If Filadelfia were a painting, it would have been done by surrealist Salvador Dalí. This neat Mennonite community, the service and administrative center of Fernheim, resembles a suburb of Munich plonked in the middle of a red desert. Geometrically perfect homes line the streets in an orderly grid, with dusty roads and miles of Chaco wilderness extending endlessly beyond. The town lacks a real center; its soul is the giant cooperative which trades the cream of the Paraguayan crop – dairy products. Although there are indigenous day laborers from nearby pueblos, most of the town’s inhabitants are European descendants, and Guten tag is a regular greeting. It’s a captivating, if not a little strange, experience.
For information on the Mennonites, and everything from 15th-century coins and stuffed jaguars to colorful Nivaclé headdresses, visit the Unger Museum (Hindenburg s/n; admission free; 7-11:30am Mon-Fri) opposite Hotel Florida. Tours are possible in Spanish, German and English; or just get the keys from the helpful and knowledgeable owner, Sr Hartmut Wohlegemuth, at Hotel Florida.
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