Roaming South America

Salta, Argentina

April 9, 2023

Salta, Argentina, population: about 535,000. Salta sits in the Valle de Lerma and the metropolitan area has a population of about 620,000.

Salta was founded in 1582 and the original plan was for it to be a stopping point between Lima, Perú, and Buenas Aires, Argentina. In the early 1800s, there was the War of Independence between Perú and some Argentina cities, and Salta was right there in the middle of it all as an important military staging area. By the time the war ended, Salta was pretty much bankrupt and in complete disarray. That condition continued until the turn of the 20th century. An influx of immigrants from Italy, Spain, Syria, and Lebanon gave the city new life, reviving trade and agriculture throughout the area.

Salta has a subtropical highland climate. The average daytime high of 21° C (70° F), and the night average low of 12° C (53° F). The city's elevation is 1152 meters (3780 feet) and averages 2534 mm (96 inches) of rain per year. That's a lot of rain but by far the majority of it falls between December and March. Salta does have four distinct seasons.

So, my impressions: Salta is a fairly big city with more than a half-million population, but the downtown area is a nice place to walk. The plaza is wide and surrounded by banks and restaurants, there are nice parks, and lots of very old historical buildings, some dating back to the 1700s and many built in the 1800s. It's a nice small city and I suggest anyone with an interest in history and visiting Argentina add Salta to their list of places to explore. And I have met a few local people who speak English. Oh, and if you're a pizza person, forget about Salta, they have no pizza culture whatsoever. But, they do have many coffee shops. Next to Salta is San Bernardo Hill, and there is a cable car that runs up to the top of the hill, there you'll find numerous viewpoints and a restaurant and gift shops, and craft shops. If you don't want to take a cable car you can walk up to the top via the road (the long way) or by switchbacking steps made of stone that wind their way up the front of the hill. It is quite a good hike, I did it with no water, so make sure you take a bottle of water with you. There are places to buy water and more at the top. I like this town.

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: General Güemes, Argentina.