Life on the farm, Paraguayan style

  Concepcion, Paraguay
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

River boat to farm
Bugs we never imagined
Bron is staying strong

Smooth as glass

This was quite a different week for us. Jam-packed city bus across the border into Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, then taxi to the bus terminal, cushy bus to Asunción (the capital), a sleepless although air conditioned night in a hotel, up at 5 am and down to the docks to catch the Cacique II riverboat. Really one of the main reasons we wanted to come to Paraguay, the Cacique II is a small passenger and cargo ship that, once a week, weaves up the Rio Paraguay from Asunción to Concepción and beyond. Information about the boat is sketchy at best (Paraguay doesn't have much internet presence in general),

Loading stop

so we weren't even sure there would be a boat. However, when we rolled up to the port at 6:30 am on Wednesday there she was, the Cacique II in all her decrepit glory. Butterflies in our stomachs and groceries in hand for the 30 hour trip (mostly canned goods which would survive in the muggy 95 degree heat), we boarded the ship and settled in for the trip.



The riverboat ride was really something. We paid the extra $6 to get a camarote (a little cabin with a bunk bed, the alternative to sleeping on deck in a hammock), but spent most of our time out on the upper deck letting the breeze carry away the (biting) flies and cool us in the heat. Its a very calm river, with wide green banks and silty water as smooth as glass. Everyone drank tereré all day long, which is the Paraguayan version of mate - same herb, vessel, and metal straw,

We made it! Landing in Concepcion.

but made with cold water poured from a much bigger thermos or pitcher. Every so often the captain maneuvered the boat to shore and people and goods (sacks of vegetables and grain, mysterious boxes and bags, even appliances) were carried on and off over a wooden plank between deck and shore. The sunset was spectacular and the night sky an explosion of stars over the water. We slept in our hot little camarote and spent the next morning enjoying the river, chatting with the friendly capitán (turns out he is Uruguayan!) and eagerly anticipating our arrival to Concepción. 

Granja El Roble

Exhausted but satisfied by our river experience, we spent one lazy night in Concepción - Thanksgiving actually, which we celebrated with a lot of beef - shocking, we know. The other reason we came to Paraguay was to visit an organic farm owned and operated by an extremely hilarious and kind German man and his family. Granja El Roble (granja is little farm, el roble is an oak tree) is a working farm, and Peter and his wife Andresa make it available as a sort of resort for backpackers as well as the large Mennonite population in Paraguay (mostly of European descent, many living in the Chaco region). Peter has built and stocked several lakes for fishing, runs river trips, does farm tours and entertains with his animated storytelling.

Peter on fish-feeding rounds

Andresa is a genius in the kitchen and we've enjoyed 3 homecooked meals a day, both Paraguayan and German specialties like stews and fried duck, hard boiled eggs in mandioca, fresh pate and mangos for breakfast - everything grown or raised right here. Along with the abundant animals there are Peter and Andresa's three delightful, energetic children who are ever happy to show you around or hand you a toad or Nina, the family puppy.  




Really we can't say enough about how amazing

Bron, Eli, and Peter soak it all in

our time at the granja was - we had an extremely tough time leaving, staying several days longer than planned. So relaxing, days filled with reading and fishing and drinking beer and stuffing ourselves. We spent one whole day floating down the Rio Ipane on innertubes with Tessa and Andy, a pair of upbeat travelers Peter had come across in Concepcion.  Paraguay itself is lush and green, a world apart from anything we've seen, with a still developing infrastructure and very friendly people.  Not knowing what to expect before we arrived, its been our most pleasant surprise yet. Next its back on the hostel trail!

Inside our little camarote

Tranquilo

Sunset from the Cacique II

On the road to the farm

Our little home away from home on the farm

Nina, the rascally family pup

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