Several years ago I took a boat trip down the Rio Paraguay. I traveled from Concepcion in the middle of the country down to Asuncion. A journey of about 300 km.

In order to sail from Concepcion I first had to get there. To do that I traveled into Asuncion and then took a bus up the 300 km of paved road to Concepcion.

That as I knew it would took most of a day and it was late afternoon before I arrived in town.

So there was nothing more to do for the day other than to find and hotel and something to eat. Investigating boats could wait until the next day.

That following day turned out as most do in Paraguay to be warm and bright.

While I was in Concepcion it made sense to explore the town a little. I found a very pleasant town built along the banks of the Rio Paraguay. I believe it is the fourth largest city in Paraguay. It is the commercial hub for the surrounding districts and despite the arrival of a paved road much of its life is focused towards the river.

In addition to the central port there were many boats moored on the riverbank a makeshift docks. Some looking unlikely to be going anywhere soon as they slowly rotted away.

Away from the river the town has a wide main street. This has a broad walkway running along its center. Placed on this walkway like an open air museum are a number of old vehicles and pieces of machinery. All imported from abroad for the use in long gone factories.

Many were smartly painted and polished with their identification plates clearly visible. A good number of these had plates naming the English factory in which they were built.

Then at the end of the street in contrast to the industrial heritage is a large religious statue. This huge statue that towers over everything around it is of Maria Auxilliadora with the Christ Child.

Once I had done with sightseeing it was time to head to the docks to enquire about boats.

Asking in the station office I soon found out that there was a daily boat to Asuncion and that it left at first light. As for booking passage, speaking with the captain would be sufficent.

So that done I had a quite afternoon and evening to fill in Concepcion before a very early start to the day in the morning. A day which was going to be a long one.

Shortly before sunrise I was back at the port. The previous afternoon I had had the place almost to myself. Now all around on the muddy bank that lead down to the river were men with wheelbarrows awaiting the boat. Above on the paved road sat a line of trucks awaiting their cargo.

At about the time it was due a small boat appeared from the north and made its way to the dock. This bought the port to life as everyone rushed to greet the boat and collect their piece of cargo. Some needed two or three trips with their wheelbarrows, but soon the trucks were heading on their way.

Dockworkers out of the way I could now see that I was not the only person hoping to sail to Asuncion. There were a couple of others on the riverbank with the same idea.

We could now approach the boat and cross the gangplank to speak to the captain. It turned out that the boat was mainly transporting cargo but had a small cabin at the back for passengers.

There was space on board for everyone and I was allocated a small cabin room with a little bed and a window to look out of and upon the river. Not much but I was only travelling from one place to the next so it did not really matter.

Soon the other passengers were also given cabins and the cargo was brought aboard. This appeared to be the essentials for living out in the wilds. Bags of cement, bales of wire and crates of beer. The majority of the cargo was piled up neatly at the front of the deck. There it was out of everyones way and could be easily unloaded.

Once everything was aboard we set sail. Out of Concepcion and onto Asuncion.

It took a while to leave Concepcion behind. The town as it depends so much upon the river is dragged out along several miles of its banks. Once that was finally behind us the boat passed under a modern road bridge which crosses the Rio Paraguay and we were into the countryside.

Heading south I had on my left the Chaco which becomes more and more desert like as it heads towards the Bolivian border and on my right Eastern Paraguay which is thickly forested across to the Brazilian border.

There was not much to do on board so I spent most of the day up on the deck watching the river slowly float by. The Rio Paraguay in a large wide river and as we mainly kept in the middle away from any shallows all I saw of the many birds to be seen along it were brilliant flashes of colour amongst the trees on the river bank.

The waters flow at a slow lazy pace and carry a heavy load of sediment. In no place did the water look blue. Instead it was coloured a deep rich brown making things just below the surface invisible.

There was a large amount of material floating in it. All this was though natural having washed in either from the forests or the river banks. Great mats of water weeds and water hyacinth floated by as did the occasional tree trunk.

The boats diesel engine chugged away as we slowly made our way down stream. Occasionally the boat would pull over to the bank where there would be a small jetty almost hidden by the trees where items could be loaded and unloaded.

The daily boat must be a vital service for these small isolated communities and homesteads.

The rest of the day continued in the same relaxed manner. No sense of rush, no sense of urgency. The boat will get there when it gets there.

I spent many hours just quietly watching the world go by. Taking in the scenery and seeing how the dense tree cover came in many places almost to the waters edge.

Eventually night fell. I assume I had something to eat, but really can’t remember. When darkness arrived we were still far from Asuncion so I headed back to my cabin for a few hours sleep.

With the noise of the engine and the motion of the boat not the best place to be sleeping. I did though manage a few hours.

I woke before we reached Asuncion so was able to see the lights of the city as we turned off the Rio Paraguay and into Asuncion Bay.

As we got closer the lights got brighter and the buildings appeared to grow taller.

Soon we were across the bay and maneuvering to dock at the Port of Asuncion. It was still dark and several hours before dawn.

When we docked in Asuncion we had been sailing for 20 hours covering approximately 300 km.

As it was so early there was no call for the passengers to disembark. So I lay there for another hour of so until the little bed became too uncomfortable and the call of a more comfortable one too strong.

It was still dark when I stepped out of the port and into the deserted streets of Asuncion. I knew where I wanted to be though and headed straight for a hotel where I could catch up on my sleep.

I had had a very enjoyable river trip made all the better by doing it interdependently on a small boat. Something I hope to do again one day.