Playa Sur is the wide south facing beach at Cabo Polonio, a remote off grid village on Uruguay's Atlantic coast. This is a rugged but photogenic area with dunes rolling down to the waterfront, weathered wooden shacks sitting scattered above the tide line, and an old stone lighthouse on the rocky point with a sea lion colony often hanging out below it. Walking the length of the beach toward the point will allow you to line the lighthouse up over the shacks and dunes. Following the shore round to the rocks allows you to shoot the sea lions, but remember to keep your distance since they are wild and the rocks get very slippery. Late afternoon into sunset is the perfect time to be on Playa Sur. As the sun drops lower, it spreads warm light across the dunes and the whole beach faces the colour. As a bonus, because the village runs without electricity the nights are genuinely dark, so it is an amazing spot to experiment with astrophotography. Getting here is tricky but the incredible variety of photography options here make the effort worth it. No private cars are allowed so you have leave your vehicle near the highway and ride across the dunes in a 4x4, or walk the roughly seven kilometres. There is a fee for the 4x4 and a small charge if you want to climb the lighthouse. Although the services out here are limited, that rough, cut off feel is exactly what makes the place so photogenic. (Cabo Polonio, Rocha, Uruguay)
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