TWO Patagonian women travelled to Blaenau Ffestiniog this month to rekindle their historic Welsh links.

The first Welsh settlers to reach Patagonia in southern Argentina 150 years ago founded the area’s first permanent town, Tre-Rawson.

Now known simply as Rawson, the town is the capital of the Argentinian Province of Chubut and, since last year, it has been officially twinned with Ffestiniog.

Among the nearly 200 settlers who sailed south on the Mimosa in 1865, there were at least five from Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Now, to help re-establish the historic link, the descendents of two of the original settlers have been visiting Ffestiniog.

Historian Patricia Alejandra Lorenzo Harris from Rawson, who is the president of the commission promoting the twinning of the town with Ffestiniog, visited the town with her friend Marisa Conde.

Patricia said: “It’s been my dream to come to Wales and see the country. When I was young, I spent a lot of time speaking to my grandfather and he told me about how his father had travelled from Wales with his family.

“I also feel a great responsibility, to bring greetings from the whole of the community in Rawson and to re-establish the link between Rawson and Ffestiniog.”

See the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News, in shops now