Friday 27 November 2020

The Last of the Paraguayan Cavalry

I have been a little slower at finishing this last Paraguayan unit, another militia regiment, because we went away for a long to Nelson, at the top of the South Island. We had been there a few months ago at the start of our West Coast adventure and decided to head there again to see some of the things that we didn't get to see last time. In the warm and sunny weather we had a couple of superb dinners at local restaurant, visited the Saturday market in the city centre, lay in late reading  books, had lunch at a great little café by the sea in Mapua and picniced on the pebbles at Cable Bay with its stunning blue/green waters (below).


It was only two nights away, but it felt much longer and was just what was needed.

And now for the Paraguayan militia cavalry.



This completes five units of Paraguayan cavalry and probably the last for this collection, so here they are in review...

Five Paraguayan units, the militia on the left and the regulars on the right...

Two Brazilian units...

And two Argentine units.





14 comments:

  1. Well it certainly looks and sounds like you had a nice few days away. With us in Tier 3 lockdown now until mid January at the earliest, it is nice to see others doing normal things that hopefully will come our way next year.

    As for the cavalry, another great unit and love the mix of clothing and hats, which is very appealing. Great to see all the cavalry lined up and they certainly look impressive:)

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    1. Thanks Steve. Yes it was nice to get away from the madness that is work at the moment. We were only away for two nights but it felt like a week. We have been very lucky here by being able to contain the virus and I feel for all places where this thing is raging.

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  2. Mark, so many beautiful sights in one post. We have been advised not to travel or visit ANYONE until 14 DEC in order to flatten the curve from the recent explosion in cases. Well, this week is our Thanksgiving holiday and it looks like many simply ignored the warnings. I expect we will need to buckle up what for we are about to receive.

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    1. I have been watching the figures from the US and they are terrifying numbers. Hopefully responsible people like yourself can manage a virtual Thanksgiving at least. Stay. safe Jonathan

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  3. Sounds like a very pleasant get away! The militia cavalry look good and all the troops together look splendid!
    Best Iain

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    1. I must admit it was rather nice to see all those horsemen out of their box at once.

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  4. Splendid addition, your cavalry is gorgeous and very impressive!

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    1. Thank you Phil. I hope you and your group and your families are safe in France.

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  5. Looks like a nice mini break Mark.. I have not made it to NSN yet although talk to our team there daily...really must try and visit some day...the closest I have been is Blenheim. The cavalry look great...I know absolutely nothing about this era...did the Paraguayans take on Argentina and Brazil combined, as the relative number of units suggests?

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    1. You would enjoy Nelson. Yes the Paraguayans fought combined forces of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and the Paraguayans had a higher proportion of cavalry in their army. I have a whole bunch of Brazilian and Paraguayan infantry on order now.

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  6. A great collection of cavalry there Mark, and another lovely unit to add to them. I love the South Island and will try convince my wife to take a trip there in the next few years. She has been with me to the North Island a few times and lived there in the eighties for six months, but I'm trying to convince her that they are very different. It looks like the airline industry is staggering back to its feet here with the number of domestic flights increasing five-fold this week, so hopefully things will be on the improve over there as well, especially if they can properly open up between Australia and NZ.

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    1. We have another South Island trip planned for early next year, late summer probably. Domestic air traffic here is almost back to pre-Covid levels and it will be interesting to see if it is sustained into the New Year.

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  7. Gosh... a couple of days by the sea... you lucky man.
    With the way the rain is going today we should have a nice little puddle at the end of the garden... I will go down there and pretend it’s somewhere exotic later 😁

    The cavalry look splendid... it’s nice to see a little parade.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Sadly we too have had our fair share of rain in the last week, although I suspect our spring rain is in much warmer temperatures than your autumn rain. We certainly have much to be grateful for in our remote island fortress against this current invader. The relatively harsh restrictions we had imposed on us in April and May have allowed us the freedom we now have and with less economic harm than was at first predicted. It is perhaps one few of the occasions we can be thankful for our relatively small population because it has enabled us to do what larger populations struggle with.

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