Discover the Welsh Charm of Gaiman in Argentine Patagonia

Hello and greetings from Gaiman. Today, we're taking you on a tour of a little Patagonian town set along the banks of the Chubut River that was settled by the Welsh. This is the perfect town to visit if you're looking for a quiet destination. It is very sleepy, yet super picturesque, walkable, and very underrated. We liked it so much that we visited on two back-to-back day trips. Some highlights included visiting Welsh tea houses, including the one that was visited by Lady Diana, going to a local farm where we stocked up on artisanal products before strolling their apple orchard, and checking out the numerous

museums that bring this town's history to life. This is our travel guide to Gaiman in Chubut Province, Argentina. The easiest way to visit Gaiman is by renting a car and driving into town. It's a 15-minute drive from Trelew or a 1-hour ride if you're coming from Puerto Madryn. Alternatively, you can catch a bus from the Trelew bus terminal, which is what we did. There are two possible routes, one that takes the highway and another that takes a parallel country road. We traveled both, and of course, the latter is way more scenic.

All right, since we've just arrived in town, let's talk about transportation. If you want the scenic route, you need to get on the bus that follows Route 7. Okay. Ruta Siete. So, ask the bus driver that. Yeah. And the company is 28 de Julio. This is exactly what the bus looks like, green and yellow. The journey itself was 45 minutes, and I'm really glad that we decided to take the scenic route here. Yes. We went through some really nice areas.

Yeah. And the buses are pretty frequent. I think it's about once every hour or so. Yeah. Um the schedules aren't really posted anywhere. So, on the way back, the guy told us, "Just stand at the bus stop. We come by once every hour." Huh. So, I guess we'll do that. We'll go stand there. One of Gaiman's main tourist attractions is the old train tunnel that was part of the Central Chubut Railway. This railway operated between the Chubut River Valley and the port city of Puerto Madryn from 1888 to 1961, making it the very first railway in Patagonia. It also helped cut down travel time since this journey was previously something that had to be done on horseback. The curved tunnel is 282 m in length and it is one of the last

remnants of the railway. Inside the tunnel, there are displays that share the history of the railway in Spanish, English, and Welsh. All right, guys. We are now walking into a deep, dark tunnel. Dusty, too. Super dusty. Like there are clouds of dust blowing our way. It was built in the year 1914 because the locals refused to allow the train to run through the town. I guess they didn't want to ruin the peaceful vibe of it. Um so they had to dig this tunnel through the mountain. Right now, we can walk through a 300-m stretch of it. Now, I'm going to be honest. I probably wouldn't venture into

this tunnel on my own as a woman. It's one way in and the same way out and it is not well illuminated at all. There were sections where I had to use the flashlight on my phone to see where I was even stepping. Also, because the tunnel is curved, you can't see what's at the very end or if there's anyone in there. So, maybe go in there with another person or a group. What delicious puppy. Oh. Oh, how sweet. Hello. Hello, baby. Are these your babies? Oh, these are your babies. Oops. So, we are now walking up to Mirador Gaiman, which is a little lookout point so we can get a lay of the land. If you're up for a fairly short

and easy hike, you can head up to the Gaiman Panoramic Point. There's a sculpture up top called the Shape of Silence. Plus, you get panoramic views of the town. The views are honestly not that impressive, but you can see the main street in one direction and some farms in the other. The trailhead is right next to the Central Chubut Railway and the tourist info center. So, since we were already there, we walked up. Guys, we found a pub. It's got a dragon. It's got a menu in Welsh. That's how we choose our food. It's right in the center of town, so this is very convenient.

We ended up getting the sorrentinos gualia. Sorrentinos are kind of like round ravioli. These have pumpkin and they have basil. They're in a leek sauce with bits of almonds on top. The pumpkin is so sweet and smooth and creamy. This is just delightful. Yeah, guys. So, I went with the pumpkin soup. It already had a bit of melted cheese in there, but Add some more. So, look at this. Mhm. Look at that. So, I'm just going to stir that around. Let the cheese melt. Mhm. Oh, wow. That's so delicious. It's got like an intense pumpkin flavor.

