AVENIDA COSTANERA - PLAYA SAN JOSÉ

La Costanera is a 27 km long coastal road between Encarnación and Carmen del Paraná, which was inaugurated in 2011. These works accompanied the rise of the river's waters (to feed the Yacyretá power plant). The landscape has been metamorphosed by urban development, to the delight of Paraguayan and Argentinean tourists who come by the thousands every summer to enjoy the miles of sandy beach and the bars and restaurants that have sprung up there. People come to jog, cycle or rollerblade on the wide sidewalks, or join a group of Zumba to wiggle around in front of the river, watching the sunset and the lights of the town of Posadas on the other bank (which also has its Costanera). The most popular beach is San José: blond sand, warm and shallow water, parasols and sunscreen, beach volleyball, Jet-Ski... For lovers of quiet beaches, this is not the place to come (at least in summer), Paraguay does not lack beautiful wild beaches on its rivers across the country! Several interesting buildings have been preserved: silos and a flour mill from 1940, and the reconstruction of the old railway station, with the original bricks and doors (the historic site is now under water). There is the Memoria Viva Museum, with 20,000 photos telling the history of the city and its recent transformation, as well as an old locomotive.