got to meet one of Bree's friends in town Natalia and her family. She actually just finished writing a guide book for Paraguay. She is the daughter of a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) father and a Paraguayan mother.  I ended up buying her book because I'm a sucker for guide books. So I highly recommend her it if you are in the market for a guide book about Paraguay. You can buy it on Amazon in book form or kindle form. Here is the link: Other Places Guide - Paraguay