Mhm. It's creamy. It's a little bit sweet. It's also salty, too. Yeah. It's a perfect kind of soup for like a cold day. It's like the perfect winter soup. The Twelch y Mapuche Museum, formerly known as the Gaiman Anthropological Museum, is set in one of the first two-story buildings in Gaiman, which dates back to 1910. This is a great museum to visit to gain a better understanding of the Twelches and the Mapuches who lived in this area before the arrival of the Spanish and later the Welsh. The museum also looks at the friendship that emerged between the Twelches and the Welsh and how they helped the newcomers survive in a new and hostile climate

that was very different from the one they had left behind. Guided tours are done in Spanish and all the info boards are also in Spanish, so it does help to know the language a little bit. Another place to visit in Gaiman for those wanting to learn a little bit more about the town's origins is the Regional History Museum. Just be sure to check the schedule before visiting since at the time of filming this, the museum only opens one day a week. The Regional History Museum is set in the former train station and it displays a variety of items that were brought over by the early Welsh settlers.

There are rooms with furniture and crockery, others with farming equipment, and another section that focuses on the Eisteddfod, a Welsh cultural festival with a strong focus on singing, reciting poetry, and dancing. The main thing to do in Gaiman is to visit one of the town's many tea houses for Welsh afternoon tea. My suggestion is to skip lunch and go very hungry because there will be a lot of food. We did not follow our own advice and had lunch beforehand, so learn from our mistake. The first tea house we visited in Gaiman was tea Gwyn. It had a very cozy feel and it kind of felt like we were hanging out in someone's dining

room. I was a big fan of the cream pie at this particular tea house. Everything was homemade, the cake portions were huge, and we honestly couldn't finish everything. All right, guys. So, we decided on a tea house. We chose tea Gwyn. It looks amazing. Like the food's already arrived. Look at that. On this one plate we've got the bread. We have white bread, whole wheat, cheese sandwiches, scones. And lots of butter on that bread. pre-buttered. Very nice. On the other, we've got six different cakes to choose from, my friends. Wow. This one they said is a cream pie. The best way I can describe the cream is like clotted cream, what you would put on the scone.

Right. But it's like already in the pie. So, the only thing that can make this better Just grabbing a little bit of jam. So, then you've got like an actual scone cuz you've got like the layer of dough, the pie crust, the cream, the jam. It's like You got it all. scone in a bite. You got it all. We also toured the first house to be built in Gaiman by the Welsh settlers. The first house was built of stone in 1874 and it's where David D. Roberts and his wife Jemima Jones, the first settlers of Gaiman, lived. The house originally had a reed and mud roof, though today there's a metal one.

Inside, we got to see some of the furnishings and special items the couple brought over from Wales and it gave us a good idea of what life would have been like in the early days in this rural Patagonian community. The big takeaway being that life here was not easy. This house can only be visited by signing up for a guided tour. The young gentleman who gave us our tour spoke Spanish, English, and was also studying Welsh. My favorite place to visit in Gaiman was actually on the outskirts of town. Quinta Nara Lu is a beautiful farm that welcomes visitors. We first walked into the shop which features all sorts of homemade jams, freshly picked

berries, Welsh cake, honey, dry lavender bundles, plus all sorts of Argentine souvenirs. We purchased some cake and berries and then the owner told us we could also have a look around the farm. So, we ended up having a picnic in the apple orchard. It's a beautiful spot where you're surrounded by nature and well worth the visit if you're spending the day in Gaiman. Quinta Nara Lu is where we are right now. They had so much to choose from in their little store. Like they have honey, they have jams. all kinds of jams.

