“Paraguay is nowhere and famous for nothing.” - P.J. O’Rourke

I had to yell twice to get the bus driver to stop. It slowed to a crawl, the doors creaked opened while still in motion, and I stumbled out onto the road in a half-jog. "Shit, almost out on the bridge". Technically, I was now situated in no-mans land, straddling the Paraná River, somewhere between Brazil and Paraguay. I had started yelling when we passed the Brazilian Customs but the bus had nowhere to slow down. I now walked back to the customs post and attempted to explain to the Brazilian officials in broken Spanglish (who only spoke Portuguese of course) why I had to climb over a little fence to sneak back into Brazil.

Human mules huffed and sweated past me. A long serpentine line of them meandered in both directions. They carried large, dirty cardboard boxes propped upon their backs and shoulders. Customs appeared to be merely a suggestion as everyone else bypassed it. The mysterious boxes trickled down the road into Paraguay and out of sight.

In order to save myself from having to grease the palms of a customs official down the road, I certainly needed to attain my exit stamp. After light chit-chat, and an awkward smile with the young female official, I exited immigration and looked for a way across the bridge. I hauled myself and my heavy bag up the steps of a slow moving bus. The public buses apparently make non-stop trips to Ciudad del Este, a gong-show of a border town in neighbouring Paraguay that was my destination.

The city is named in recognition of one of its enduring dictators (mentioned below with regards to his Nazi friends). It is a tremendous tax free haven (3rd largest in the world after Hong Kong and Miami) and accounts for 60% of Paraguay's GDP. It is mentioned as being home to a few undesirable characters, such as Al-Qaida and Hezbollah. 

I acquired a hotel room for a pricey $40. The room included my own private bathroom, cable tv, and four single beds. I asked for one bed, or even just two. These were not options that were asserted by the old German woman at the front desk. Portrait photographs of her blonde haired blue-eyed sons in their Paraguayan military uniforms standing in front of artillery backed her up. I said that it was OK. I just wanted a hot shower and my own bathroom anyhow.

I went out to find some shoes. Inside the shops the human mules arrived, hauling and hugging their giant, dirty cardboard treasure chests. They threw them down on the ground in the shops and began to unload hundreds of mobile phones. Each box had hundreds electronic devices inside. Xbox, Wii, PS3s. Hair dryers, LCD TVs, DVD players, and pirated DVDs. The entire city is seemingly a black market mall. Most goods arrive from pirate factories in China and Taiwan. So much business is acquired from the Far East that Taiwan recently funded and built the new city hall which now flies Taiwanese flag.  Shops are filled with new and used (stolen?) mobile phones. Retailers work the counter while assistants lean over smoldering soldered circuits, adjusting and repairing. I gave up immediately on purchasing an iPod. All electronics here are forgeries (i.e., brand names akin to Panaphonics, Sorny, etc). I saw an iPod Touch. I asked to look at it. I turned it on and Mandarin characters flashed up before showing the logo iLuv. "$50 US, $50 US" - "¿Por un iLuv?" - "Si" the Middle Eastern man replied, continuing in a broken accent, "iLuv, better than iPod". 

The malls are packed with tiny shops filled to the brim with electronics. Out side, the street is littered with small tarp'd kiosks. Each kiosk exhibiting their pirated clothing. Adidas jackets and Nike socks. Alongside brand name clothing, brass knuckles (paper weights?), exotic pets of some kind were mentioned, and pistols (either pellet, replicas, or real) sat. I went back into the mall to look at some more legitimate items, such as shot guns, AK-47s, and high-powered rifles with giant scopes. The owner of one such shop started talking to me, flaunting a cell phone. He then pressed the sides - *CRACK* - the top of the phone burst into a tesla-like show of blue lightening. A man next to him, not paying much attention previously, yelped and jumped at the sound of mini thunder. We both chuckled. I slowly backed out. 

The next store I went into had an assortment of cell phones and pharmaceuticals. The retailer wanted me to buy his Viagra. He said it was better than the others. The pack did not include a box. Just a plastic sheet of blue pills. I bought 12 pills in a plastic Ziplock bag for Doug (roommate). 

The feel of the city is quite safe. Every bank, casino, and money changer has a shot gun and pistol. The memories of the previous dictatorships are apparently still strong in the minds of Paraguayans. During these times, a guilty (or not?) criminal merely disappeared. This history has made violent crimes and robberies comparably lower than neighbouring countries.

Regardless, it is probably one of the most fascinating and bizarre cities I have ever visited. It is anarchy! Not the anarchy of murderous lawlessness, but an economic anarchy - Anarcho-capitalism! The state has all but been eliminated, leaving only the sovereign individual to operate on their own will in the free market. There are no rules or laws, no taxes. Casinos, black market firearms, pirated and stolen electronics, all finding and funding sojourns up rivers and highways, hundreds of kilometres inland from the sea.