Some 350 km south of Buenos Aires is the seaside village of Villa Gesell, named after Carlos Gesell, the son of German immigrants. He bought 1,680 hectares of land from the state in the early 1930s and constructed his house there among the sand dunes. He then proceeded to transform the dunes by planting thousands of trees. Although, initially, Gesell had little success until he discovered the acacia trinervis which protected other saplings. Thousands of saplings later he started running short of cash so he built a beach house to rent. He then began selling small plots of land to immigrants of Swiss and German origin later followed by Italians and Spanish. Villa Gesell spread along the coastline, quickly becoming a popular tourist destination. In 1952 Ernesto Che Guevara stopped over here.

Gesell’s first house has since been converted into the Museo y Archivo Histórico Municipal, where you can learn all about the man himself and his project. Later in life he built himself a German-style chalet, now the Centro Cultural y la Biblioteca y Archivo del Museo, which hosts concerts and exhibitions. Both residences are within the Parque Cultural y Reserva Forestal Pinar del Norte. Villa Gesell continues to grow today annexed by Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul. Yet it is still a charming seaside town with some beautiful sandy beaches. In January it fills with students on summer vacation.