Roaming South America

Alberdi, Paraguay

April 22, 2023

Alberdi, Paraguay, population: a bit less than 10,000. Alberdi sits at the edge of the Paraguay River and across from Formosa, Argentina. I was in Formosa and from there to the Asunción area there are two routes: north via bus or cross the river to a tiny pueblo called Alberdi then bus north. I chose the more interesting route - the ferry to Alberdi. The Paraguay river wraps around the city on three of its sides. Now they have a substantial levy around the city but in the past they have endured floods which resulted in many residents leaving the town. The regioin of Paraguay near Alberdi is more water than land. There are a few farms but for the most part is all mangroves, estuaries, wetlands.

Alberdi, being so small, has no supermarket and one coop bank with one cash machine (which actually accepted my bank card, the coop banks in the other countries I've visited did not accept my Schwab Bank card). Other than that, there are four hotels and one hostel and many shops and a couple of sit-down restaurants. The economy is based on trade with people visiting from Formosa, mostly merchants who cross the river and buy goods at much lower prices. There is a very small amount of agriculture and livestock in the area. There are photos in the photo album. I walked most of the streets in the town in the couple of hours that I was waiting for the bus.

The town's name comes from the Argentine writer of liberal ideology Juan Bautista Alberdi. Its original name was Villa Franca Nueva but was later changed to honor the writer.

Alberdi has a warm and temperate climate. The average daytime high of 27° C (81° F), and the night average low of 18° C (64° F). The city's elevation is 45 meters (148 feet). Formosa averages 1614 mm (63.5 inches) of rain per year.

So, my impressions: It's not an ugly little town, but there's nothing particularly beautiful, its a normal very small town. I've certainly seen other towns much worse. There are lots of shops where you can buy just about anything at very low prices. There is bus service from Alberdi to Asunción three times a day.

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 in Argentina, I visited 13 towns.

Next up: Villeta, Paraguay.