Roaming South America

Perico, Argentina

April 5, 2023

Ciudad Perico, Argentina, population: about 55,000. It is in a valley known as the "Valley of the Parakeets". If your only experience with parakeets is with the ones in pet shops then you really know nothing about them. The most notable thing is their noise. Hundreds will be in a single tree and all will be chirping away loudly and the volume is incredible. I remember a street in Barranquilla, Colombia where there are several trees that the birds prefer and they would mass in those trees by the hundreds, many many of them, all chirping away at the same time. It was almost deafening when walking past those trees. Well, they are all over South America and they are here in Ciudad Perico. Perico is Spanish for 'parakeet'.

Perico was officially founded in 1913, but the town existed for some time before that. The railroad arrived in 1891 and this was the town's big turning point. In 1905, the leaders of the town began to develop roads and the town proper. Along the main street are still many of the original houses built early in the 20th century. In 1967, the airport was opened and it is now an international airport. The area around Perico is a big producer of tobacco, which is Perico's main economic resource.

Perico has a warm and temperate climate. The average daytime high of 23° C (73° F), and the night average low of 14° C (58° F). The city's elevation is 895 meters (2938 feet) and it averages 1139 mm (44.8 inches) of rain per year.

So, my impressions: Perico is a small town just like most any other small town—nothing spectacular here, nothing of particular interest, nothing especially beautiful, just a small town. There are a couple of supermarkets, a handful of ATMs, and everything else one might need. I did meet one person who could speak English—she works here at the hostel I'm staying in. She lived in the US many years ago and was married there and had a daughter while there. She is fighting with her ex-husband over custody of their daughter (who said she does not want to live in the US). She now lives here in Argentina, her home country, with her daughter. As for Ciudad Perico, it won't be going on my potential new home towns list.

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, in Chile, only five towns, and now in Argentina, I've visited five towns.

Next up: El Carmen, Argentina.