Rio Gallegos, situated on the Rio Gallegos river estuary, is the capital of the oil-rich province of Santa Cruz in southern Patagonia some 2,636 km from Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1885 to largely serve the surrounding sheep farmers, but it developed still further after the Argentine government established a naval base in order to secure Patagonian territory. More immigrants arrived form the Falkland Islands and and also from southern Chile in the early 1900s after being offered agricultural incentives from the Argentine government.

It is possible to see some of the first pioneers in a collection of black and white photographs on display in a quaint townhouse, which now houses the Museo de Los Pioneros. There’s an array of indigenous objects and dinosaur fossils at the Museo Regional Padre Manuel Jesus Molina while the Museo Malvinas Argentinas endeavors to explain why the Falkland Islands should be Argentine territory. The Nuestra Senora de Lujan cathedral, constructed in 1899, overlooks the Plaza San Martin in the city centre.

Other than a handy stopover Rio Gallegos has proved particularly attractive to fly-fishing enthusiasts. They come here from around the world to catch the enormous sea-faring brown trout, which inhabit the waters of the Rio Gallegos itself. Some 135 km south of Rio Gallegos is Cabo Virgenes, home to Patagonia’s second largest penguin colony, the Reserva Provincial Cabo Virgenes. From the top of the nearby lighthouse there are wonderful views. A few kilometres north of Cabo Virgenes is Estancia Monte Dinero, a working sheep farm which also offers accommodation.