The first Welsh settlers arrived in 1865, aboard the Mimosa which set sail from Liverpool with 150 Welshmen and their dreams of finding prosperity in the new lands of Argentina. After two long months of sailing they set foot on land at Golfo Nuevo in Chubut province on 28 July. They founded the villages of Rawson, then Trelew, Gaiman and Dolavon. They pioneered westward in search of fertile soils and also founded the towns of Esquel and Trevelin at the foot of the Andes.
They had to put up with many difficulties and problems, including bad harvests and confrontations with the native Indians, but they did not give up and between 1874 and 1875, there was a second contingent arriving from Wales and also the United States with the purpose of getting more land for farming and growing. In this way, Gaiman was born.
Today you can walk around the streets of Gaiman (the symbol of Welsh colonisation in Argentina), which still keeps its village spirit, sprinkled with farms, typical chapels and Welsh-style houses. The main attractions are the Welsh Tea Houses, where the descendants of the settlers prepare and serve the greatest classic Welsh tea, not to mention the delicious welsh tea cakes.
