Trevelín Things to Do

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When I visited La Tumba de Malacara, I did not find anyone to take me round and instead I took photos of John Evan's house. Usually, Clery Evans, grandaughter of the village's founder, would tell you the history about the settlement and also you can see the grave of John Evan's house, El Malacara, and how the horse saved Evan's life. This attracts Bruce Chatwin's fans who read about the house in his book, 'In Patagonia'.

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This museum is housed in an old flour mill in the town centre. It cost me 5 ARP (around 1 GBP) to look around. The museum has an interesting exhibition about the Welsh colony in the Chubut Province and the successful collective co-operatives they operated during the 19th Century. There is a section about the the 1902 Plebiscite and the Welsh colony had to vote on whether it wanted to either be part of Argentina or Chile. I was able to see some of the possessions and artefacts from the Welsh Colony's first settlers including farm machinery! There is also an exhibition on the Mapuches and Tehuelche.

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The highlight of our visit to Trevelin, other than the Welsh Tea, was the Tumba de Malacara and the attached museum, Cartref Taid (Grandad's Home). This museum is a replica of the home of Trevelin's founder, John Evans. His granddaughter, Cleri Evans, now lives on the land and has built a replica museum of her grandad's home, packed full of oddities, and gives fascinating tours/ talks about the history of the house, her grandfather and Trevelin.

She recounted the story of how her father left from Trelew looking for gold to the west near the Andes. During the trip Evans and his party were attacked by a tribe of natives. His two companions were brutally murdered but Evans escaped thanks to his trusty horse, Malacara, who leaped across a steep jump and away to safety. Evans was so grateful that he built a special tomb in his garden for the horse, which we also saw during our visit.

The talk Cleri Evans gave us was fascinating. It was mostly in Spanish, with a few English and Welsh words thrown in. She told us all about Trevelin, and how, had it not been for the Welsh settlers here, who voted to stay with Argentina during the boundary settlements, the town and the surrounding region would now be part of Chile.

She recalled meeting Bruce Chatwin, when he visited Patagonia in the 70's, describing him as tall, wearing clothes that made him look like a stereotypical English man abroad, and always writing and observing. By coincidence, I was in the middle of reading "In Patagonia", though I hadn't yet reached the chapter where Chatwin mentions meeting Cleri Evans and her father, Milton. His portrayal of Milton isn't very flattering, but apparently he made up many parts of the book.

This is a great place to visit if you're interested in Patagonian history, though you'll need to understand Spanish (and maybe a bit of Welsh) to get the most out of it. There was no official entry charge though she did ask us for 6 pesos each at the end.

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The Museo Historical Regional is one of the better museums we've visited in Argentina. It's housed in the old flour mill, one of Trevelin's oldest buildings, and has exhibits about the history of the town, in particular the groups - mainly Welsh, but also the native people - who have lived in the town and area. Also, there are interesting details about some of the town's best known figures.

In the back room there are displays regarding the buildings previous function, as a flour mill, in the early 20th century. The lady running the place is very friendly, and her family came from Wales, so Ruth had an opportunity to speak Welsh. It costs 4 pesos to enter the museum.

The Regional Museum is located in the building that used to be the Molino Andes y Cia created by John D. Evans in 1922, one of the first welsh settlers. The descendants of those first settlers created this museum in the old flour mill.
The museum holds a collection of objects that belonged to the first settlers that show how they kept their traditions, even though they were very far from Wales. These objects go from clothes, dresses and dishes to dentist and surgery tools of those times. There's also a room where the visitor can see the old machines used to work the fields as well as the engines of the mill. Finally, in the upper floor there's a small section dedicated to the original cultures of Patagonia.
The museum is worth a visit. You will surely learn a lot from it.

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La Capilla Bethel is the Welsh Chapel built in 1910. You're not able to visit the chapel but this can be seen from distance.