In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries came to the Río de la plata area. They built 30 missions, of which 7 in current Paraguay. It is said that the local people were allowed to keep their own customs and traditions while converting to Christianity. The complexes included a church and other community buildings, for example a school, workshops and housing. Only some decades after building in Paraguay, in the 18th century, the Jesuits were sent away. What remains of their buildings stands in a grassy field with the occassional palm tree.
I had absolutely no clue when or how often the buses to Trinidad would go. I got lucky though. “Where are you going?” asked a man when I arrived at the terminal. I fully expected him to try to sell me a taxi ride, but he sold me a bus ticket for 20.000 guarani to a minivan that was about to leave. For a little while I was the only passenger, but we picked up two more people along the way. The driving was mad. We accelerated, only to stop a bit further along for a speed bump. The driver was very occupied by his phone and we nearly hit the car in front of us because he was distracted. Thankfully it only took about half an hour until he dropped me off at the road that led to the ruins of Misión de La Santísima Trinidad del Paraná.
It was very quiet on the streets, but I wasn’t the only visitor. A trio from Brasil was buying tickets when I arrived. I saw an English speaking mum and son. An Asian woman was clicking away, taking photos on her phone. And two girls in pretty dresses were obviously ready for their Instagram photoshoot. But the complex was big and nobody was in each other’s way. Most of the buildings were just remains of walls and archways. Next to the ruins of a church, because apparently one big church wasn’t enough, stood a surprisingly well-kept bell tower. It must have been used for something after the Jesuits left or it had been restored. The most impressive building was the main church though.
It was a bit confusing where you were allowed to walk. A boardwalk entered the church, as if they wanted to protect the floor. Right next to it were signs saying it was the original floor. And although that middle section was roped off, the other side with the exact same floor was fully accessible. So I had a wander past some pretty carvings. There are clear sculptures of angels and people in the brick walls, besides decorative flowers. A big baptismal font stands to the side. There is even an entrance to the crypt. Nothing stops you from entering, but somehow I wasn’t too keen on entering the crypt of a building that had mostly collapsed. Attached to the church was a small museum with some saved sculptures, artwork and information.
About 11km further is Jesús de Tavarangüé, another small town with Jesuit ruins. Since this is harder to reach, you can request a taxi at the ruins in Trinidad. However I didn’t have enough cash left. But just as I was leaving the site, the mum and son were standing at the ticket booth. They were in the same situation and asked to share the taxi. I had wanted to see the information in the hall, but took my chance to join them. The site at Jesus was smaller, but had more walls left in the main church. However, I prefered Trinidad because it was easier for me to imagine what it had been like. And in the end, Jesus was pretty similar. There are only so many ruins I can enjoy in a day.
The taxi drove us back to the main road so we could catch the bus. This time it was a bigger bus from Ciudad del Este. It had come a long way and was pretty full. I stood in an awkward position, hanging on to the overhead luggage rack. When I got off I couldn’t feel my hand. I spent the rest of the day wandering around Encarnación with my new companions. They showed me chipas and cocido, a bread thing with a sort of burned sugary tea. Encarnación was quiet on this Monday. As the sun set the costanera got a tiny bit livelier, with joggers and people out for a stroll. It was a short visit to Encarnación, but despite that there wasn’t much to do, I kind of like this place.
The details
Ticket to the ruins: 40.000 guarani. Valid for 3 sites (Jesus, Trinidad and San Cosme). The latter one is hard to reach with only 1 daily bus. Trinidad has frequent connections from the Encarnacion bus terminal. One way costs 20.000 guarani. A return taxi between Jesus and Trinidad costs 90.000 guarani, including some waiting time for you to explore. Uber and Bolt don’t work in these towns.
