Dinosaurs and The Welsh

Since entering Patagonia, we've been spending our time in towns all founded by Welsh immigrants in the mid-1800s. We've visited Puerto Madryn, Trelew and Gaiman and there are many other towns whose names betray their Welsh heritage. One of the other things Patagonia is famous for is its fossils, particularly dinosaurs. Maybe the Welsh knew they would one day be living in this land when they put a dragon on their flag.

The largest femur ever?

Trelew is the largest town in the valley of the River Chubut, and is home to an excellent palaeontological museum. The large collection of fossils is well laid out in reverse chronological order, starting with extinct mammals, before moving backwards to Patagonian marsupials, dinosaurs, huge ammonites and, finally, 900 million year old bacteria. The real highlight, however, is the bones from the recently discovered largest dinosaur ever found. Palaeontologists there are still working on the bones from the 40m long, 75+ ton titanosaur - the bones are so huge that I could barely reach the top of the femur.

Fossils across the desert-like plain near Gaiman

From Trelew, we made our way to Gaiman, a much smaller town. Close by is another palaeontological park, with a walk through the arid, desert-like landscape that was full of fossils still in situ. We really enjoyed seeing 25 million year old dolphins and more recent fossils of marine animals as we walked upwards through the layers. When we got towards the top of a cliff, a lone condor was circling very closely above us. Suddenly, in the not too far distance, a column of 11 more condors took to the air and also started circling us and swooping quite low above our heads. We promptly decided to descend again, further from their nest.

A condor swooping down to get us

Gaiman was founded by the Welsh at a location suggested by the native Tehuelche people, and is the only town here with an indigenous name. The Welsh, surprisingly for colonists and perhaps uniquely across the world, had a friendly and cooperative relationship with the locals. The town is now famous for its Welsh teahouses, and we enjoyed a sumptious collection of scones and cakes. There were so many that we took half of them away with us for a second lunch the next day.

Jo trying her best to eat all of the cakes

 For now though, we're returning from the deep past and on to more contemporary wildlife.