Flying South to Patagonia

We left BA on the 5th of November before the arrival of the Pope, flying south to Trelew, an old Welsh town on the Atlantic coast. We stayed at Gaiman, another old, small Welsh town, staying in a very small but very cute studio apartment near the first Welsh house that was built. We also stayed in Trelew, where we visited their dinosaur museum and went on a RIB to see Patagonian (Commersons) dolphins (from Puerto Rawson).

The apartment seemed to come with an ultra friendly cat who appeared every time we arrived back - as well as when we opened the window in the morning!

The old train station at Gaiman, now a museum

Gaiman tunnel which we could walk through

There is a bit of a cat theme in this post!

Viewpoint at Gaiman

A pint of local IPA in quirky 'Cactus' pub

The beach at Puerto Rawson

Ready for our RIB ride

A simple cena (dinner) of rolls, tuna, cheese and tomatoes plus a beer.

Last time we were here we changed UD$ that we had brought with us on the 'Blue Rate' getting a better rate as well as cash machines. This time, cash machines charge too much and give out too little to make them worthwhile. So we are using Western Union, where we transfer cash to our account and take it out in cash at one of their offices. Many have closed but so far so good!

A million ARG Pesos (500 quid)!

These photos are taken from the MEF (Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio) where there are some amazing fossils - all found in this Chubut region of Patagonia. The largest dinosaur fossils ever found were here - belonging to the Patagotitan - the replica shows it was absolutely enormous (12 metres, 70 tonnes)!

Back in Buenos Aires

We returned to BA where preparations were being made for the visit of the Pope! Not sure how short notice this was but the Triple Crown polo tournament had recently been pushed back a week. This was a shame because we were hoping to go. Luckily there is also horse racing and free to enter so we went along. We could watch the horses paraded around a small ring, the jockeys mounting up and after the race, the horses getting a shower.

Below is a lovely mural but this is also where we stopped for a serious discussion on what to do next. The bike was to be delayed by at least another 2 weeks plus the additional cost due to higher demand - madness! With the added visit of the Pope, this delay could easily be extended. What do we do?

On Wednesdays, museums are half price, so we visited MALBA, one on Latin American Art. They also had an exhibition of Freda Kahlo - there were lots of personal photos taken from a collection from her last home.

There are many murals depicting the Falklands War. These were just some taken along one wall outside a military compound.