TWO Ffestiniog adventurers are heading to Patagonia to help strengthen links with Welsh speakers in North Wales.

Cousins Maia Jones and Gwennan Mair Jones, both of the Ffestiniog area, will be heading to Argentina this month to explore the Welsh heritage of the area.

In 2015 Blaenau Ffestiniog twinned itself with Rawson, an Patagonian town with a strong Welsh heritage as part of the 150th anniversary of the Mimosa setting sail, a ship which delivered Welsh pioneers to South America.

On St David’s Day last year, Ffestiniog Town Council celebrated the national day by presenting the inaugural Patagonia/Rawson Scholarship to Maia after she composed an award-winning essay.

The scholarship, worth £1,500, was founded to help fund a young person from the council catchment area to visit Rawson and strengthen the ties between Meirionnydd and their Argentinian counterparts.

After Maia won the prize, her cousin Gwennan was keen to come along for the once-in-a-lifetime trip too.

Maia was understandably excited ahead of her departure on 20 March.

“I’m really grateful I have the opportunity to visit South America and glad I get to share the experience with my cousin Gwennan,” she told the Cambrian News.

“The purpose of the scholarship is to strengthen links between young people in Blaenau Ffestiniog and Rawson following the twinning of both towns.

“Gwennan and I thought a theatre project would be an ideal medium to share, learn and create something with the community in Patagonia.

“The history of the Welsh in the region and its subsequent development, raises many interesting and relevant questions surrounding migration and identity which we hope to explore in the project.”

The cousins face a jam-packed itinerary in their three week exploit.

“We will be travelling to Argentina on 20 March and arriving in Rawson on Friday (24 March),” Maia continued.

“We will be facilitating workshops for an experimental theatre project with young people from Rawson, for people 14 years old and above exploring themes associated with identity.

“The workshops will be held over the weekend with a performance on Sunday evening (26 March).

“Following the project Gwennan and I will travel around Patagonia and then on to Brazil, returning to Wales on 11 April.

“I’m super excited!”