Roaming South America

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

March 31, 2023

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: population: about 11,000.

The town is supported by tourism and that is very obvious when you visit. I heard people talking in many languages, and it appears most are in their late 20s or 30s. I spoke to one, a man from Ireland, and he said he's met at least five people from the US on his journey. I realized today that my journey of South America starting in Colombia and going south is the opposite of what most people are doing. And there's this - everyone I have met and talked to in the past 4 months has been heading north. I have yet to meet anyone else going south. Anyway, San Pedro is very small, something like 12,000 people. There is one supermarket, and one or two gas stations out on the highway. But, there are many, many, many shops catering to tourists.

There's not a lot of written history available about San Pedro. It predates the Incas. Then the Spanish came into town. I haven't found anything more than that.

San Pedro has a desert climate. The average daytime high of 24° C (75° F), and the night average low of 5° C (42° F). The city's elevation is 2450 meters (8038 feet) and it averages 83 mm (3.3 inches) of rain per year.

So, my impressions: San Pedro is a desert town, in the Atacama desert. The parks are grey, the open spaces (green space) are grey, it's all grey. Most of the houses are built of adobe, a handful are built of wood, and the newer homes are of clay or concrete block. One thing that impressed me is the view of the mountains! From many streets, you can see multiple volcanos and the Andes Mountains. It really is an incredible view. Check the pics in the photo album. Now, as I sit here writing this blog, there is thunder and lightning and a bit of rain, very light mind you, but it is raindrops falling from the sky. One of the women here in the hostel was so impressed she was out in the bit of raindrops taking pics of the storm clouds.

My goal is 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, 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. And, now that I have visited more than 30 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/city (less than around 80,000 population) that meets the temp specifications and has a supermarket and ATM is one worth considering to live in.

My goal is to visit the towns and discover which one calls out to me - "Chip, Chip, make your new home here, this is your new home town". That hasn't happened yet, but the seven towns listed below are very close to giving me that feeling. At any rate, I am not visiting tourist attractions or archeological sites, etc, those will have to wait for another trip through South America.

At this point in my journey I have five towns on my Top 10 list - Tingo Maria, Moyobamba, La Merced, Perú, and Catamayo and Puyo, Ecuador. In my travels in Ecuador, I visited 32 towns/cities. In Perú, I visited 26 towns/cities. And in Chile, only 5 towns and I'm outta here, I don't like the brown/grey desert with no life other than what people have brought into it. I am heading into Argentina, the northern half only. Like Chile, the southern half is too cold for me and my old bones.

Next up: Salta, Argentina.