Paraguay is the duty-free destination for Brazilians, so a lot of the traffic is Brazilian. My guide explained that Brazil limits the amount of good that can be brought into the country each trip, so Brazilians will rent vans and shuttle back and forth across the bridge as they do their shopping. A lot of Brazilians will cross each day to work in Paraguay at the un-taxed shops, as well.
We found a place to park, and started to explore. I wasn't in a shopping mood anymore, and hoped to find some things to photograph. Instead, there were a lot of little shops set up essentially in tents, selling any number of counterfeit products. I saw several DVD's of the Da Vinci Code, for example. I didn't see much that I wanted to purchase. I took a few pictures of the congestion, and we turned around and went back to the park. I guess I did purchase a can of coca cola light, so I spent a whopping US$1 in Paraguay.
Because of the duty free shopping, the congestion was much worse for entering Brazil. It took about half an hour to cross the bridge, with us stopping regularly in a traffic jam. There were even vendors on the bridge, all the way up to the line marking the exact border between Brazil and Paraguay.
The Shops |
The Shops |
The Shops |
The Shops |
The Main Street |
Some pretty flowers |
Paraguay reminded me of the vendors in China at the tourist attractions. They were aggressive, clinging, and probably desperate to grab some money. Apparently, the bulk of the city is that way, which is rather sad.
All images are © Copyright 2006 James C. Armstrong, Jr.