Perico, Argentina - Polarsteps

Ciudad Perico, Argentina, population: about 55,000. It is in a valley known as the "Valley of the Parakeets". If your only experience with parakeets is with the ones in pet shops then you really know nothing about them. The most notable thing is their noise. Hundreds will be in a single tree and all will be chirping away loudly and the volume is incredible. I remember a street in Barranquilla, Colombia where there are several trees that the birds prefer and they would mass in those trees by the hundreds, many many of them, all chirping away at the same time. It was almost deafening when walking past those trees. Well, they are all over South America and they are here in Ciudad Perico. Perico is Spanish for 'parakeet'. Perico was officially founded in 1913, but the town existed for some time before that. The railroad arrived in 1891 and this was the town's big turning point. In 1905, the leaders of the town began to develop roads and the town proper. Along the main street are still many of the original houses built early in the 20th century. In 1967, the airport was opened and it is now an international airport. The area around Perico is a big producer of tobacco, which is Perico's main economic resource. So, my impressions: Perico is a small town just like most any other small town—nothing spectacular here, nothing of particular interest, nothing especially beautiful, just a small town. There are a couple of supermarkets, a handful of ATMs, and everything else one might need. I did meet one person who could speak English—she works here at the hostel I'm staying in. She lived in the US many years ago and was married there and had a daughter while there. She is fighting with her ex-husband over custody of their daughter (who said she does not want to live in the US). She now lives here in Argentina, her home country, with her daughter. As for Ciudad Perico, it won't be going on my potential new home towns list.