We set off for Trelew which wasn't far. We passed by Puerto Madryn and treated ourselves to a nice lunch on the beach. It was warm, sunny and we felt as if we were somewhere on the Mediterranean.
We tried something new here. We paid the bill in pesos with our English bank account debit card. The official rate is @ 440 pesos to the £. It was converted at 1,000 pesos to the £. It seems that Visa and Mastercard and perhaps others have an agreement with the Argentinian government to exchange somewhere between the official rate and the unofficial, 'dolar blue' rate! What a mess - not sure how the Argentinians are going to get out of this, but no need now for us to go to dodgy Cambio dealers.
Trelew. Doesn't sound Argentinian because it isn't. This is where the Welsh landed in the 19th Century in search of a better life. We went to a little museum dedicated to the steam railway they built, shipping their goods back and forth to Puerto Madryn. Thinking about it, Madryn could also be Welsh. It was interesting to see the drawing showing how they carved up the plots of land and who to. As one might imagine there were the Williams, Matthews, Evans and Jones - apparently still very prevalent surnames now. After the museum we went to the Touring Club Hotel for a beer. Apart from the fridges in the corner, it was as it had been built in the 30's. Apparently so are the bedrooms and we weren't staying there.
Anyway the reason for Trelew was nothing to do with the Welsh, but to do with going to the penguin colony at Punta Tombo. Trelew was the nearest town to Punta Tombo, a mere 115km away of which 20km was off road on a gravel track again. Slightly different gravel this time, less corrugations more loose stuff. We are writing this post visit, so all went well.
Punta Tombo is supposedly home to about half a million penguins - too many to count. Surely we must be able to see more than four this time? The penguins come here to nest and raise their chicks. We were at the time of the year when eggs had been laid, but chicks had not yet hatched. The area was a walkway, some parts elevated and quite a way from the sea. There were penguins in holes keeping eggs warm everywhere with the males standing guard next to the burrows. So many burrows you wondered how the ground didn't collapse.
A successful day so we went to our first proper restaurant of the trip and had a proper meal. And as if to please us, they had 70's music on in the background including Talking Heads 'Road to nowhere'. It has been appropriate in the past, it might be again...