Loose tea. Really cool handmade souvenirs. Yeah, it's a really cool spot. If we had more room in our suitcase, we'd we'd probably load up. But, we picked up a few items to snack on. First up, some raspberries. Also, a Welsh cake. She even wrapped it for us, put a little sticker. So kind. So yeah. So friendly. The people in this town have been so friendly. No one's in a rush here. Everyone's just hanging out. They want to chat with people, find out where you're from. Yeah. Like this is a place that you have to visit kind of like with no itinerary and with no rush, like without a care of the

in the world. Just go with the flow. See what happens. to chat. Yeah, and now we're hanging out on a farm. Welsh cake time. I only just discovered Welsh cake. I'm a fan. It's got raisins, walnuts. I'm not sure what these bits are. Maybe like dried fruit. Probably it's got dried fruit, nuts. Mhm. And it's made with brown sugar. Yeah. And with caramelized sugar. Reminds me a little bit of Christmas cake. Really tasty.

Yes, it does have a festive flavor. Mhm. Raspberries. Fresh from the farm. Quality is just outstanding anytime you can get, you know, fruit sourced locally, right I mean right from the farm directly. Yeah, and in season. Sweet and tart, juicy. I love it. We have apples. Granny Smith. She told us we could take fruit and sample, but I feel kind of bad. Cuz we're not paying for it. We only paid for cake and raspberries. But yeah, they do have apples. Are you going to become a farmer? Is that your new ambition?

My new ambition is for us to have a property someday that is big enough that we can plant some fruit trees. Yeah, I'd love to grow some apples and pears and plums. Money trees? Money trees. Yeah, let's let's grow some money trees. That'd be fantastic. We also had tea at T Te Cardiff, which is the most famous tea house in Gaiman as it hosted Lady Diana during her visit to Argentina in 1995. This tea house felt a bit more elegant and it reminded me of afternoon tea at a hotel. They had the classics like Welsh cake and cream pie, but we also tried banana cream pie, lemon and coconut squares, and apple pie just to name a few.

Whatever tea house you choose, you can expect a similar menu. And bara brith, known as Welsh cake, is always a staple. The food has started arriving at the table. Here we have some scones with butter. We have artisanal bread. Yeah. Little ham and cheese sandwiches. This is so delicious. These are called sandwiches de miga Yeah. in Spanish and they're just so like fluffy and light and spongy. Fluffy bread, little bit of cheese, little bit of ham. And the cakes arrived. Cakes just arrived. I don't know if you know it.

Beautiful teapot. I got myself a coffee as well. I'm going to be having tea and coffee. Basically, there are eight different types of cakes at the table. Yeah. But we have doubles of some, including the cream pie, and very popular, and the Welsh cake. Yeah. Which makes sense. We're having Welsh tea that way we can both try the Welsh cake. also the apple. Look at this colorful assortment. So, it looks like we have apple pie Uh-huh. here. This, I believe, has dulce de leche in the middle, that glorious Argentine caramel milky spread. Over here, jello and cream. Within the gelatin, you notice raspberries in there.

Raspberries, all right. And then this one over here looks like a quince jam. With meringue, maybe? With maybe meringue on top. It's nice. Every cake is such a different taste. And so you come here and it's like Oh, every bite is different. Yeah. And with eight different ones, like we've only each had four. I mean, there's options galore. Quality's fantastic. And you couldn't ask for a nicer setting than this. So, what a way to spend an afternoon. Cake to go. Cake and breads to go. We weren't able to finish everything. It was just so much food.

It's one of those activities where you don't want to just go for half hour, an hour. You want to be there for a while. afternoon tea. Exactly. And yeah, like I mean, this place is not in the center of town. It's a bit of a walk or a cab ride. Yeah. But it's definitely worth coming all the way out here. Yeah. It's like a little paradise. It's a slice of paradise out here. Beautiful gardens and roses. We did not expect this at all. Come here. If you're coming all the way to Gaiman, which is already kind of like out of the way in

the middle of nowhere, you may as well seek out this place. And that concludes our visit to Gaiman. We hope you enjoyed exploring the small Patagonian town with us. If you enjoy this video, we invite you to give it a like, subscribe, and we'll see you soon with more videos. Ta-ta.