At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig by John Gimlette
Flight from SFO to Asuncion, Paraguay one month from today for a two week vacation equals:
- Depart SFO 1:25am Arriving in San Salvador, El Salvador at 7:55am (5hr 30m)
- 52min layover
- Depart San Salvador at 8:47am arriving in Lima, Peru at 2:02pm (4hr 15m)
- 7hr 48m layover
- Depart Lima at 9:50pm arriving in Montevideo, Uruguay at 5:15am (4hr 25m)
- 55m layover
- Depart Montevideo at 6:10am arriving in Asuncion, Paraguay at 6:05 (1 hr 55m)
Total Cost: $955.00
Time Spent Traveling: 25hr 40m (better than the 37 hour trip I found)
Just look at how easy it is to get the capital of Paraguay! Who’s with me?? I hear Taca International Airlines has some tasty in-flight fare.
Of the 44 landlocked countries in the world which one, given the option, would you travel to? Would it be Burkina Faso, Lesotho, South Ossetia or perhaps you would choose Paraguay? As for me, that would be an incredibly hard decision but… seeing as I’ve never had the pleasure of traveling in S. America, Paraguay would be up there at the top of the list. Is that decision based upon the book I’ve just finished reading? No.
What I had an anticipated on being a travel book along the lines of Bill Bryson, turned into a history lesson more akin to my high school history textbook. I like history, but when its condensed and then shuffled like a deck of cards so that no two events sit next to each other I get confused as hell. Sure I know more about Paraguay than I did before but could I really carry on a knowledgeable conversation on their political and military history, no. Could I attempt to tell you how to get from point A to point B, no.
I guess if you were planning a trip to Paraguay, and were prepared to travel the 25 hours to get there, you could easily get through this book. Not to mention 17 other books. What will you learn other than the history… well, lets see.
- The women are “fond of pretty things, [love] to flit about in the sunshine like humming birds [and] rarely [take] life seriously… blessed with classic features, they have always smiling faces, splendid dark eyes and a wealth of glossy raven tresses…” Pg. 67
- At a bullfight in Paraguay you may be fortunate to see a clown fart on a bulls’ nose.
- The “foxiest city in the world” is apparently Ciudad del Este, I always thought it had been Chula Vista, what do I know?
- Paraguay is a melting pot of all nationalities, religions and criminals.
Lastly, I have no clue what this whole inflatable pig thing is about. It was mentioned possibly three times and never really explained. Perhaps I missed it (I wouldn’t be too surprised) but seriously, what the hell.
Ps. The next time I tell you I’m going to Filadelfia please don’t be confused, I’ll be headed for the Mennonite community in The Chaco region of Paraguay.
