Day 7: Exploring Leda

On a beautiful Saturday morning, we awoke on our boat to spectacular scenery, the warm sunrise on the Paraguay river. We spent the day observing the nature around us, spotting capybaras or alligators here and there while enjoying the fresh breeze and the calming sound of the water. Before our final destination, we stopped at a tiny village called Olimpo. The group visited the building where Rev. Sun Myung Moon stayed during his trip to the country. Parrots flew from tree to tree, and palm trees and many colorful flowers accompanied our short stay.

We spent the day listening to Mr. Sano, who talked about Rev. Moon's time in South America and his vision for Leda, which fruits we would soon experience. In the afternoon, the team also challenged their knowledge in a trivia show organized by the staff. We competed in topics like songs, Divine Principle, and how well they know each other, accompanied by some crispy fried alligator meat as a snack.

We continued riding the boat smoothly as we got closer and closer to our final destination, Leda. The sun slowly setting made the sky purple as we reached the shore and took our first step on the land. Heading towards the main building, we were surprised by a mosquito invasion. Our group was seen as moving their hands crazily in every possible direction, trying to avoid the unavoidable.

On Sunday, we opened our first official day in Leda. We spent the day listening to a presentation and testimony about this beautiful establishment. We also had the chance to step in our elder members' shoes and inherit their hearts by handwashing our clothes while dozens of mosquitoes were attacking us. During any activity of the day, our perseverance was tested. Our hearts were filled with gratitude as now we have some "weapons" against these insects, unlike many years ago when Leda had just started. Despite their constant biting, they can't take our attention away from other amazing creatures that bring us joy here. Like turtles hiding under bushes, frogs jumping in the corridor, butterflies flying over our heads, and parrots hopping from tree to tree, chirping and singing for us beautiful melodies.

In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to visit a few Leda facilities, like the shrimp farm and kitchen. There they showed us how they are experimenting with making new fish products like fish sausage, patty, or fish cake, and we ended with a caviar tasting.

On the following day, our exploration of Leda continued. We started the day with an activity we had been looking forward to. Do you have an idea what it could be? The answer is fish harvesting! We had the fantastic opportunity to catch pacu and later learn the cleaning process. Excited screams and laughter filled the air as we walked into the pond. The water was up until our neck; however, we were determined to work hard and catch as many fish as possible. Our goal was to harvest 100 fish today, and we used a variety of net sizes, leaving them no escape. Some of us felt called to challenge ourselves by trying to catch them with our hands, only gloves on. In the end, we were successful, and our efforts were worthwhile. This activity was an excellent test of our patience and determination. These beautiful creatures are God's creation and won't surrender themselves with force. To catch them, we had to have a respectful attitude towards them, being gentle and calm, then we could be successful.

After spending time with fish in the morning, we had the chance to visit the pig farm in the afternoon, feeding and observing them while visiting other agricultural sites on the way.

Feeding the pigs at the pig farm in Leda

Believe it or not, there is still more to explore in Leda! The next day we visited Leda's cattle farm called Canaan. It was around 10 km from the headquarters, so we had to take a boat and a tractor to reach the farm. Traveling there, we were mesmerized by nature, seeing how much-untouched land Leda still has. Hundreds if not thousands of palm trees, wildflowers, butterflies, and dragonflies surrounded us. We experienced horse riding, first guided, then going by ourselves and seeing the huge cow horde. We were exhausted from the intense sun and took shade to have lunch together as a group, which gave us more things to be grateful for.

Dori riding a horse in Canaan, where Leda’s cattle ranch is located

Our stay in Leda is coming to an end soon. However, we still have many opportunities to explore and observe God's creation. We want to spend our time wisely, connect to the nature around us as much as possible, and appreciate it. Thank you so much for keeping up with us, and stay tuned for our next update!

Generation Peace Academy

Dori Takacs

Blogger, Paraguay

Day 8: Winter Adventuring

Day 6: A taste of Peru - People, Places, and Food!