Roaming South America

Constitución, Perú

August 5, 2023

Constitución, Perú, is a very small town with no paved roads. The only paved road is the main road that goes through town. The entire Constitución district has a population of around 18,000 with a little more than half of that in the town. The town does have one ATM. When I first arrived I asked several people in different businesses where an ATM was and they all said either there isn't one in Constitución or they didn't know if there was one. I found it, the one and only ATM which apparently at least some of the locals don't even know exists. There's also no supermarket or even mini-markets, but there are numerous small convenience stores and many other shops with pretty much everything you would need. After all, it is at least a 3-hour drive to the next real city of any notable size.

Constitución has a tropical climate. The average daytime high of 32° C (90° F), and the nightly average low of 22° C (73° F). The city's elevation averages 230 meters (755 feet). The average yearly rainfall amounts to 2760 mm ( 108 inches) of rain.

So, my impressions: Not a pleasant town, just skip it if you happen to be going to Pucallpa. It's dusty and dirty, and has nothing to offer tourists other than restaurants. I was here for one night to break the long ride to Pucallpa into two parts.

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, Peru, Chile, Argentina, 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 130 towns/cities (not including more than 70 in Colombia), I've decided I will 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 have visited very few tourist attractions and archeological sites, etc, those will have to wait for another trip through South America.

My Top 10 list has eight towns on it:

• Tingo Maria, Peru
• Moyobamba, Peru
• Puyo, Ecuador
• Catamayo, Ecuador
• Mazamari, Peru
• La Merced, Peru
• Encarnación, Paraguay
• Formosa, Argentina

During my travels in Ecuador I visited 32 towns/cities. In Peru, I visited 30 towns/cities; in Chile, only five towns; and in Argentina, I visited 16 towns. In Uruguay, I visited five towns, and in Brazil, three. And in Paraguay I have visited 26 cities. That's 117 towns/cities outside of 77 I visited in Colombia while living there for 9 1/2 years.

Next up: Pucallpa, Peru.