Dolovan, Gaimen, Trelew

Had the strangest day yesterday. Still on my Welsh mission, I got the bus an hour to Trelew. There are no tourists and therefore no hostels, so I had to book into a cheap hotel. It was without a doubt the most disgusting place Ive ever stayed. The light in the bathroom didn´t work although it was probably just as well, as there were exposed wires everywhere. Worst of all, it was triple what Id been paying in my fancy hostels. On the plus side, it was nice to get off the backpacker route for the first time.

Took another bus to Dolovan, a supposed Welsh settlement. There was nothing there and nobody speaking Welsh. I organised a taxi to take me in search of anything Welsh. It turns out there are a multitude of Welsh chapels around the countryside surrounding the town so off we went. The house nearest each chapel keeps the key and if you pay them some pesos, the owner will let you go in and take photos. Having seen three, and with the ´donations´and the taxi metre running I decided to call it a day in Dolovan.

I took a bus to Gaimen where I found the first house of the Welsh settlers, the Welsh museum, and another chapel. I then had afternoon tea in a Welsh tea house. Finally I felt like I was getting somewhere. Ten minutes before I was supposed to get the bus, I hit the jackpot. I foound the local musical school, where the director was Welsh and she was married to a Portugese man who is in charge of tourism and the local Welsh festival every year. I got their email for Ogmore. Took a bus back to Trelew and just made a quick stop at another Welsh museum and the local Welsh interpretation centre. Mission accomplished.

Not wanting to spend even a minute in my hotel room, I knocked on the door of an English guy staying in the hotel. Im such a stalker. I saw his details in the hotel register. Anyway, I think he was glad of the company so we went out for a drink.