Five fingers
From the sand.
María Cecilia — CC0 · Isabeltorrado — CC BY-SA 3.0 · User:Timaukel — CC BY-SA 3.0
Punta del Este's emblem: five giant concrete fingers rising from the sand of Playa Brava, as if a huge buried hand were trying to break free. Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal made it in 1982, the same artist behind the Hand of the Desert in Chile's Atacama. The artist called it «Man Emerging to Life», and it is also known as the Monument to the Drowned, a warning about the strong waves of Playa Brava, dangerous to swimmers. The fingers have become one of South America's best-known images, with visitors posing between them. The beach itself is broad and open to the Atlantic with high surf that draws surfers, while across the peninsula calm Playa Mansa faces the bay. The best photo times are early morning or sunset, before the crowds. Swimming at Playa Brava is dangerous, so stay in guarded areas. Punta del Este is very busy and pricey in summer, December to February, and very quiet the rest of the year.
From the sand.
Atlantic surf.
Same artist.
Playa Brava, the ocean side of Punta del Este
Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal in 1982, who also made the Hand of the Desert in the Atacama.
