Roaming South America

Concordia, Argentina

June 3, 2023

San Antonio de Padua de la Concordia (Concordia), Argentina, has a population of about 155,000. Concordia sits on the eastern border of Argentina and across from Salto, Uruguay.

The historical information I found was sparse, but here it is: The region of Concordia had been inhabited by at least three different indigenous groups for up to 500 years prior to the Spanish arriving. A military expedition was sent into the area in the early 17th century, lead by Francisco García Piedrabuena. That expedition was followed by others in 1718, and they set out to conquer the local indigenous people. Beyond that it was a bit confusing because it appears the text was written by a person who did not have a firm grasp of English. More people arrived in the early 1800s under the leadership of General Artigas. The city was founded in either November 1831 or February 1832, the experts don't agree on which is correct. Building of the railroad commenced in 1909 but didn't finish until 1930. But, it did bring up a surge of new development, and the city has been growing since.

I found a BBC article that says Argentina has a poverty rate of 20&percent;. It also mentions that for two years prior to the pandemic and until now, there has been in increase in young people moving outside the city, especially around the garbage dump, creating very poor neighborhoods. During my walking around the city, about 25 kilometers, and while passing the time between buses (12 hours), I saw the city center, many parks and plazas, some very nice upper-class neighborhoods, a thriving city center, and several very nice parks. They have a very nice riverside park that is quite long, and another park with a historic castle (well, the remains of it). There are natural reserves, as well. The castle was built in 1888 with many elements that were brought over from Europe, including the T-shaped iron which was brought from England, the wood for the floors and linings, from Germany, the central heating was made with Carrara marble stoves that came from Italy together with the refracting material from France. The crystal chandeliers, the furniture, the paintings and the velvet lining of the walls also came from Italy. It also had a gas lighting system that was distributed through pipes, quite an advance for the time in the area. They also had a running water system. The original owners lived in it only three years, then they disappeared to France without any notice to anyone. The French government then took ownership, and it passed from one renter to another for some years, finally succumbing to abandonement, looting of just about everything in it, and finally, a fire in 1938. You can see pics of the castle in my photo album.

Concordia has a humid subtropical climate. The average daytime high of 24° C (76° F), and the nightly average low of 14° C (58° F). The city's elevation averages 80 meters (262 feet). The average monthly rainfall amounts to 113 mm ( 4.4 inches) of rain.

So, my impressions: Concordia is clean and quiet, unlike any and all cities in Colombia where the drivers lean on there horns almost from the monent they start their engine until they turn it off. It has some nice parks and plazas, and more than enough shopping to take care of just about anything you need. There is a lot of historic architecture in this city, so if you're an architecture buff, you might enjoy visiting Concordia. There are the thermal baths, the hot springs outside of town. There are several blocks of center downtown streets closed to motor vehicles which makes it a pleasant place to walk in downtown. It's a nice enough small city for a few days visit.

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 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 had ten towns on my Top 10 list, but I narrowed it down to four:

• Tingo Maria, Perú
• Moyobamba, Perú
• Catamayo, Ecuador
• Puyo, Ecuador

During 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 15 towns. I visited 12 cities in Paraguay and in Brazil, three. In Uruguay, I visited five towns.

Next up: Encarnación. Paraguay.