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Puerto Madryn and its surrounds are a representative example of how Argentina's population has been shaped by settlers and immigrants predominantly from Europe. Seeking to escape oppression by the English in Wales, and encouraged by incentives from the Argentine government to colonise sparsely populated areas of Patagonia, a boatload of Welsh would-be settlers landed in what was to be Puerto Madryn in 1865. Unlike the catastrophic effects for indigenous people that other European incursions into South America often had, the meeting of the Welsh and the local Tehuelche was to result in an relationship of mutual respect. The Welsh recognised the Tehuelche as the rightful owners of the land, and the two groups were to remain on good terms, with the local tribe acquiring a particular liking for Welsh bread. On a headland at one end of the bay stands a monument to the Tehuelche, an acknowledgement that, without their help, the Welsh would have struggled to survive their first years.
Though the nearby town of Trelew was to become the commercial centre of the region, a port was needed for the export of agricultural produce, and Puerto Madryn began to develop when it was linked by railway with Trelew.
Detail
Falklands memorial in Trelew Nowadays the town also has a thriving tourist trade due to its proximity to Peninsula Valdes, a marine reserve known especially for its birds, elephant seals, killer whales, and right whales. Though May is one of the least active months from an animal point of view, I was still able to observe from the promenade a right whale playing out in the bay. The town itself reminded me a little of home, with a pier (significantly more substantial than Saltburn's) and a generally sleepy air. There was a further British connection in the number of Ford Cortinas and Escorts I saw, as well as the many occasions on which I heard Madness's "Our House".
I also visited Trelew, seeing hints of a historical Welsh connection in several street names and dragon flags. Trelew has a penguin population roughly equivalent in size to its population of Martians, but it has marketed itself as the gateway to Punta Tombo, about 350 km south and site of the largest penguin colony in the Americas, hence penguins can be found in much of the tourist-related advertising and signage around the town.
Slightly further afield was the village of Gaiman, famed for its
Welsh teahouses but more like a ghost town on the day I was there. The Welsh connection was much more obvious, with an exponential increase in dragon sightings as well as occurrences of Welsh words on shop fronts. Apparently there are about 25,000 speakers of Welsh in Argentina with most being concentrated in this area, though obviously Spanish is still the dominant language. There were so few people around that I didn't get a chance to see if the physical appearance of the inhabitants had more of a British than a Mediterranean look. And not being much of a fan of either tea or cakes, I had a nibble of torta negra (Welsh black cake) in a cafe before heading back to base on a bus where my neighbour was an older woman with electric blue mascara.
Though I'd arrived in Puerto Madryn in weather suitable for T-shirt and shorts, it rapidly cooled over the next few days to the point where I was wearing the same clothes that Ushuaia's climate had demanded. A spot of Googling revealed that my next destination, Bariloche, was experiencing sub-zero night-time temperatures and it seemed as though winter had moved north through Patagonia
almost as quickly as I had.
However the coldness of the season could not prevent the aroma of chocolate drifting its way over from the foothills of the Andes, and I was happy to succumb to its lure.
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barrygahan
Barry
Nice shot of the Whales
We barely had a glimpse! Trevelin was our favourite of the Welsh towns, it's well worth visiting if you're going south from Bariloche.