Roaming South America

Puyo, Ecuador

January 1, 2023

Puyo, Ecuador: Puyo, dating back to 1899, sits next to the Puyo River, which dumps into the Pastaza River which dumps into the Amazon River. The population is around 37,000 in the city, but the entire metropolitan area has around 62,000 people. The city sits at the base of the foothills of the Andes Mountains at 930 meters (3051 feet) above sea level. The history of the area actually goes back to 1797 but thats a rather convoluted story filled with political dealings. It was in the middle 1900s that the city started to grow with any significance. Its economy is based on trade, tourism, and agriculture.

What can you see in Puyo? They have many options for eco-adventures. There are walking tours of several natural areas in the city and more outside, many waterfalls in the general area, a water park with a wave pool and the country's tallest water slides, an exotic bird park just outside of town, the cathedral Nuestra Se?ora del Rosario de Puyo in the center, and the Malecon which has a tower at the end where you can see the entire city from the top.

The climate here is classified as a tropical rainforest climate. Humidity hangs around 85% all year round. Rainfall averages 2233mm per year (87.9 inches). The monthly average high temperature is 26° C (79° F), and the monthly average low temp is 17° C (62° F).

So, my impressions: I like Puyo. I like it enough that it is on my top-10 list, and it is the only town on that list, so far. Puyo doesn't have any great, classic architecture. Still, the city is, in my opinion, just the right size for walking from end-to-end in any direction, just the right temperature day and night, and has enough parks to make it enjoyable. The city center is lively and active, most people walk the city because the streets are narrow making the flow of traffic slow and difficult. I did find at least a half-dozen coffee shops in this town, which is quite surprising because in all of the towns I've visited in Ecuador, I've seen almost no coffee shops. Oh, and I met a man and his daughter in a coffee shop, both from the States. After talking to them for a while he invited me to his house for dinner with his family. They live in a neighboring town, very close to Puyo. He and his wife have 9 kids, 6 of their own and 3 adopted Bolivian children. The time with Rudi and Carla's family was very enjoyable, and after dinner, Rudi and one of his sons played a song for me. Rudi is a former national champion fiddle player, and is, of course, incredibly good. If you're curious, look for Rudi Booher, you can find a few of his recordings on Spotify, apple music, youtube, Facebook, Deezer, and other sites. Some have his name spelled Rudy, others Rudi.

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 above-mentioned countries 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 have visited more than 20 towns/cities, 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 one town on my top-20 list - Puyo. So far, in my travels of Ecuador, I have visited 23 towns/cities. Puyo is the only one I would choose to live in. I still have 3 more to visit, though.

Next up: Cuenca.