Roaming South America

Obligado, Paraguay

June 18, 2023

Obligado, Paraguay, has a population of about 17,000. Obligado is about 35 kilometers northeast of Encarnación. It's a relatively new town, having been founded in 1912.

The historical information I found was sparse, but here it is: A man from Argentina, Dr. Pastor Obligado owned the land that eventually became the town with his name. He sold the land in May 1912 and the city was measured out and founded by Rodolfo Müller and Guillermo Ymlauer.

This part of Paraguay consists of low hills and plains, suitable for cattle ranching and some farming, mostly soybeans. The primary roads are all paved with asphalt over the old cobblestones, the rest of the town has cobblestone roads.

Obligado has a warm temperate climate. The average daytime high of 26° C (79° F), and the nightly average low of 17° C (63° F). The city's elevation averages 127 meters (416 feet). The average monthly rainfall amounts to 166 mm ( 6.5 inches) of rain.

So, my impressions: Obligado is clean and quiet. It's a nothing-special town. It has no central business district—all the businesses are along the highway that passes through the town. It's only claim to fame is that this where you get the bus to go to the Jesuit Mission Ruins.

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.