3rd Pathways to a Sustainable Future: Day 13-14

On the 13th day, after spending three fulfilling days, we had to depart the beautiful settlement of Puerto Leda. We began the day watching the sunrise one last time with the participants. Afterwards, we prepared ourselves to go fishing on the boats. We separated into three teams based on our level of experience and made our way to the Paraguay River. It was a beautiful day for fishing and each team caught many fish including piranhas, dog fishes, bagre amarillos, and tiny dorados. In fact, the team with the least experience end up catching the most fish.

After a successful time fishing, we went back to eat an early lunch then went out to the barn for horseback riding. With the assistance of the cowboys, participants got to ride the beautiful horses of Leda. Some participants were experienced enough to ride by themselves, however everyone seemed to enjoy their time very much.

Leaving Leda was a bittersweet moment for many of us. The Japanese pioneers had taken very good care of us and we’d grown attached to the warm-hearted people and the beautiful nature of the settlement. We boarded the Aquidabon and unloaded our luggage into our rooms. Returning to the deck, we sang together with the pioneers “Umaya Nunaya,” a traditional Korean song sung in the Unifcation Church then offered them a bow as a gesture of respect and gratitude. As the boat set off, we waved our goodbyes and began our travel back to Asuncion.

After spending the night on the Aquidabon, we landed at Vallami to board the bus which was waiting for us that will take us back to Asuncion. The 19-hour boat ride was quite a unique and challenging experience for many of us, but the nature scenes we got to enjoy made it more than worthwhile. In just a couple more hours, we will arrive back at hotel, Palmas del Sol.