ONE lucky Llan Ffestiniog resident has won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Patagonia in Argentina.

Last year, Blaenau Ffestiniog twinned itself with Rawson, an Argentinian town with a strong Welsh heritage.

The two towns are linked on acc­ount of the 150th anniversary of the Mimosa setting sail, a ship which delivered Welsh pioneers to South America.

On St David’s Day, Ffestiniog Town Council celebrated the national day by presenting the inaugural Patagonia/Rawson Scholarship to Maia Jones of Llan Ffestiniog.

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.

The award, which was open to all 16 to 30-year-olds in the region­, was presented to whoever wrote the best 1,500-word essay, which was judged by the three independent judges Tecwyn Vaughan Jones, Elsie Jones and Annwen Jones.

Three entries were submitted for consideration and the judges stated that it was “a very strong contest” and that all three submissions were “worthy of winning”.

However, of the three essays, Maia’s article was the “stand out” written piece and won her the special trip to travel to Patagonia.

Maia was presented with the scholarship by Cllr Erwyn Jones, the chair of Ffestiniog Town Council, and was wished all the best for her visit to Rawson.