Manly Beach

Manly Beach is a well-known beach situated in Sydney's Northern Beaches, Australia. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne.

Within a short walk of Manly Beach along the oceanway is Fairy Bower and Shelley Beach. There are many shops, famous restaurants, night clubs, and dive bars in town; locals people called "corso". Many young people live in Manly and prefer to commute by ferry into the city, which only takes about half hour to the city. Manly beach also adjacent to Sydney Harbour National Park, Fairy Bower is one of the few large wave surfing spots in Sydney and produces a long right hand wave breaking over a reef. Shelly Beach (and the surrounding Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve) is a popular for scuba diving and is the only beach on Australia's east coast which faces inland.

The beach was named by Capt. Arthur Phillip for the indigenous people living there. He wrote about them, "Their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place".

Manly Beach is highly popular with tourists and locals alike; a popularity rivaled only by the famous Bondi Beach south of the harbour. Manly Council Lifeguards operate a year-round service at South Steyne, and operate from October to April at North Steyne and Queenscliff. Volunteer Life Savers also patrol on weekends and public holiday between October and May.

This beach has long been a fascination for poets (most notably Bruce Beaver), artists and photographers.

Travelling to Manly from Sydney's main ferry terminal, Circular Quay, takes 30 minutes by ferry. The Corso, a pedestrian plaza and one of Manly's main streets for shopping and dining, runs from the ferry wharf and harbour beach all the way across the peninsula to Manly Beach, where it marks the boundary between North Steyne and South Steyne.

Maroubra, New South Wales

Maroubra Beach

Maroubra is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Maroubra is located 10 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Maroubra is the largest suburb in the area governed by Randwick City Council in both size and population. Maroubra Junction is a locality in the centre of the suburb.

History

1800's

Maroubra is a local Aboriginal word meaning place of thunder (lieu de tonnerre). In 1861, the first house was built in the area by Humphrey McKeon. A number of other settlers arrived on the land in the 1870s to work on the wool scouring works located at the northern end of the bay.

The suburb first made headlines on the 6 May 1898, when the Hereward, a fully rigged iron ship weighing 1,513 tons, was caught by the gale force winds and shipwrecked at the northern end of Maroubra Beach while heading north toward Newcastle. The shipwreck remained on the beach for a number of years until a failed attempt to refloat it was made by building a coffer dam around the wreck. Hereward Street in Maroubra is named after the event.

Maroubra beach circa 1900

1900's

Major residential development only began in the 1910s after Herbert Dudley, a real estate developer, subdivided the land into residential blocks. Herbert Dudley also lobbied for the extension of the tramline to Maroubra Junction in 1912, where he had built Dudley's Emporium which has just recently been redeveloped. More crown land was released for residential use in the 1920s and the tram line was extended to Maroubra Beach in 1921.

Between 1925 and 1934, the Olympia Motor Speedway was located in South Maroubra at the corner of Anzac Parade and Fitzgerald Avenue. However, due to the dangerous nature of the concrete track, a number of deaths occurred and it was closed after only nine years of operation. Coral Sea Park and surrounding estates was announced on the site in 1947 and formally completed in 1961. The estates and park was given its namesake from the 1942 battle; The battle of the Coral Sea.

2000's

Unfortunately, in 2005, Maroubra was named as one of the suburbs involved in the Cronulla Riots, after more than 100 cars were vandalised in relation to the riots between Middle Eastern and Anglo youth. In 2006, Maroubra Beach became the second Australian beach to be named a National Surfing Reserve (the first beach being Bells Beach in Victoria).

The Hereward wrecked on Maroubra Beach, May 1898

Retail of Maroubra Beach

Maroubra Junction and Surrounding Areas

Maroubra Junction is one of the main shopping areas in the district and is home to Pacific Square shopping centre (built on the area once known as Stockland Mall, Maroubra). Pacific Square shopping centre has an outdoor eating area on Anzac Parade, Coles and Aldi supermarkets, many specialty shops as well as being home to the area's Australia Post outlet. Commercial developments are also found along Anzac Parade, Maroubra Road and surrounding streets, including Dudley's Emporium which was the first shopping centre in Maroubra Junction built in 1912 and has been recently redeveloped.

