Concepción

Concepción is the port of the north on the Paraguay river, a town of faded belle époque merchant houses built when it controlled the yerba mate and timber trade upriver. It is the place to board the boat, since a cargo and passenger vessel still works its way north from here toward the Pantanal over several days, calling at settlements that have no road. The pace is slow and the deck is where everything happens. Around the town the Cerro Memby hill and the Apa river country stretch toward Brazil. Boat departures are irregular and depend on the cargo rather than a timetable.