San Bernadino

San Bernardino (what the locals call Samber) is a town near Asuncion, located on the shores of Ypacarai Lake. It is a popular summer resort for people from the city, and both Alfredo Stroessner and former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza have had lake houses there.  There is often nothing going on in Asuncion on a Sunday, so we decided to take a drive out there.  We went to a flea market, which was more like a yard sale and ate some delicious German pastries.  The city and surrounding communities are home to many Germans and it was fun to hear people speaking German all around us, although we don't understand what they are saying.  We then walked around the lake and a crafts market for a while. It's winter here, so it's too cold to enjoy the lake...even if you could. Currently, the lake is polluted with cyanobacteria and it is unsafe to get into it, although that doesn't seem to stop some Paraguayans.  

 We  heard from a Paraguayan friend about an abandoned amphitheater on the hill overlooking the city and decided it was worth checking out.  The last concert here was Ricky Martin in 1994 and now it seems to just be a place for teenagers to come and drink and make out.  Our visit turned out to be really fun. We climbed up on the catwalk and acted out our rock star fantasies on the stage. It sounds weird to spend 2 hours at an abandoned place covered in glass, but sometimes the small things make life here exciting, especially on a Sunday.

Adrianne climbing the scary ladder up to the catwalk

Ali bringing out the diva