Holidays in Paraguay, Part I.

The end of the school year here in late November makes for a seamless segue into the holiday spirit! This first December in Paraguay included my first American visitor, and the chance to explore the country beyond the bus routes I'm usually limited to. Our initial foray with the rental car, to drive the roughly 100 miles to my site from Asuncion, usually a 3-4 journey by bus, took us a delightful 10 hours as we stopped umpteen times to take in many places I'd only seen on a map or wanted to see, intrigued by roadside signs while on moving buses! This day trip coincided with the eve of Paraguay's #1 religious celebration, the Virgen of Caacupe (Dec 8 is also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the Catholic calendar). Many Paraguayans make a pilgrimage to the town of Caacupe, the spiritual capital of Paraguay located on a major highway, the same road we needed to take to reach my new home. For a good description of this devotion and ritual, see

http://www.guidetoparaguay.com/blog.html#5086068459308273680

We passed a lot of pilgrims on the move, both west and east of Caacupe. The Virgen of Caacupe and her devout followers reminds me of the fervor the Virgen of Guadalupe receives from many Mexicans, and Mexican-Americans.

As long as I've already led you to the guidetoparaguay.com blog in this post, I'd like to reference this well-done blog once again, particularly to the Christmas entry,

http://www.guidetoparaguay.com/blog.html

for the author has captured the spirit of the 12 days of Christmas Paraguayan-style. Actually, many of the 12 images shared here can be experienced year-round in Paraguay.

12 chiperas selling--definitely an omnipresent, ubiquitous occurrence here, for "chipa" is the national carbohydrate of choice, a fusion of corn flour, cheese, anis...not as chewy as a bagel, and definitely better when consumed fresh from the oven. The chipa sellers board most long-distance buses at different points along the national routes, and it does not matter if a bus is already filled to beyond capacity, beyond standing-room-only. Paraguayans always find a way for the chiperas to board with their bountiful baskets of the fresh bread.

11 hammocks swinging--don't let one of my blog pics sway you into believing I have much contact with these here! In fact, I have yet to sway in one here, truly!

10 harpists playing--yes, isn't that beautiful? The harp is a central instrument to much traditional Paraguayan music. I get to sing right next to one when I join our local church choir in song, for our group includes a harpist...just love it!

9 yuyeros mashing---mashing herbs to incorporate into mixes of mate and/or terere drink, the national beverage.

8 fritters frying--have indeed consumed my fair share of these, yummy!

7 mitos haunting--I *think* I've seen this specific place, but can't place it right now. "Mito" means "myth," and the Guarani component of Paraguay keeps many Guarani mythology figures alive and well in the Paraguayan psyche.

6 oxen pulling--one of my favorite things to see in movement here. A cart or two pass my house every morning, and then again in the late afternoon. One of these days I will ride along, something on my Paraguayan "bucket list."

5 Fiiiiiiive kambuchiiiiii (full of clerico)--kambuchi is the ceramic piece; clerico is the wonderful liquid refreshment it contains. While I've not yet imbibed kambuchi-kept clerico, I've certainly enjoyed more than 5 glasses of this Christmas-time treat, a mix of diced fruits and either sparkling cider or red wine (or strawberry soda for kids). Interesting, they don't usually add watermelon to the mix, altho that fruit is in great abundance this time of year. Actually, I would include it in my own list of 12 Days here, but I'm guessing the author didn't since she paid tribute to this Christmay fruit in a separate entry, the one published just prior to 12 days, titled "Tis the Season for Watermelon."

4 kiddie pools--popular ware on street corners these summer days. I actually saw this specific display in Asuncion earlier this week!

3 tatakuas--wood oven. Need a lot here to make all the chipa, among other things!

2 flor de cocos--coconut flower, a part of most Paraguayans' nativity scenes, and one of the most pervasive Christmas-time aromas here. For more info, see yet another interesting post, http://www.guidetoparaguay.com/labels/Flora.html

1 a monkey up in a tree--well, I haven't seen one here yet, but I did see several when we visited the Iguazu Falls earlier this month, on the Argentinian side. In fact, we saw ONE MONKEY UP IN A TREE take a high, flying leap from the very edge of one tree's limb to another tree on the other side of a small river--a magical moment!

May your 2010 be full of many magical moments, wherever you may have the privilege to be living YOUR NEXT NEW YEAR! Happy new decade, full of blessings and good stories!