Filadelfia (west of Paraguay) - or the german town... (ou la ville allemande...)

Filadelfia was our final step in Paraguay before joining Bolivia. Filadelfia is the heart of the Mennonites settlements which arrived principally from Germany, Canada and Russia in the 1920's for a number of reasons: religious freedom, the chance to practise their beliefs without hindrance, the quest of land...Paraguay welcomed the emigrants as after the Triple Alliance War the vast inhospitable region of Chaco was almost uninhabited. They were offered to keep their religion, their language, to administre their own institutions in exchange to colonize an unproductive area due to lack of water.
The bus journey from Concepcion to Filadelfia has been so far the worst for me. The heat was unbearable, I had a big cold and I fell sick during the 7hrs trip and to add, we had a flat tyre which added 30min to our journey! Arriving to Filadelfia was like arriving in the middle of nowhere. 40C outside, sand everywhere, well clouds of sand due to the wind and of course german names for the streets...We decided to splurge for a hotel as I was not feeling well and we wanted to have some nice rest prior to reach Bolivia so 4stars hotel with swimming pool. We spent our 2 days swimming and relaxing with our new Swedish friends, Erik and Andreas that we met during the bus journey. We did not bother going to visit the surroundings as it was during the week-end and as you know nothing happens on a sunday!!! After the second day I was feeling better and we were ready to reach Bolivia...

Filadelfia etait notre derniere destination au Paraguay avant de rejoindre la Bolivie. Filadelfia est le coeur de l'implatation des Mennonites, emigrants qui arriverent principalement d'Allemagne, du Canada et de Russie dans les annees 1920 pour des raisons variees: liberte religieuse, la chance de pratiquer leur croyance sans obstacle, la quete de territoire...Paraguay accueuillit ces emigrants parce qu'apres la guerre de l'Alliance Triple, la vaste region du grand Chaco etait presque inhabitee. Ils purent garder leur religion, leur langue, administrer leur propres institutions en echange de coloniser une region improductive du a un manque d'eau.
La journee en bus de Concepcion a Filadelfia a ete la pire pour moi depuis le debut. La chaleur etait insoutenable, j'avais un gros rhume et je fus malade pendant les 7hrs du voyage et pour ajouter a tout ca, nous eumes un pneu creve qui ajouta 30min a notre voyage! Arriver a Filadelfia fut comme arriver au milieu de nulle part. 40C a l'exterieur, du sable partout, enfin des nuages de sable a cause du vent et des noms allemands pour les rues...Nous decidames de deborder sur le budget pour l'hotel car je ne me sentais pas tres bien et que nous avions besoin d'un bon repos avant de rejoindre la Bolivie alors hotel 4etoiles avec piscine. Nous avons passe les 2 jours a se relaxer et a la piscine avec nos 2 nouveaux amis suedois, Erik et Andreas que nous avions rencontres dans le bus. Nous n'avons pas pris la peine de visiter les alentours car c'etait le week-end et comme tu sais, il ne se passe rien le dimanche!! Apres le deuxieme jours j'allais mieux alors nous etions pres pour rejoindre la Bolivie...