Maroubra Beach and Surrounds

There are also a handful of shopping districts besides Maroubra Junction including the areas surrounding Maroubra Beach. One of them including the once-thriving Lexington Place. Known as "Lexo" to the locals, Lexington Place has become a notorious 'no go zone' in the area as result of high rates of crime, often blamed by the high concentration of Housing Commission estates. McKeon Street is the street running straight onto the beach, it is home to a stretch of shops including some well known restaurants in the area.

South Maroubra

South Maroubra Shopping Village, know as "The Village", is located in South Maroubra and is home to many well-known shops including a late night pharmacy, Walsh's Pharmacy as well as Maroubra's only Woolworths supermarket.It is also next door to the well known Sands Hotel. The Village and South Maroubra Village Green are home to the Christmas Carols every year. The once prominent Duffy's Corner is located on the border of Maroubra (South Maroubra end), Matraville and Malabar.

Hotels of Maroubra Beach

Current

• Glasshouse (Since 1947) - The licence of the Golden Grove Hotel was transferred from Darlington to new premises on the corner of Anzac Parade and Boyce Road, Maroubra Junction in February 1947. The hotel has more recently changed its name to the Glasshouse Hotel.
• The Sands Hotel (Since 1972) - A hotel in South Maroubra alongside South Maroubra Shopping Village.
• Maroubra Junction Hotel (Unknown Opening Date)- A hotel in Maroubra Junction across Maroubra Road from Pacific Square.
• Ocean View Tavern (Since 2010) - In an attempt to popularise the mostly vacant area surround Maroubra Beach, the Maroubra Bay Hotel premises was revitalised and re-opened under the name of the Ocean View Tavern.
• Juniors @ The Junction (Since 2009) - The result of a merger with South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club (Kingsford) and the struggling Maroubra Returned and Services League (RSL) Club. The club is on the site of the former Maroubra RSL club on Anzac Parade and Haig Street. 

Former

• Maroubra Bay Hotel (1926 - 2010) - Popular after World War I due to the extension of the tram line to the beach, the construction of a promenade and bathing sheds. Due to a downturn in trade the hotel closed in early 2010.
• Trade Winds (1972–2002) - Maroubra Junction on Maroubra Road. 2002 saw the hotel converted into apartments. The Trade Winds Brasserie is all that's left of the old hotel.
• Maroubra RSL (2000-2009)- The struggling Maroubra Returned and Services League (RSL) Club merged with South Sydney Junior Leagues Club in order to keep the premise open due to poor income. It was reopened under the name "Juniors @ The Junction".

Transportation of Maroubra Beach

Roads

Anzac Parade leads directly from Moore Park to La Perouse through Maroubra Junction via Kensington and Kingsford. Anzac Parade begins at the end Flinders and Oxford Streets which leads traffic out of the CBD. Cleveland Street runs onto Anzac Parade connecting the inner-city suburbs such as Surry Hills, Darington and Camperdown as well as Central Station and Railway Square to Maroubra.

Buses

Regular bus services run from Maroubra Junction to the city including route numbers 394, 399, 396 and 397. The 394 and 399 originate from La Perouse and Little Bay (respectively) while 396 and 397 originate from Maroubra Beach and South Maroubra, respectively.

The 400 and 410 run from Maroubra Junction in two directions; Bondi Junction, Randwick and Waverley to the north and Eastgardens, the airport, Rockdale and Burwood to the south. Central Station and Railway Square can be accessed through the Railway Square buses (393 and 395) as well as the Metro10 bus service which goes through the inner-city, past Queen Victoria Building and continues along Broadway to provide services to the University of Sydney and Leichhardt. Other services run through Maroubra providing locals with routes into more suburban areas such as Coogee, South Coogee, and Randwick.

Trams

The former Maroubra tram line opened from Anzac Parade to Maroubra Bay in 1921. The line branched of the main line to La Perouse at the intersection of Anzac Parade and Maroubra Road, travelling east along Maroubra Road, Cooper Street, French Street and Mons Avenue before terminating in a balloon loop in Marine Parade at Maroubra Bay Beach. The line was double track throughout, and passed through several tram reservations on its descent down to the beach. Direct services operated from Circular Quay and Railway Square. The line closed in 1961. The current route of bus 397 now covers this route.

