We spent Wednesday, February 25 in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The name of the city does not look Spanish, as it was named after Madryn Castle in Wales. We learned during our cruise lecture that the city was founded in 1865 as a Welsh colony. There was no longer any Welsh community in the city, although you do see the Welsh dragon on the regional flag and other Welsh insignia on signs and posters, and of course on the souvenirs. Our cruise lecturer Leeanne Fiedler said that a sizable Welsh community did exist, but it was a ways out of town…yet there was a lovely excursion that could take you there to experience a bit of Wales in South America. Another shill for the ship’s pricy shore trips.
The pier from the ship to shore was close to 1 km long. We could see the seals lounging below us:
It was such a sunny day in Puerto Madryn and I am glad we had the whole day there. Welsh flag at the waterfront:
Mark had wanted to get a haircut yet the prices onboard the ship were–no surprise–expensive. We passed the salon and barber on the way to the ship’s gym and while I never saw anyone in the barbershop (I always saw the barber outside, smiling and greeting the passengers) the salon did a brisk business. So Mark decided to try to find a cheaper solution onshore.
We stumbled across one small place and Mark asked one young man, currently serving a client, about their services. The young barber could not speak English well, so he summoned his brother. Mark got an idea of the place and what to expect and we continued on our way. We looked around at the chocolate shops and tried to find other barbers but in the end returned to the same place on Av. Almte Brown, Barberia Mullet.
Mark with his new haircut and the barber, giving the thumbs-up:
With the haircut out of the way, it was now just past 11:00 and we could explore the city. Puerto Madryn is surrounded by desert, and we could see this as we walked around when the streets ended and barren land lay beyond. Not a tree in sight on the hard dry land.
Malvinas Monument:
The old train station:
I saw different styles of mailboxes throughout Argentina. Some looked old, like the pillar boxes, and some looked more modern. I never mailed anything from Argentina but since I didn’t see any information about pickup times on the older mailboxes, I wonder if they were still in service:
From a Puerto Madryn grocery store. Maybe it means something else in Spanish:
Outside the Welsh Cultural Association of Puerto Madryn. Croeso is Welsh for welcome.
Walking back to the ship along Playa Céntrica:
Photobomb alert:
Waterfront from the pier, walking back to the ship:
