Roaming South America

Areguá, Paraguay

April 28, 2023

Areguá, Paraguay, population: about 18,000. The town is known as the "City of Strawberries" due to the many strawberry farms in the area, though in my walking around town, I saw none, so I suppose they are all outside of town. The town is known for its pottery, as well as its historic cobblestone roads and colonial architecture. Check out the pics in the photo album. Arequá is located about 28 kilometers (17 miles) east of Asunción next to Ypacaraí Lake.

The Mbyá Guaraní people inhabited this area before the Spanish arrived and founded the town in 1538. by the end of the 19th century the area was well known as a retreat area for writers and artists.

The town's main road goes from the church at the high point in the town and down to the lake, and was designated a "National Heritage Area" by the Paragayan government. There are several art galleries, a museum, and many, many shops selling pottery and ceramics of all kinds in every imaginable color.

Areguá has a warm and temperate climate. The average daytime high of 28° C (83° F), and the nightly average low of 19° C (66° F). The city's elevation averages 70 meters (230 feet).

So, my impressions: This is a very nice little town. It has a big supermarket, a couple of ATMs, a couple of gas stations, a couple coffee shops, a couple ice cream shops, and just about any other shop you might need. And, being close to Asunción, you'll have no problem with any major shopping. The area is beautiful, the lake is calm, and there is fishing on the lake. I saw some row boats but no motor boats. Several people living here have told me about how secure and safe they feel.

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: Asunción;, Paraguay.