Roaming South America

San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina

April 2, 2023

San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina, population: about 300,000. Jujuy is located in the far northwest of the country.

This area was inhabited by a group called Jujuí. Then around 1420, the Incas conquered them. The Jujuíes put up strong fights against the Incas but eventually the Incas won. Then in the 16th century, the Spanish came into the area and fought the Incas. After three battles between the Incas and the Spaniards, the Spaniards finally won. In 1810, the War of Independence started and Jujuy was right in the center. In 1812, a general led all the citizens of Jujuy out of town just before the Spanish attacked, this became known as the Jujeño Exodus. From the late 1800s into the early 1900s the city saw a huge influx of people which led to overcrowding in the city.

San Salvador has a warm and temperate climate. The average daytime high of 19° C (66° F), and the night average low of 12° C (53° F). The city's elevation is 1259 meters (4130 feet) and it averages 2655 mm (194.5 inches) of rain per year.

So, my impressions: San Salvador is a nice small city, easily walkable, with many nice parks, and a linear park that runs alongside the river on both sides. There are many old buildings in the city center, I found many coffee shops, ice cream shops, and wine shops. On the days I was here, it rained but I was told it is because right now is the changing of the seasons, typically it is warmer than it has been, they said. I could possibly live in this town, but the only negative I see is the climate, overall, is a little on the cool side for me.

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 now in Argentina, I've visited one town.

Next up: Palpalá, Argentina.