Paraguay [source]

Asunción, Paraguay's energetic capital and largest city, is built on unassuming hills above the east bank of the Río Paraguay. There are thankfully few high rises, downtown El Centro retains its intimate 19th-century feel, with low, balconied buildings and orange trees lining the narrow streets.

Evenly distributed throughout the year, rainfall in Paraguay is at its heaviest near the Brazilian border and July is the coldest month.

Paraguay's celebration of Carnival in February is liveliest in Asunción. The religious center of Caacupé is the most important site for the Roman Catholic Immaculate Conception.

Meat dishes as well as tropical and subtropical foodstuffs play an important role in the Paraguayan diet. Grains, particularly maize, and manioc (cassava) are incorporated into almost all meals. Try tucking into locro, a maize stew, mazamorra, corn mush, mbaipy so-ó, a hot maize pudding with meat chunks, and sooyo sopy, a thick soup made of ground meat and served with rice or noodles. Desserts include mbaipy he-é, a delicious mix of corn, milk and molasses. Chipas, made with manioc flour, eggs and cheese are sold everywhere, even at major intersections in Asunción while you wait at traffic lights. Tea or mate is consumed in vast quantities while mosto (sugar-cane juice) and caña (cane alcohol) are also frequently imbibed.

Maps courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission.