Mysterious stone towers appeared on a beach in Punta del Este

The Punta Salina beach in Punta del Este, Maldonado, appeared with an enigmatic landscape. In the rocky area, I do not know who or exactly when, someone badembled with the stones of the place several towers that curious tourists were responsible for representing.

Although in Uruguay, it is not common to see, building stone towers in rocky places is a very old practice that, in other parts of the world, is not strange and has its roots in different cultures.

Origins of tradition

Before coming to Uruguay, these last years started to be a kind of fashion in places where it was rare to see them, for example in Spain. The Spanish newspaper El País explained long ago that in South America, the Indians who inhabited the Andean region did so before and that it was a kind of offering to the Pachamama or to the Mother Earth. They called it apacheta and built it on the roadsides as an offering to the gods to ask them to protect them during the trip.

It is also a custom that has its roots in certain areas of the Arctic Circle of North America. There, they called it Inukshuk and served as landmarks in the mountains to guide travelers.

Meanwhile, in other areas such as Ireland, these cairns were used to mark the burial sites.

In addition to these ancient populations who have done it, it should be known that for Zen philosophy, the stacking of stones is related to the inner balance.

The flip side

In a note to the newspaper El País, the biologist and spokesperson of the group GOB environmentalist, Toni Muñoz, explains that the accumulation of stones "generates a very clear impact on the biodiversity of the coast", because during the displacement, the pebbles are left uncovered. plant roots and habitats occupied by invertebrate animals, in particular insects and molluscs, which modify a delicate environment "in which live unique and endemic plant species of the islands".

Some citizens note that these small sculptures also have an impact on the landscape. Sometimes visitors to a natural environment are deprived of taking a picture of the coast because it is full of stone mounds "that provide an artificial life and show the human footprint", according to the 39; ecologist.