31. Puerto Madryn, Argentina 73F (23C)
We
had booked an excursion through the ship knowing that on our own we would not
find much to see in the town itself. The ship offered a visit to a nearby town
(90 minutes away) that was settled in 1865 by 150 Welsh people who wanted to
escape the hardship of working in the coal mines in Wales. The life expectancy
in Wales was about 25 years of age and death occurred from either TB or
Silicosis. The coal mines did that to people. Here they had a chance to beat the
odds.
The
Argentinean Government had something similar to the Homestead Act. You work on
your given land for some years and it became yours. This area, this land all
around Puerto Madryn is semi-desert. The problem here is finding water. While
there is this great, almost natural sea port, there is no or little water
nearby.
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| An Empty, Arid Land |
When
the Welsh landed in 1865 they tried to make a go of it right next to the port,
but farming was not possible. Without water nothing grew. The Atlantic at that
time in 1865 had many Right Wales, and their breeding grounds were almost in
front of today’s Puerto Madryn. You guessed it; the main reason to stay in
Madryn was to ‘harvest’ whale oil. But the whales were decimated and the few
that remained, left. So there was no other option but to farm. Or…. herd sheep…
but you needed 2 acres of land in this region for just one sheep. Not a good
ratio and the sheep needed water too.
By
the way, he whales did return to the ocean off Puerto Madryn, when the hunting
stopped. Today whale-watching is a tourist business.
The
Welsh were (are) a proud people, they did not want to be part of the Spanish or
English Empires; they wanted to form an independent New Wales. Here they were
given a chance and they tried hard to make this area a better Wales. Returning
to Wales after the hunting for whales died down was no option.
Yes,
there is a small creek, but not nearly enough water for farming. The water of
this small creek was brackish and not really potable.
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| Larger River In Gaiman |
After
some time, the Welsh became friendly with the native population (Tehuelche) who
told them that nearby was a rather larger river, so a group of Welsh men and women,
walking on foot, moved to the town of Gaiman, which we are going to see. Gaiman,
I am told, translated from Tehuelche means Rocky Point or Holy Stone.
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| Some Nice Homes Here |
Anyhow,
we took a bus to Gaiman.
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| Told To Help Ourselves to the Raspberries. Sooo Good |
Our
first stop was a typical farm of the region by the name of ‘Quinta Narlu”. There
was a mix of many things that grew on any farm. This was not an animal farm,
but rather a fruit farm. Think of a fruit, they had it. We ate raspberries off
the vines. I picked an apple off a tree, and some cherries, too. The land was
packed with edible fruits. For their own use, people grew vegetables, but
they made a living selling fruit. Their market was in Puerto Madryn or any town
beyond where they could get their produce in a reasonable time.
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| Apple Trees |
It
was a nice experience, something ‘unusual’ for an excursion.
There
used to be a railroad running all the way to Buenos Aires but part of it was privately,
Welsh owned and the Welsh used a narrow gauge line for the area. When the
Argentinean Federal Rail Road took it over (a foible of the Peron era) they
could not afford to widen the tracks, so instead, after some time, they closed this
part down and since about 1955 there has been no more train service. The fruit
farms have a hard time shipping fresh fruit.
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| Watermelon |
The
end of the Rail Road makes Puerto Madryn and the surrounding towns dependent
on a small airport, or ships or trucks for shipping. But air is too expensive
for shipping the other method are too slow. No major industry wants to start
anything in such a forlorn region. Patagonia, is desolate, very few people live
here, there are just so many towns. The area has really only one road, Routa 3,
that famous route that cuts through Patagonia.
The
town of Trelew, nearby, has a largish textile industry, processing the wool
grown by local sheep. But they cannot compete with the latest imports from China;
the whole wool business is extremely fragile.
The
town we visited, Gaiman, is a town time forgot. Because of cruise ships coming
through, there is some tourism, but not really enough.
The
larger area has some interesting historic sites: tombs nearly 9000 years old dot some hills
nearby. ghost lakes where the water evaporates quickly after rain, lots of
fossils from dinosaurs, etc.
Countries
like Russia and Chile use this area to look for gold and silver. Australia is
digging for aluminum; a precious stone named tourmaline is found here and adds
to the mix.
There
are things to be found, but then comes the weather. High winds, cold and
piercing, are extremely common. A 200 KM per hour wind is no rarity here. Top
that with the ashes that blow in from erupting Chilean volcanoes in the Andes. Once in a while, every 5 or 6 years, they have
heavy, flood-like rains that swamp the land like a tsunami and you can see this
area is hard to live in.
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| Home-Made Buttered Bread and Scones |
Next was a ‘lunch’ - they called it tea - a la Wales.
The
‘Ty Gwyn’ is the oldest tea house in Argentina and is still owned by descendants of the original settlers. Many people here still speak
Welsh. I heard them speak; unfortunately, I could not understand a word. It’s
not English, sounds more like Gaelic to me.
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| Soooooo Good |
Welsh tea was served on nicely decorated tables and real china. I did feel like being in Wales.
But
the food was more Welsh than in Wales.
Buttered
homemade breads.
Scones,
jams, and sweet homemade cakes they called ‘torta’.
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| Not Much Left |
Little cheese sandwiches, dark fruit cakes, etc.
Food
I don’t normally eat, not because I do not like it, but it is not served
anywhere in my neighborhood.
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| Remember This? |
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| The Story Teller |
What I did not like much was the reading of ‘poems’ the group had to endure at the old church. I went outside for some fresh air, as the older woman droned on in a very monotonous tone all in Welsh. It was hot inside the old church building where the reading was held. OK, OK She was the granddaughter of a woman who was killed by Butch Cassidy, but so what? Yes, THE Butch Cassidy, the US bank robber, who hid here when the FBI was chasing him around the globe. Ah, see… the area has some amazing hidden stories.
But Welsh is not just spoken for the tourists. Meetings, weddings, funerals, all are conducted in Welsh.
How
was the singing? Again,
I cannot say, I was getting fresh air, while Carol told me it was really good. (
Well,
I missed that part.
I
actually missed some other stuff, but I will write about that later.
Evening
performance: Doug Funk, a ‘comedian’
from Toronto……. Carol liked him! As for
me? Meh!
