Paraguay - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 699

worth the detour as it has two unique
draws. Firstly, it is the only working
mission from that period: the main
building, dating to 1760, is still used as
the town's main church. Still standing is
a restored doorway (don't miss the cheeky
bat guarding the top) and the original
structure of most of the mission. You'll
see original painted wooden ceilings, as
well as the only ironwork left in any of
the missions on one of the windows.
The second attraction here is the
Centro Astronómico Buenaventura Suárez
(daily 7am-8pm or later in summer;
included in joint ticket), which promotes
the work of the eponymous Jesuit
astronomer who worked from this
mission and developed the incredibly
accurate sundial in the mission's plaza,
among other celestial discoveries. You'll
be shown a documentary on the Guaraní
understanding of the stratosphere and
then taken to a little planetarium .
Spending time in San Cosme's plaza
or down by the river, experiencing
the enormity of the sky here, is an
unforgettable Paraguayan experience.
There are direct buses from
Encarnación (2-3 daily; Gs50,000; 2hr),
or catch a colectivo (every 1hr 30min-2hr,
6am-6pm; Gs20,000) to San Cosme
from Coronel Bogado's bus terminal
(any bus passing along Ruta 1 between
Asunción and Encarnación will stop in
Coronel Bogado).

STAYING IN A POSADA
To help local communities and tourists
alike, the posadas scheme was
established as a way of integrating the
two. To open as a posada, the homeowner
must have an en-suite guestroom,
sometimes away from the rest of the
house, which offers tourists some privacy,
but with an opportunity to get to know
locals better if you wish. The rooms cost
Gs40,000-70,000, and SENATUR lists
the posadas on their website W www
.paraguay.travel. There are posadas in
both the villages of Jesús and Trinidad.
It's always best to call ahead to book;
if you can't speak Spanish, call or email
the Encarnación tourist o ce (see p.700),
who can help.

houses, painted in shades of blue and
green, which are characteristic of the
Paraguayan countryside. The mission is,
again, set on a hill above the modern
village and has enough original buildings
to give visitors a feel for how the
inhabitants lived. Although there would
have been a great workforce living here to
make the mission, it was not completed
before the expulsion of the Jesuits, and
the church is unfinished, but it was on
track to be one of the greatest.
To get between the sites, men with
mototaxis hover (20-30min; Gs40,000
round trip), or there are colectivos that
leave from the petrol station on Ruta 1,
at the turning to Jesús, every hour or two
(Mon-Sat 8am-7pm; Gs5000).

8

Ì TREAT YOURSELF
There are two really good hotels on the
road between Encarnación and Ciudad
del Este, after Jesús and Trinidad. All
buses heading between the two cities
pass both hotels.
Papillon Ruta 6, Km45 T 076 724 0235,
W papillon.com.py. With modern facilities,
a lovely pool and pretty gr ounds, lo cals
prefer this spotless choice.

San Cosme
From Santiago in Misiones department,
it will soon be possible to get to SAN
COSME Y SAN DAMIÁN (to give it its full
name) along a new road from Ayolas,
making a full circuit of Jesuit missions
easier without doubling back. Until then,
access is via Ruta 1 (turning off at
Km333, then 30km) in a meander of
the Paraná. he mission here (buy tickets
from the planetarium; there is usually
a peace corps volunteer in town who can
help translate into English if you let the
staff know in advance; on the main plaza;
daily 7am-5pm; T 098 573 2956) is well

Gs300,000
Hotel Tirol Ruta 6, Km17 T 071 202 388,
W hoteltirol.com.py. Set within Atlantic
Forest, its grounds are home to capuchin
monkeys and some 190 bird species. Even
if you don't stay here, you can use the
(four) pools and walk arou nd the fo rest for
a minimal fee (Gs10,000). Gs250,000