“What are you doing here?” a local teenager asked us after he learned we were from the United States.

Trelew isn’t exactly the top spot on most “Places to Visit in Argentina” lists. But perhaps it should be.

Situated between Puerto Madryn, Punta Tombo, and Gaiman (a Welsh village with teahouses), Trelew is a great stop for anyone on an extended visit in Argentina.

Because so few tourists visit, cheap accommodations are hard to come by. But if you do decide to stay, you’ll be rewarded with a true taste of Argentine life.

We stopped in Trelew during the middle of our trip for five days to relax and get some work done. While there we enjoyed doing things Argentineans do: shopping for groceries and chatting with the checkout person, ordering and waiting for made-on-the-spot empanadas, and sitting on the park bench in the center of town watching kids throw water on each other to celebrate the end of the school year. (Because it was November, not exactly the end of the school year for Americans, it took us a while to figure out what the teenagers were doing when the were ripping up notebooks, playing drums and singing, and flinging liter bottles filled with water.)

In Trelew there’s also a paleontology museum with some interesting exhibits — including one where visitors can touch a real dinosaur bone.

If you’re looking for accommodations in Trelew check out this apartment where we stayed. It’s got a great 10th story view and we enjoyed watching the sunset out the window.

Plus, there are friendly neighbors and a fantastic owner, Miguel. I accidently left some posters at the apartment and a few days later Miguel emailed and arranged to ship them to us in Buenos Aires! I am so thankful to him for doing that.

So, if you’re on extended trip in Argentina and looking for a place to sit back, relax, and settle down for a few days, check out Trelew.