Maroubra Beach and parklands

Maroubra Beach stretches for approximately 1 km on Maroubra Bay. Mahon Pool is located north of the beach, near Mistral Point. There are two surf clubs at Maroubra: Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club and South Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club. Arthur Byrne Reserve sits behind both these clubs. A skating park is located at the southern end of Maroubra Beach.

Maroubra has a few large parklands, the most popular being the reserve along the waterfont at Maroubra Beach, called Arthur Byrne Reserve. The reserve has an enclosed children's playground to the north of the blue Pavilion building at North Maroubra, close to the car park. There are barbecue facilities and tables for picnickers. There are public ablution facilities inside the blue Pavilion building. Arthur Byrne Reserved is the home to the Oktoberfest/Fun Run every year.

Heffron Park, on Fitzgerald Avenue and between Bunnerong Road and Robey Street is a particularly large park. It accommodates the Des Renford Aquatic Centre with indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, sports fields, parklands, and a two kilometre cycle track which is used for time trials and is accessible for public use at other times.

Nagle Park, on Wild Street between Walsh Street and Holden Street, is a flat parkland equipped for use as a sports facility. It is also a popular dog park, with dogs permitted off-lead.

Snape Park, on Snape Street between Hannan and Percival Streets is equipped with popular tennis facilities and sports fields and is frequently used for organised sporting events.

Central Park, at the corner of Cooper and Storey Streets, has a flat parkland with an excellent bicycle track for young children built of smooth concrete. This park also has playground equipment.

Coral Sea Park, south of Yorktown Parade, has a flat area that provides several sports fields. It has playground equipment at its south end.

Culture of Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is the most popular destination for conventions in Argentina after Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata has a wide range of services in this sector. The summer season hosts over fifty theatrical plays.

Shows and festivals

• The Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the only competitive accredited film festival in Latin America.
• The Fiesta Nacional del Mar ("National Sea Festival") with the election and coronation of the Sea Queen and her princesses, which takes place in December as the official inauguration of the summer season.
• The Premios Estrella de Mar ("Sea Star Awards") which honor the best stage plays and shows of the season.
• The Valencian Falles week, a local reenactment of the Valencian event conducted by the Valencian community.
• The Mar del Plata Fashion Show, along with a number of fashion parades that gathers the best haute couture designers.
• The Fiesta Nacional de los Pescadores (National Fishermen's Festival), a colourful display of seamen tradition and cuisine.
• Mar del Plata has also hosted the 1995 Pan American Games, the 2003 Parapan American Games, the 2005 FIBA Under-21 World Championship, and co-hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.
• Since 1987 Mar del Plata annually hosts the Mar del Plata Marathon, in early December.

The local Government sponsors a stable Symphonic Orchestra, as well as a Conservatorium and a School of Classical and Modern Dance.

Nightlife

Mar del Plata has a wide variety of clubs located by district: the area of Alem street and Irigoyen (known for its quantity of pubs and nightclubs) and the coast and Constitution Avenue.

Museums

• The Juan Carlos Castagnino Municipal Museum of Art.
• The Museum of the Port of Mar del Plata Cleto Ciocchini.
• The Museum of Natural Science Lorenzo Scaglia, specialized in Paleontology of the Quaternary species around the region.
• The Mar del Plata Museum of the Sea, which includes one of the most complete collections of sea snails of the World.
• Villa Victoria, a vintage wooden house, the former residence of the late writer Victoria Ocampo, now a place for art expositions and classical music.

