Roaming South America

Ambato, Ecuador

December 28, 2022

Ambato, Ecuador: "The city of flowers and fruits" is in a high valley in the Andes Mountains, south of Quito and north of Cuenca. The city has a population of around 170,000, but the entire metropolitan area, which includes several other small cities, raises it to close to half a million. The city sits at an altitude of 2580 meters (8465 feet). There is evidence of the area being peopled going back about 2000 years. There were several indigenous tribes co-existing in the area until the 14th century when the Incas came in. Then they came to their end when the Spanish conquistadores arrived. The town of Ambato was first named in 1534. In 1570 they set out delineating the streets and plazas and where the church would be built. The church construction started in 1603. In 1698 the city was virtually wiped out by an earthquake that killed more than 550 non-indigenous people and over 1200 indigenous people. The second town of Ambato was founded in 1698. By 1756 there were about 6500 people living in Ambato. But, in 1797 another earthquake wiped out the town for the second time. More than 200 people died. Ambato was refounded, again, this time in 1698. By 1785 it had a population of more than 52,000. In 1755, Ambato received one of the first printing presses in South America. Then, in 1949, was yet another devastating earthquake. This one destroyed the neighboring towns and about a third of Ambato. The estimated death toll was as high as 2700. The church was destroyed and replaced with a new cathedral in 1954. To help people recover, in 1950, the city held a festival called "Festival of fruits and flowers" which has continued every year since. Now it is part of the yearly carnival.

The climate here is classified as a temperate equatorial mountain climate. That means it is spring-like, in North America, all year round. As for rain, there's not a lot - about 550mm (21 1/2 inches) per year. Humidity hangs around 73% all year round. The monthly average high temperature is 21° C (70° F), and the monthly average low temp is 10° C (51° F).

So, my impressions: First off, I don't have many photos because my phone was broken and required repair in a shop, which took most of the day. It was after 4 pm when I finally got the thing. At any rate, I do like Ambato, based on what I saw, which wasn't as much as I would have liked to see. But, I do like this small city. The weather is a little on the chilly side for my taste, though. For comparison, the average yearly high temp is about 2-3 degrees warmer in Ambato than in Seattle, WA and New York City. But, Seattle and New York have huge swings between summer and winter, while Ambato has no such seasons. So, Ambato is pleasant all year while those other two, well, not so.

This is my goal: to find a new place to live. So to reach that goal I am traveling most of South America, visiting the countries of Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and Chile, passing through Argentina, visiting Paraguay, passing through a bit of Brazil, and finally visiting Uruguay. I have a list of towns, about 70 towns, that meet these qualifications: Cities with average day temperatures of 22-28° C (72-83° F) and night temps of 14° C (57° F) and higher; and a population between 28,000-300,000. I analyzed climate and population data of around 700 towns in the countries mentioned above and then pulled out the ones that meet the previously mentioned criteria, which leaves about 70. My preference leans towards towns of less than 100,000 people. Of the 70 towns, about 20 have populations of 100,000 - 300,000. And, now that I've been here on the coast for a few days I've decided I will probably want an inland town. I love the beach and walking in the warm water, but, getting sunburned is just too easy, even on a cloudy day. At least, here in Ecuador. I've also decided that any town with more than 100,000 population will be too big. I've decided that any small town that meets the temp specifications and has a supermarket and ATM is one worth considering to live in.

At this point in my journey I have two towns on my top-20 list - Jipijapa, Montecristi, and Playas.

Next up: Puyo.