Playa Hotel Trelew

... in a Welsh tea house, feasting on cakes whilst listening to Welsh folk music. The owner was the granddaughter of the first Welsh settler born in Argentina. My next destination is back across the country to Esquel in the Argentinian lake district. However, the last two buses heading there have been cancelled because of heavy snowfall on the gravel roads. This means that unfortunately I may be spending more time in Trelew. On the plus side, I get to more time to brush up on my Welsh.

Argentina - or March with the Penguins. See what I did there? Terrible play on words really, plus we only saw a few penguins, from a cliff, quite far away. So it isnt even that relevant. Ho hum. How about Dont Fry for me Argentina. In reference to their ...

... bus. Sadly when you arrive there really is not that much a special interest. I am not going to say its boring as some people might find it fascinating. The list of attractions include: The first secondary school in Patagonia The first Post office in Gaiman. (someone lives there now) A tunnel which is 300m long and is dark in the middle Tea rooms The Guinness book of record House built out of cans. Sadly this was closed when we were there but opened at 3pm ...

... the decoration of the bus company "Don Otto" and in about 100 metres of wall it has the history of Argentina (with references to the big events worldwide) from 1930 to 2006. The quality was supperb so we took quite a few pictures. We had breakfast at the "Touring Club" which has been around since 1906 and its hotel was visited by quite a few famous ones such as "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid" when they escaped from USA, "Saint Exupery ...

... De volgende morgen staan we om 7.30, als een kind zo blij klaar voor de pick up. We boffen want het busje zit al bijna vol, en dat betekend hier dat je niet nog eens een uur langs alle hotels moet, we kunnen direct naar zee rijden. Toch niet, eerst een uitleg van de dag. Eerst naar een plek waar we pinguins kunnen zien. (Jammer want hebben wij al meerdere keren hier gezien), maar goed daarna een plek waar de zeeleeuwen te zien zijn. En ...

... staat. Dan weet je wel hoe laat het is. Er was zowaar een toeristenpostje, dat wel, en daar informeerde we hoe we het beste naar Parque Nacional Leon konden gaan. Met de taxi, 60 euro welgeteld, werden we erheen gebracht en ook weer opgehaald. Ze weten wat ze ervoor moet vragen die Argentijnen. Het werkt hier sowieso een beetje apart. Als toerist betaal je hiet voor alles ongeveer het dubbele. Zelfs internet: 3 pesos als je ...

... away. After a couple of days in Patagonia campground to catch up on chores, we drove to Puerto Madryn, a jumping point to Peninsula Valdes. What a jumping point, we wanted to jump right out again, as far away as possible. What a wind blown tourist spot, but, apparently the hot spot for beaches, and so we checked out the camping scene. There were many to choose from, with campers jammed in, and no available spaces in the few we ...

... excited about seeing these amazing creatures and we couldnīt wait for the opportunity! We arrived unharmed...at least physically...after about an hour or so of more dirt roads that cross throughout the Patagonian landscape. We donned the necessary life jackets and rain proof ponchos and made our way to the boat. We boarded, sat and were ready to head out on this dingy-type inflatable craft when the captain climbed up behind the steering wheel and made a quick call on the CB. He ...

... the Welsh here. The people are tall with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. We have heard that the Welsh teas served in the nearby town of Gaiman are legendary. I instantly like the town becaues the people are very friendly. Although many tourists pass through on day tours from Puerto Madryn, there are relatively few hotels and so there is still a relaxed and warm atmosphere. Red brick buildings bear the Welsh flag and we pop into the Hotel Touring Club ...

... 30 years. That's discrimination that is. The Ecocentro was really well done and is well located on the edge of Puerto Madryn on a point. We walked back along the beach, trying to keep warm but ayiyiyi the wind whips away body warmth very quickly. It's 7 degrees or so, but the wind chill factor makes it feel ALOT colder. So to warm up we went to a Tenedor Libre - literally free fork, meaning all you can eat buffet - with Isobella, a Swedish girl we ...