Ruins (two months late)

Dedicated readers may remember that I met some lovely Paraguayans in Vienna before arriving here (see this post). One of these friends, Estrella, came on a visit to Paraguay in March, which I have never yet got round to writing about. We managed to coincide on a visit to the Jesuit ruins at Trinidad. Estrella is a dancer and promotes Paraguayan culture in Europe, so she was taking photos in her spectacular ñanduti dress, while I wandered around unglamorously with my guidebook.

In this photo you can see some of the stone-carving which the Guarani of the reductions produced under the tutelage of the Jesuits.

This is a close-up of the angel frieze running across near the top of the previous picture. They are all playing musical instruments - here an organ and a trumpet. The instruments built by the Guarani in the Reductions were famed for their craftsmanship and precision, and were even exported to Europe.

Here is one side of a decorative pillar showing a woman with a fan. There are figures on the other three sides, but this is the best-preserved.

This carved arch at the nearby Reduction of Jesús features the papal crown, the crossed keys of Peter, a shell in the alcove representing baptism, the mburucuja (passion) flower, the fleur de lys (purity) and the leaves of the cocotero palm (for the entry into Jerusalem). There is a matching niche on the other side which has crossed swords at the top, which refer to the right of the town to defend itself with arms against the slave traders to whom many of the Guarani fell prey on the expulsion of the Jesuits.

At the nearby Ita Cajón nature reserve, you can see the quarry where the stone blocks were carved out by hand.

The quarry is now overgrown with plants and trees, including the amazing guapo'y tree, whose exposed roots tun from the top of the cliff all the way down some five or six metres to the bottom.

The characteristic verdant green and terracotta red of Paraguayan countryside.