Page 231 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

P A T A GONIA  PB

P A T A GONIA  229
3 Puerto Madryn housed within the city’s old
railroad station, and the
Road map B4. 227 miles (365 km) SW
of Viedma. * 80,000. ~ @ n Ave settlers’ graves at Capilla
Roca 223, (0280) 445-3504. Moriah cemetery, which
∑ madryn.gov.ar/turismo include that of Lewis Jones,
the town’s founder.
On the shores of Golfo Nuevo,
Puerto Madryn has a historical E Museo Paleontológico
background that dates from Egidio Feruglio
1865, when the first group of Ave Fontana 140. Tel (0280) 443-2100.
Welsh pio neers landed on its Open 9am–7pm daily. & 8
shores. It is the gateway to ∑ mef.org.ar
one of the world’s greatest E Museo Regional Pueblo
marine spec tacles, at Reserva de Luis
Provincial Península Valdés, Ave 9 de Julio & Fontana.
and is known for its sandy Prehistoric plants at Museo Paleontológico Tel (0280) 442-4062. Open 8am–8pm
beaches, relaxed pace, and Egidio Feruglio Mon–Fri, 2–8pm Sat & Sun. &
good seafood restaurants.
The town’s excellent Museo 5 Trelew
de Ciencias Naturales y Road map B4. 40 miles (65 km) S of 6 Gaiman
Oceanografía provides infor- Puerto Madryn. * 100,000. ~ @ Road map B4. 12 miles (20 km) W of
mation on the thriving ocean n Mitre 387, (0280) 442-0139. Trelew. * 11,000. @ n Belgrano,
life nearby, while the out- ∑ trelewpatagonia.gov.ar between Rivadavia & 28 de Julio,
standing EcoCentro aims to (0280) 449-1571. ∑ gaiman.gov.ar
promote an understanding of A small, attractive town, Trelew
threatened marine species. is an ideal base from which to Founded in 1874, Gaiman is
Located close by, Playa El explore the Welsh villages of the most quintessen tially
Doradillo is a protected beach the Chubut Valley. Its name in Welsh of all the villages of the
and breeding area for the Welsh means “village of Lewis.” Chubut Valley. Best known
Southern Right whale, while Much of its original for its tea houses,
Punta Loma is home to a year- Welsh charac ter has Gaiman is also
round sea lion colony. changed, and most rich in history.
visitors stop by The small
E Museo de Ciencias Naturales instead for the Museo Histórico
y Oceanografía town’s Museo Regional, housed
Domecq García & José Menéndez. Paleontológico in the old railroad
Tel (0280) 445-1139. Open 9am–7pm Egidio Feruglio, Sign outside a Welsh station, has
Mon–Fri, 3–7pm Sat. & Argentina’s premier teahouse in Gaiman excellent exhibits
E EcoCentro paleontological on Gaiman’s pioneer
Julio Verne 3784. Tel (0280) 445-7470. museum. The museum has past. Situa ted within a few
Open varies (call in advance). extensive fossil collections blocks of the town’s flower-
∑ ecocentro.org.ar that date back 540 million filled Plaza Roca are Primera
years. The star exhi bits, Casa, Gaiman’s first-built house,
4 Reserva however, are the life-sized and Capilla Vieja, its oldest
chapel, both of which date
dinosaur skeletons and the
Provincial dinosaur eggs. For an echo of from the pioneer era. The
Península Valdés Trelew’s pioneer past, visit the most authentic of Gaiman’s
historically themed Museo teahouses, Ty Gwyn, Ty Nain,
See pp230–31. Regional Pueblo de Luis, and Plas y Coed, are also
located close to Plaza Roca.
Also near the plaza is
Parque El Desafio, an interest-
ing site filled with Joaquín
Alonso’s works. The “Dalí of
recycling,” Alonso has molded
thousands of cans, bottles, and
household appli ances into
works of art that include
re-creations of the Taj Mahal
and Picasso’s paintings.
E Museo Histórico Regional
28 de Julio 705. Tel (0280) 449-1007.
A summer day at the beach in Puerto Madryn Open 3−7pm Tue−Sun. &

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