Roaming South America

Areguá, Paraguay - home of the Strawberry Expo

July 24, 2026

Areguá, Paraguay - population of around 83,000, was founded in 1538. It sits at only 70 meters (230 ft) elevation. For whatever reason, in the wikipedia page it says "Areguá is thought to come from Classical Guarani (the language) ariguâ·r, meaning "person/people from above, from up there", refererring to the area's high altitude and its first inhabitants from the Mbya Guarani tribes. But, the English translation of the Spanish wikipedia page is not well done. Areguá's elevation is in relation to the lake, not elevated in the sense that anyone needs to acclimatize or bring an oxygen bottle. Lake Ypacaraí is roughly 64 meters above sea level, while my hostel is around 94 metres. The church and surrounding center of town are a bit higher, and a few neighborhoods are higher still. In Guaraní, ári refers to being above or on top, while -gua indicates origin or association with a place. The early Mbya inhabitants occupied the raised ground or loma alta west of the low-lying lake basin. Historical descriptions of the area actually use terms such as “loma de arriba” and “loma alta.” So they were “from above” relative to the lakeshore, wetlands, and surrounding basin, not relative to sea level.

From the heat of the Amazon to the cold of the Andes

June 9, 2026

First, this blog is out of sequence. I wrote it and then forgot to add it to the schedule. So, here it is, a couple of months late.

Back on March 4, I arrived in Huancayo after spending about a month in Perú's Amazon region. It was warm, humid, and comfortable - T-shirt weather. Then I headed into the mountains. Since then, it’s been more than a month of higher elevations, colder air, and buildings with no heat. I don’t like the cold. Not just the outside cold, but the inside cold. The kind where you wake up and hesitate to leave the blankets because the room feels like a refrigerator.

Finding the Quiet: Why My Shortlist for a New Home Ignores the Coast

March 5, 2026

What is it about coastal towns that makes them pretty much always "messier"? I'm talking specifically about these countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Chile, and Uruguay. The vast majority of interior towns are almost always cleaner, friendlier, prettier, etc.

I'm not imagining it. This pattern shows up everywhere I've been, and that includes 7 countries and over 300 towns/cities (in South America), and it’s not a cultural coincidence. It’s geography, economics, and human behavior piling up in the same places.

Here’s the straight, unsentimental anatomy of why coastal towns skew messier, while interior towns often feel cleaner, calmer, and more human. The comparisons below are to be taken with a very general understanding.

My South America Journey - A Brief Summary - Part 3

November 26, 2025

I’ve finally settled into Roldanillo, Colombia, where I’ll be for at least five months. Maybe longer, maybe not, residency is technically an option, but I doubt I’ll spend my days wrestling with immigration offices when I could be drinking coffee in the plaza. Besides, residency in Perú and Ecuador is easier than in Colombia. Before I get too comfortable, I want to rewind and share the trip that brought me here: a winding route through Peru, Ecuador, and into Colombia.

When “Adiós” Doesn’t Mean Goodbye

October 29, 2025

Today, as I walked down the street (here in Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia), an older woman stood in her doorway as she does every day. I walk this block almost every day as it is between where I live and downtown. She smiled, raised a hand, and said, ‘¡Adiós!’, same as she does every day. I waved, said, "buenas tardes," and then kept walking. This has happened in all seven countries I have visited in South America, not just once or twice, but consistently.