Run 1:27:00 [3] 16.0 km (5:26 / km)
I haven't really used a run for suburban exploration so far in South America - partly because of traffic, partly because some of the places I've been to are ones where setting off in a general direction could land you somewhere where you really don't want to be. I thought Asuncion was the right sort of place to give it a go, and so it proved, even if I didn't manage to find, on map memory, the park which was my sort of target at the far end.
It was certainly a landscape of contrasts, summed up by two moments. Somewhere around 10k in, in the leafiest suburban pocket I'd seen on the run, there were numerous banners which, once I'd worked out what they said, could have been in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne - expressing opposition to higher-density development in their suburb. Those who know me will know that this is not usually a cause which gets a lot of sympathy from me (except in extreme cases), and it gets even less sympathy from me here, because 3k further down the road, you will find (for want of a better word) a refugee camp, with plywood shacks and a few portaloos for some of those still displaced by the midyear floods. There are a few such camps that I saw (and probably plenty which I didn't), one of them on the lawns directly across the road from Congress - I'm not sure if the location of this one (which appears to be officially sanctioned/organised, not something that appeared spontaneously) is Congress showing its solidarity with the flood victims, or the city government trying to embarrass the national one.
The first hour of the run was decent but the humidity eventually caught up with me - I should have done what I did in Rio and used the cash I took with me to buy some water halfway. (I've heard wildly conflicting reports on the safety of the tap water here). Achilles a bit sore early but didn't play up later on like it did on Tuesday.
Was in the city for the day, partly wandering the central city (interesting atmosphere and a few old colonial buildings but not a huge amount in the way of actual sights), then went out to a museum in the suburbs in the afternoon - the museum itself was only moderately interesting but the bit I'll most remember is the bus trip to and from. The buses are probably the best part of half a century old and well-decorated (a disconcerting number have the Spanish equivalent of "Jesus guides me" or similar on the front - I'm always worried by drivers who think a god/gods are on their side, whatever the religion). They also don't generally have any such thing as bus stops - the bus slows down (only stops if you're really lucky) and you jump on/off while it's still moving - not something to try with a big pack. To add to the experience, people periodically get on to sell stuff - one of them gave such a long-winded spiel before getting her bag of things out that I thought she might have been giving a political speech instead. Some things are the same as at home though - the people next to, in front of and across the aisle from me were all texting or reading Facebook on their phones.
(Speaking of political speeches, there was a demo near Congress this morning, but I have no idea what it was about. One of the banners referred to families and a Mama and a Papa; such a banner at home would make me suspect a Christian rally against gay marriage - and some graffiti around town suggests that gay rights are a live local issue - but there was no obvious Christian connection, and there was a tent there from Amnesty, who I wouldn't have thought would involve themselves in that issue).
Also occurred to me, on seeing it for sale at a street stall today, that the quintessential Ciudad del Este purchase would be a pirated copy of Grand Theft Auto.