ECHO 2002 Daily Diary  
Columbia Education Center
ECHO 2002
DAILY DIARY
August 4, 2002

Today's ECHO activities brought to you by


Team Trigo
"On the Road Again"
Cindy Garwick
Ken Garwick
Mary Molt

 

San Bernardino

Asunción
A travel day of 7 hours on the bus from Filadelphia to Asunción gives us time to reflect on the many roads we have traveled here in Paraguay. Some have been quiet and empty while others have been bustling and full. There are 12 major roads in Paraguay, many of which are paved. Each ruta (route) is named for an important Paraguayan.

Off Ruta 1
Mariscal Francisco Solano López–Ruta 1 was the first paved road. It connects Asunción with Encarnación. López succeeded his father as president (1862-1870) of Paraguay during the Triple Alliance War against Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Paraguay lost much land and many people during this war but Mcal. López is regarded as a national hero for retaining the Paraguayan nationality. Laundry drying on fences and bushes as well as children playing are common sites on a sunny day.

Mariscal José Félix Estigarribia–Ruta 2 connects Asunción with Coronel Oviedo in the center of the country. Estigarribia conducted the Chaco War (1932-1935) against Bolivia who was wanting river access to the ocean and he is considered a hero. Paraguay was awarded three-fourths of the disputed territory, but lost another sizable portion of its population. Although transportation by railroad ceased after 1996 when roads were built and/or paved, people still use the tracks as their pathway home.


Near Ruta 2



At the end of Ruta 5
General Bernardino Caballero–Ruta 5 connects Pedro Juan Caballero in the east with Pozo Colorado in the Chaco. On Ruta 5 at Concepción the Rió Paraguay is crossed by boats, large and small. Caballero was the founder of the Colorado political party in 1887 which helped reestablish Paraguay as a sovereign state, encouraged agricultural development and reforms in public education.


Dr. Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia–Ruta 7, becomes a 4-lane divided highway 20 km from Ciudad del Este. Travelers on the highway pay a toll to a private company. This route connects Coronel Oviedo with Cuidad del Este and then across the Friendship Bridge to Brazil and other points east. Francia ruled Paraguay (1814-1840) as El Supremo. He closed borders to commerce and promoted self-sufficiency after recognizing Paraguay's inability to compete with neighboring countries. Termite and ant hills are an everyday site along the roadways.


Along Ruta 7



By Ruta 9

Carlos Antonio López–Ruta 9 is also called the Trans-Chaco Highway. This dirt road highway was completed in 1964 and mostly paved in the 1980s. López was president of Paraguay (1840-1862). He ended Paraguay's isolation, building railroads, an iron foundry, shipyard, telegraph, and an army.