Americas

[Visited: January 2023]

When I was studying Paraguay to decide where I wanted to go, I came across the Chaco region. I immediately understood I had to visit for its curious Mennonite community and its remoteness. Filadelfia seemed like a logical destination. Then, I read about Mariscal Estirribia. A town further northwest, in the direction of the border with Bolivia, it has a military airport with the longest runway of the country. The base was built by the US, but never used, abandoned, and apparently possible to visit. There are several theories of why it was built, and why it was never used, but I cannot find any conclusive explanation. I immediately fell for what sounded like a quirky place. So it is that on my second evening in the capital, I take a comfortable night bus from Asunción, and the bus pulls in early next morning at a small bus station. The ticket counter is still closed, so I wait a little. To my surprise, I see a young Polish couple, and find out they are trying to make their way to Bolivia. We wait until the counter opens.
The ticket vendor says that no, there is no left luggage at the station. I leave my bag outside, and start walking to the airport I came here to see. I cross the road, and see a military checkpoint. The soldiers are friendly, and I tell them I want to visit the old church of town. When the base was built, a new part of town was opened east of the highway, which is where the bus station is. The old town is adjacent to the airport. It turns out that it is actually in use. I talk to the soldiers, tell them I came all the way from Asunción to visit this little old church (it doesn't seem wise to mention the airport I'm really after), but they say that going in is not allowed. I then comment on the red-white-blue Paraguayan flag on their uniforms, which doesn't have the emblem in the white lane and therefore is similar to my own flag, but this doesn't make them open the gate for me. I realise that I will have to find something else to do here.
I walk a little south, and hope to walk a long way parallel to the runway, and perhaps see it from a distance. However, there is a sturdy fence and trees, and I give up pretty soon. The only thing left to do, is to explore the new part of town. Mariscal Estirribia might not have many inhabitants, but it is spread out. I walk dusty, unpaved roads, past a pond, and find a new church. This turns out to be closed, too. Moreover, I see very few people. I start to wonder who would ever decide to live here, unless working for the military. Then, I see a small hospedaje. It is time to have something to eat, so I enter and ask an old lady. She frowns when I ask them for vegetarian food, and ends up giving me a salad and tea. A man my age comes into the cosy living room, and we start chatting. He turns out to be the son of the lady. Before I know it, we are talking world politics, after I ask him about the curious fact that Paraguay is one of the few remaining countries recognising Taiwan as an independent country, and the biggest one. The man still lives with his mother, has travelled but will be an inhabitant of this remote place, and turns out to be well aware of the bigger world. I had very different plans when I decided to visit Mariscal Estirribia, but I am very happy the way it turned out. I walk back to the station, my bag is still there, untouched, and I buy a ticket for the bus to Filadelfia. To my big surprise, instead of turning directly south, the bus drives straight into the military camp on the other side of the road, circles around the old town, past the airport, and only then heads towards Filadelfia. I click away on my camera at the sights which I didn't expect to see anymore. Now that I have seen the tiny airport with its long runway, I feel satisfied.

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Mariscal Estigarribia (Paraguay)

Mariscal Estigarribia > Paraguay > Americas

[Visited: January 2023]

Around the World in 80 Clicks