Day 9: Our Free Day in Downtown Asuncion

As our trip is closely coming to an end, our days are still fully packed with adventure. Today (Saturday) we went to the downtown area where we enjoyed lunch in the very beautiful Hotel Margarita.

A view of Downtown Asuncion

An amazing meal at the Hotel

The hotel had a roof top pool and sitting area that was great for seeing the whole city as well as a beautiful view of the Paraguay river. On the way back down from the roof, a few of the ladies got the elevator stuck because it exceeded the maximum weight capacity.  It was a very small elevator and everything was in kilos and spanish, so we didn't know what was wrong.

Dr. White and Chelsea on the Rooftop

A view of the "back" of the Capitol

After, our fearless drivers Paci and Marcelo took us to see the country's Capitol building. We were able to walk all the way around it and take beautiful pictures. Behind the Capitol building was the river.

The front of the Capitol building

The Paraguay River

Marcelo explained to us that the actual front of the building was the side that faced the river because it was built when the river was still the main form of transportation for people to arrive at the capital. We then went and visited the "Palacio Legislativo" which is the old congress building that now has been turned into a museum.  There were things from fine art to cultural items as well as many things from the past wars and the presidents who led the country.  Driving around town was yet again, an adventure.  Our drivers, Marcelo and Paci, had to zip in and out of a lot of down town traffic. Paci must have gotten in a hurry because at one point she began taking off while Abby had one foot in the truck and one on the ground with the door wide open. As we all yelled "wait!!!" she realized we were not all in. Ha! It became a joke from that point forward.

To conclude the night we went back to the expo where we enjoyed more of the culture with great shops to bring souvenirs back for our loved ones and their delicious ice cream and candy coated popcorn!

We also got to see the amazing presentation they had prepared for the Futurity. It began with a powerpoint presentation containing the information needed, which included a list of events, price to enter, and overall winnings. It was nice to see how much effort they put into it. It was followed by a short movie of pictures and video clips of previous futurities going back into 2008.  We were all shocked when we saw how intricate the details were that were put into making the movie. There were multiple clips that worked in nicely with the music that was playing along with how the clips were presented in a professional yet appealing manner. Kudos to whoever made that video, it was a pleasure to watch. This just so happened to be an early night for all of us because we knew what tomorrow had in store.  The drive back to the hotel from the expo with Nico behind the wheel was uh.....a near death experience. Intense acceleration, parking lot diving to avoid one speed bump, brake screeches, constant horn blaring, and Spanish curse words should give you a glimpse of the trip. Yet, all of this occurred while Nico sat in the driver's seat drumming the steering wheel and singing passionately to the blaring Spanish music. Let's compare it to Jason Borne/James Bond driving performed by Fabio. But in the back seat, Brenda, Holly, and Chelsea slammed from side to side. They laughed hysterically at the madness of his driving and his indifference towards the chaos he caused. The hotel parking lot never looked more beautiful than it did to Nico's passengers.