Roaming South America

Santa Isabel, Ecuador

January 5, 2023

Santa Isabel, Ecuador: a small town south of Cuenca and built on the side of the Yunguilla Valley, and I mean literally going up the side of the valley. The population is around 21,000. The average elevation is 970 meters (3182 feet). The original name was Chaguarurco, which according to the original language means "sheltered, hot". It was originally peopled by the Cañris indigenous people until the Spanish conquistadors came in and exploited the gold mines. They did such a bad job of mining that the mountain collapsed onto the mines killing numerous indigenous and Spanish people. The mines were buried under so much earth they had to be abandoned. Later, in the 17th century, there was an epidemic that just about wiped out the town. The town finally was recognized officially as Santa Isabel in 1945.

The valley is known for its crops of onion, tomato, pepper, potatoes, cassava, chili pepper, sweet potato, corn, green beans, vegetables, sugar cane, and fruits.

Finding climate info, well, I can't find any for this particular town. I found what appears to be reasonably correct temperature info: daytime average high of 25° C (78° F), and night average low of 16° C (60° F).

So, my impressions: I like this tiny town but there is no supermarkets here. There are many tiendas (neighborhood stores) and a few newer small grocery stores. There is a Banco Pichincha and a couple of banks and ATMs. As for other stuff, you can get just about anything you need here in the many hardware stores and lumberyards. It's a pleasant town and a nice place to visit.

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 27 towns/cities. Puyo is the only one I would choose to live in. I still have 3 more to visit, though.

Next up: Catamayo.