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Travel Photos

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Paraguay 2007

We took a five hour bus ride from Iguazú Falls to Asuncion, Paraguay. It was hot and sticky, stuffy and dusty.	In the middle of nowhere you may need to change a tire.	We presumed that this was a sugar cane plantation.	Brahma cattle
*	June is a lovely time of the year to be there.	*	*
We saw so many vendors along the way or on the bus, all trying to make a living.	Peter walking towards Hotel Casa Mennonita in Asuncion. Lodging and food is very inexpensive in Paraguay. Michael was able to have his own room.	Vendor selling colourful popcorn	We stayed at Hotel Casa Menonita; it is clean and the people are friendly, but it has no extras, not even a TV.
Casa Menonita courtyard	Courtyard	Receptionists at the hotel helpful and friendly.	*
*	My Aunt Erna Federau (88), my mother's youngest sister.	We were so happy to see each other.	Alfred Federau, my cousin, is the administrator of the Menn. church, school and seniors home.
Mennonite Evangelical Church	Ready for church	Choir sang at the baptismal service that we attended.	Here I am with my cousin Kathe Ediger and my aunt Erna.
German Mennonite School	This is my aunt Erna's house where she took in student boarders.	This is the Lapacho tree. These trees were blooming while we were there in June. Evenings were nice and warm.	*
Michael	In the park	In the park	Drinking his yerba mate in the park.
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The furniture stores street.	Furniture inside and outside	*	Lunch time...
*	*	A view of the cathedral.	*
*	*	Michael	The floor in the cathedral
The slums of Asuncion	Taking in the view of the slums beneath and the Paraguay River in the distance.	A police man advised me to hide my camera under my coat.	Taxis were in very poor conditions.
Contemporary aboriginal art	Museo Del Barrio (museum of the region). A very impressive gallery.	*	*
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Grocery store	*	There is always something that needs to be repaired.	Best seats in town
We saw some very beautiful buildings.	They also have these trees in yellow and in white, but they bloom in different seasons.	I guess the vehicle needed washing.	Waiting for the mall to open
While we waited we ate chipas and drank coffee.	Heading for Friesland in East Paraguay to see the cousins. We had a ride with my cousin's daughter Angela. It is a 200 km drive from Asuncion.	The last 35 km. took the longest; the road is red dirt and has many pot holes. I would hate to drive this road when it's raining.	This is where we spent the night. Tannenhof is owned by my cousin. It was well worth the trip; this is a very beautiful place, an oasis.
Cousin Herbert is in the maroon shirt. This is the area where my mom's family settled after having lived in the Chaco for a few years. Peter's second cousin, Liese Voth on the right side.	If you need a quiet get-away, this is the place. They also serve wonderful meals here; there is seating for a 100 people.	The weather was just right, 24 degrees.	*
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Papaya tree	*	Very tasty bananas	*
I had no idea that the banana tree had such a lovely flower.	*	*	Hot chili peppers
This is where our grandmother was buried. She came to Paraguay as a widow with 10 of her 12 children. My mother was 19 at the time.	*	Ant hill beside the tree	Cheaper than gas
A model of a home built by Mennonites when they first arrived in Friesland.	Homes are built with bricks and have wrap around decks to keep things cooler during the hot summer days.	Sitting with the cousins	My relatives
They have a large cattle ranches. We had barbecued pork, goat and beef.	We took a six hour bus ride from Asuncion to the Chaco (450km). This is the monument at the entrance to Filadelfia, colony Fernheim, Chaco. This is also where the pavement ends.	We stayed at the Hotel Florida	Clean, friendly and inexpensive
*	*	*	Main street
*	CO-OP owned by the colony	Museum	*
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The more the merrier.	There are motorcycles everywhere.	When the wind blows it covers you in dust, it gets into your hair and in between your teeth.	Michael
Peter and Michael	*	*	*
Fall leaves in June	*	A good rain would wash off the dust.	Morning Glories
*	New and used store	Wash me!	*
*	My cousin Kathe Siemens, at Yalve Sange. She has worked with the Indians all her life in the Missions Hospital for TB patients .	Karin and Berthold Siemens drove us to Yalve Sange.	The bus donated by the presidents wife was used as a mobil medical clinic.
Michael took this picture.	Water tower. This is how you get pressure.	*	Great pizza and ice cream. At night the stars are so clear and the Milky Way is beautiful.
Monuments to first Russian settlers who came in 1929 to Fernheim Colony.	Bottle trees were used as coffins when the Russian Menn. first came to the Chaco.	The bark of the bottle tree	Wild pigs in captivity
*	*	Carl Whieler's supermarket; he also owns "Costco" and a restaurant.	My cousins son Carl Whieler and Berthold Siemens. Berthold and his dad own Hielo Alaska where they make ice for Filadelfia, Chaco.
So glad to have been in Paraguay.