Weeks 87-88 – NSA
We are probably being spied upon by the National Security Agency… but it isn’t what this post about. It’s about the capital of Paraguay, the full name of which is Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, or NSA.
A few weeks ago, I flew out of Los Angeles, California. 37 days later I landed in Asunción, Paraguay. In the process, I made an almost complete circle around the globe, with stops in four countries. Asunción was by far the bleakest place on this journey.
I arrived in the middle of a cold snap with gloomy clouds. I completely forgot it’s winter down here and wasn’t prepared for it, neither mentally nor wardrobe-wise. Hence, for the few first days, I was cold and miserable, which influenced my perception of the city. With warmth coming back I felt better, but my perception didn’t change. I once cycled to the city center to see what it has to offer: in short – nothing. On top of it, the roads are in bad shape, making cycling unpleasant. Because of that, I didn’t even commute with Greengo. I cycled out of town though, to San Bernardino on the Ypacaraí Lake.
Although I came to Asunción for work and not by choice, I still hoped for something more exciting than what I found at the end of my long journey around the world.
Meanwhile, Sép7imo Día performed the 250th show. Woohoo!
Paraguay in numbers:
147 km – distance cycled
30 663 km – flown in the past weeks
⅓ – of Paraguayan population lives in the Asunción metropolitan area
1811 – year Paraguay gained independence from Spain
35 – years the country was ruled by dictator Alfredo Stroessner, the last but not the only dictator in its history
2010 – last time Paraguay qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals
329 USD – minimum salary government provides to the residents, fifth highest in Latin America