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Published: November 17th 2007
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I have always been intrigued by the idea of "Welsh Patagonia" and finally a few days ago I was able to fulfil a dream and visit the place. There have been various waves of Welsh immigration to Patagonia after the first boat (The Mimosa) landed here in 1865. The Welsh migrants were looking for a new country, away from the pesky English where they could speak their own language and practice their religion as they wanted. Bizarrely, they settled on Patagonia - cold, desolate, wet, with poor agricultural prospects - not the most obvious choice! However, after various setbacks and problems, the community began to thrive. And to this day there is a strong "Welsh" element to the population and many links to the old country.
Puerto Madryn was the sight of the first Welsh landing, and so the appropriate place for us to start our visit. We had a great hostel (although with a grumpy owner) - La Tosca - and enjoyed exploring the town. It is mostly a modern, touristy place but still down-to-earth. A long pier stretches into the sea, and we enjoyed a stroll whilst taking in the fresh air. Distinctly cooler down here than where
we were a few days ago though and so it was time to unpack the rucksacks and grab some extra clothes. For an afternoon wander, we went south along the seafront to the sight of the initial Welsh dwellings in Puerto Madryn - basically caves dug out from the soft rock. Nearby is a statue (El Indio) which was erected to recognise the help given to the Welsh settlers by the local indigenous population. There is also an excellent small museum charting the details of the settlers and their lives. One of the most exciting aspects of the visit was that the lady in charge spoke Welsh (with an Argentine accent!) and so I found myself getting completely confused between my Spanish and Welsh (Her: Wyt ty´n siarad Cymraeg? Me: Sí, un poco... erm, Ydw...). To be honest, I was surprised at how interesting I found the history and also how much it affected me - it is amazing to think of what some of my fellow country-people went through to "discover" a new land in the hope of sustaining their culture. I definitely plan to go to an Eisteddfod on my return to Wales and discover more of the
Passenger list for the Mimosa (1865)
I wonder if they were any relation?! culture sitting on the doorstep. Strange that sometimes we have to travel thousands of miles to realise the things we have not yet discovered at home.
Anyway, from Wales to Whales.... from Puerto Madryn, we took a local bus to Puerto Piramides located on Peninsula Valdes. This small town is the gateway for boat tours out into the sheltered bay which acts as home to Southern Right Whales for half of the year. Luckily we were there during the right season and went out on a fun trip. The boat was a zodiac (like a big dinghy) capable of holding some 40 people. The sea was a bit rough due to high winds and so we got completely soaked. Once away from the shore and after some hair-raising waves the engine was cut and we sat floating for an hour watching around us for whales. And we saw them! Quite a frustrating experience when they don´t stay above the surface for very long but still an incredible sight. Great fun to watch the whales (I think we saw maybe between 5 and 8 different ones) spouting water and then diving whilst poking their big tails up in the air.
These are massive beasts though - apparently they can grow to 15 metres long - and so I was happy they didn´t get
too close to the boat!
After that adventure, it was time to relax a bit and take in some more of the "Welsh" sites. We therefore moved on to Trelew, named after its founder Lewis Jones ("Tre" means "Town" in Welsh). Although it does not have as prominent a Welsh population as some other towns it still holds plenty of clues to its past including a street called "Abraham Matthews", a meeting hall called "San David" and an 1880s Tabernacl (welsh church). From Trelew we also visited the small town of Gaiman, which has a stronger Welsh identity. Unfortunately the day we visited was wet and cold, so not the best conditions for sightseeing. This did mean though that we had to stop at the lovely "siop bara" ("bread shop") for some yummy cakes and a cup of tea. Whilst Barry continued to feed his caffeine addiction, I went for a little wander and found the first brick house built in the town (very cute) as well as the old post office which I think is
now a private home. Despite the weather we also climbed a small hill in the town to get a better view but driving rain and sandy ground that was turning to cement made the visit a short one.
We had been hoping to round off our visit to this part of Patagonia with a visit to the penguin colony at Punta Tombo. However, there were no hire cars available and the poor weather meant that our tour got cancelled. I was very gutted at the time, but at least we saved 250 pesos! Also, Barry has promised that the penguins will travel down to Ushuaia and Antarctica to see me there instead...
p.s. we have so far decided against going for a "welsh tea". Apparently these things involve massive amounts of cake and tea in "Welsh" surroundings. Whilst this all sounds very tempting, a mixture of a diabetic boyfriend and my belief that no-one makes welsh cakes anywhere near as good as my Mum´s means that we have saved our money for now. Although, it would be nice to have a change from steak....!
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