After sleeping in a different bed for 15 straight days, I finally reached a temporary home base. I settled down in Asunción, Paraguay, where the people speak both Spanish and the native Guarani. The money is also quite entertaining. I had a few $100,000 bills upon my departure from the airport.

As the quantity of museums I have visited on this trip would likely classify me as uncultured swine, I decided to get myself over to el Museo del Barro. I was greeted by a wall of heads that gave me the suspicion that Arya Stark had preceded me.

Can you guess which of the below characters most caught my attention? I’ll give you a hint. It has nothing to do with strange genitalia. I’ll give you another hint. This person looks like they may have been a Huseby descendant. Feel free to zoom in.

Ok, let’s see how you did.

• 

• 

And there you have it folks. A frown that puts my own to shame. After seeing the depiction of my ancestor, I saw some pretty cool apparel from the original Paraguayans. Solid feather-work.

Then, all of the sudden, Jesus got in the mix. There was an incredible diversity of crucifixes. It’s really amazing (and sad) how the native people’s religions got steamrolled upon the arrival of the Europeans. On a bright note, I’ve heard from people all across South America that there are movements to revive local languages. For example, learning the native Quechua in Peru is becoming popular again. May the history never die.

The art suddenly became even more modern, with an interesting piece depicting the attack on the twin towers almost 18 years ago (I feel old). The art definitely made me think. Are we becoming nothing more than computers?

Things really took a left turn when I entered a giant tent. At first I was blown away by the colors. The I realized I appeared to be in the middle of some sort of all-encompassing orgy. Something for everyone!

After finishing at the museum (I was the sole attendee as far as I could tell), I took a leisurely five-mile stroll back to my hostel. I’m a big fan of Asunción. The weather is great (currently winter), there are lots of trees, and it felt safe. I also got a giant vegan buffet and tea for about $7. As is my new preferred strategy, I took a seat on a bench in the middle of a park to reflect.

Another success of a day. I’ll be on my way to Brazil soon to meet up with the illustrious Mr. Brett Young. A fine man indeed. Solo travel has been the best experience of my life but I’m pretty excited to start this new stage. Stay tuned!