The last stop before Patagonia is the busy port of Bahia Blanca. It’s a quiet sprawling city with a large naval presence. Argentina’s largest naval base Puerto Belgrano, established to fend off Brazilian interest in the 1820s, is just 15 km south. Bahia Blanca was originally built as a fort, not just to protect the coastline from other nations but to control cattle rustling by the indigenous people.

The former customs building, which once belonged to the Great Western Railway, houses the Museo del Puerto. It is dedicated to the lives of port workers and the city’s immigrants. On the weekend the port area, with its brightly painted buildings and cobbled streets, becomes a hive of activity as people stroll around, visit the museum or enjoy a cold beer in one of the surrounding bars.

Bahia Blanca retains much of its early-20th-century architecture, a mishmash of Italian, English and French styles. In the centre of town is Plaza Rivadavia surrounded by rather grand buildings. Northeast of town is Monte Hermoso, the most southerly beach resort in the province of Buenos Aires, while some 60 km to the north is Sierra de la Ventana with tall craggy peaks in the Parque Provincial Ernesto Tornquist.