It’s Sunday and we’re on the Atlantic Ocean about three quarters of the way from Puerto Madryn to Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas) as I write. All day we’ve experienced calms seas and gorgeous skies, with sunshine and glistening water. We’re told it might be different tomorrow but we’re hoping not….watch this space!
But let me start with yesterday. This was our chance to experience the Welshness of Patagonia, but, sadly, there were no trips to the Welsh towns of Gaiman and Trelew. We decided, instead of going to see penguins or sea lions, that we would stay in the town. It was, after all, the place where the first Welsh settlers landed, leaving the women and children on their vessel while the men went off in search of water. This is arid land and it took them a long time to find a river.
The ship docked at the end of a long jetty and there was a shuttle bus waiting to take those of us who were not doing an organised tour in to the town.That made it easy. We walked a little way along the promenade and saw a one-carriage train on wheels offering city tours at a reasonable price and decided to take one And that was how we visited the point where the Welsh landed and the hillside memorial nearby honouring the Chubut tribespeople who were the original inhabitants of the area. We saw the train station, the first stone built house, the Welsh ‘Institute’ where culture is passed on and various other places of local interest.
A seafront pub/cafe provided a (fairly slow but) very tasty lunch of empanadas and mixed fruit smoothies (which cost nearly as much as the empanadas!). Bearing in mind the heritage of the place, I chose to have lamb empanadas which were a very good cross between a small Cornish pasty and a samosa. I’m told the veal was even better!
Then we went our separate ways: Tim braved the sea and had a brief, invigorating, swim in water that was warmer than he had been told to expect, while Jenny and I braved the shops though we found many of them closed, opening again at 5pm by which time we would be back on board the Zaandam. There were lots of bakers and confectioners advertising ‘Tortas Galeses’ and it eventually dawned on me that this was ‘bara brith’, standard Welsh tea loaf.
But the best experience was the ice cream parlour we found and the young people we met there. This was one of the BEST ice-cream parlours I’ve EVER been in. There must have been thirty flavours to choose from – and they were all delicious. 85 Argentinian pesos bought us three scoops a
nd a pleasant environment in which to sit and enjoy them. Then came the conversation with Malcolm and Sofia. They were sitting at a table close to ours and commented on my taking photographs, comparing the size of my camera with Jenny’s and showing a great
sense of humour and bags of personality. His confidence in English led me to ask about his background. He proclaimed proudly that he is a full Argentinian BUT has a very mixed European heritage -Irish, Welsh, Italian, Swedish to name but fo
ur! – and his parents had both lived in England for a few years.Speaking with these engaging young people really added to our experience of Puerto Madryn and later, I wondered how I should spell Malcolm’s surname as I noticed the local Vice-Governor’s surname is spelt MacKarthy: not a version I’d ever seen before. So, Malcolm, if you read this, please add a comment to put me right – and thanks to you and Sofia for such a pleasant time.
Since re-boarding at Puerto Madryn, setting sail about 8.00p.m. eventually as many trips were late back, we have made our way due south and are well on our way to the Falkland Islands. Today has been a mix of information-gathering from the various lectures on board and enjoying the sunshine on deck, camera in hand, just in case.. and that’s what I mean about the sea being deceptive: on a few occasions we’ve seen whales spouting in the distance and every now and then there has seemed to be activity closer to the ship: put a lens on it, however, and it’s not life of any kind, just the tip or the back of a wave fooling us!
Oh, yes, it’s 9pm and still not dark…..
Living the Journey 