ARGENTINA REGION BY REGION - Argentina - page 223

3 Puerto Madryn
Road map B4. 227 miles (365 km) SW
of Viedma. * 80,000. ~ @ n Ave
Roca 223, [phone].
∑ madryn.gov.ar/turismo

housed within the city's old
railroad station, and the
settlers' graves at Capilla
Moriah cemetery, which
include that of Lewis Jones,
the town's founder.

On the shores of Golfo Nuevo,
Puerto Madryn has a historical
background that dates from
1865, when the first group of
Welsh pioneers landed on its
shores. It is the gateway to
one of the world's greatest
marine spectacles, at Reserva
Provincial Península Valdés,
and is known for its sandy
beaches, relaxed pace, and
good seafood restaurants.
The town's excellent Museo
de Ciencias Naturales y
Oceanografía provides infor-
mation on the thriving ocean
life nearby, while the out-
standing EcoCentro aims to
promote an understanding of
threatened marine species.
Located close by, Playa El
Doradillo is a protected beach
and breeding area for the
Southern Right whale, while
Punta Loma is home to a year-
round sea lion colony.

E Museo Paleontológico
Egidio Feruglio
Ave Fontana 140. Te l [phone].
Open 9am-7pm daily. & 8
∑ mef.org.ar
E Museo Regional Pueblo
de Luis
Ave 9 de Julio & Fontana.
Te l [phone]. Open 8am-8pm
Mon-Fri, 2-8pm Sat & Sun. &

Prehistoric plants at Museo Paleontológico
Egidio Feruglio

5 Trelew
Road map B4. 40 miles (65 km) S of
Puerto Madryn. * 100,000. ~ @
n Mitre 387, [phone].
∑ trelewpatagonia.gov.ar

6 Gaiman
Road map B4. 12 miles (20 km) W of
Trelew. * 11,000. @ n Belgrano,
between Rivadavia & 28 de Julio,
[phone]. ∑ gaiman.gov.ar

A small, attractive town, Trelew
is an ideal base from which to
explore the Welsh villages of
the Chubut Valley. Its name in
Welsh means “village of Lewis.”
Much of its original
Welsh character has
changed, and most
visitors stop by
instead for the
town's Museo
Paleontológico
Egidio Feruglio ,
Argentina's premier
paleontological
museum. The museum has
extensive fossil collections
that date back 540 million
years. The star exhibits,
however, are the life-sized
dinosaur skeletons and the
dinosaur eggs. For an echo of
Trelew's pioneer past, visit the
historically themed Museo
Regional Pueblo de Luis ,

Founded in 1874, Gaiman is
the most quintessentially
Welsh of all the villages of the
Chubut Valley. Best known
for its teahouses,
Gaiman is also
rich in history.
The small
Museo Histórico
Regional , housed
in the old railroad
station, has
excellent exhibits on
Gaiman's pioneer
past. Situated within a few
blocks of the town's flower-
filled Plaza Roca are Primera
Casa , Gaiman's first-built house,
and Capilla Vieja , its oldest
chapel, both of which date
from the pioneer era. The
most authentic of Gaiman's
teahouses, Ty Gwyn , Ty Nain ,
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 appliances into
works of art that include
re-creations of the Taj Mahal
and Picasso's paintings.

E Museo de Ciencias Naturales
y Oceanografía
Domecq García & José Menéndez.
Te l [phone]. Open 9am-7pm
Mon-Fri, 3-7pm Sat. &
E EcoCentro
Julio Verne 3784. Te l [phone].
Open varies (call in advance).
∑ ecocentro.org.ar

Sign outside a Welsh
teahouse in Gaiman

4 Reserva
Provincial
Península Valdés
See pp230-31.

E Museo Histórico Regional
28 de Julio 705. Te l [phone].
Open 3−7pm Tue−Sun. &

A summer day at the beach in Puerto Madryn