Notable people

• Alberto Bruzzone (1907–1994), painter, was born in San Juan but chose Mar del Plata as his home city.
• Alfonsina Storni (died 1938), famous Argentian Poet, who drowned herself in the waters at Mar del Plate: a statue still was erected near the beach.
• Ástor Piazzolla, composer and musician.
• Auro Tiribelli (1908–2006), architect, the main representative of the Mar del Plata style.
• Erica Bibbó (1985), the first female commander of a naval unit in the Argentine navy.
• Gabriel Gaby Amato, former international soccer player.
• Germán Mono Burgos, former goalkeeper. He played two World Cups. Currently, he is oriented to music.
• Guillermo Vilas, top tennis star in the 1970s.
• Héctor Babenco, movie director, who made Hollywood films like Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ironweed.
• Homero Cárpena (1910–2001), actor, playwright and filmmaker.
• Inés Arrondo, hockey player, winner along with the national team of an Olympic Silver medal in Sydney 2000 and a Bronze medal in Athens 2004.
• Juan Carlos Castagnino, painter.
• Juan Eduardo Esnáider, international soccer player. Former forward of Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus, River Plate.
• Jorge Lanata, journalist and writer.
• Laura Echarte, agricultural engineer, researcher in crop physiology studies, winner of a 2007 L'Oreal-Unesco international fellowship for Women.
• Maria Gabriela Palomo, marine biologist, also winner of the L'Oreal-Unesco junior award in 2003 for her works on port-areas environmental pollution.
• Mario Benedetti (1945), electronics engineer, the main Argentine scientist involved in the Large Hadron Collider project. He is also the owner of Tío Curzio, one of the most fashionable restaurants in the city.
• Martin Donovan (not to be confused with American actor Martin Donovan), Hollywood screenwriter and producer, co-author of the screenplay of movies like Death Becomes Her and Loving Couples.
• Nacha Guevara, singer and actress.
• Ricardo Piglia, writer born in Adrogué but raised in Mar del Plata.

The common linguistic and social background of the city is that of the so called rioplatense culture.

Architecture of Mar del Plata

The development of the city as a seasonal resort in the early 20th century led upper class tourists from Buenos Aires to build a European-inspired architecture, based mainly on the picturesque and later on the art deco styles. This gave Mar del Plata the nickname of the Argentine Biarritz. The building industry became the main non-seasonal activity of the town by 1920.

During the '30s,'40s, and beyond, local architects and builders, like Auro Tiribelli, Arturo Lemmi, Alberto Córsico-Picollini and Raúl Camusso recreated and transformed the picturesque values into a middle-class scale, marking the beginning of a vernacular architecture, called Mar del Plata Style, consisting in small samples of the luxury-laden summer residences of high society, built for the summer visitor as well as for the local resident.

These chalets were built with stone façades, gables roofs covered with Spanish or French tiles, prominent eaves and front porches. This gives the town some distinctive urban character compared with other Argentine cities, despite the fact that the growing mass of tourists in the '60s imposed the construction of large apartment buildings and skyscrapers as the predominant architectural style downtown.

Climate of Mar del Plata

The weather pattern for the region is that of an oceanic climate, with humid and moderate summers and relatively cool winters, although polar air masses from Antarctica are frequent. The average temperatures for January reach 20°C (68 Fahrenheit) and 8°C for July (46 Fahrenheit). The West-Southwest winds bring down the temperature below 0°C (32 Fahrenheit), while the Southeast ones (the so called Sudestada) are stronger, producing coastal showers and rough seas, as well as strong squalls, but the cold is much less intense.

There are about 20 days of frost each year, and almost 60 in the west hills area (some 300 mts above the sea level). Snowfall is not uncommon, but snow accumulation on the ground is rare, a phenomenon that takes place every 6 years or so, according to the last 40 year's data.

Among the most best known such occurrences were the 1975 and 1991 snowstorms, but there were also snow accumulations in 1994 and 1997, in the highest hills area of Sierra de los Padres, in 1995 along the southern coast, and other two during the first hours of July 10, 2004 and July 15, 2010. There were two flurries in September 1986 and June 2007. There is fog in the last days of fall, and springtime is often marred by sea winds and sudden temperature's changes. There are some ten days of 30°C (86 Fahrenheit) each summer, certainly milder values than the rest of the pampas region. Usually, the summer nights are cool and pleasant, with values between 13º to 17°C (55 to 63 Fahrenheit). The record high is 41º on January 1957 (105 Fahrenheit). The wet season occurs during spring and summer, specially in January, with values between the 70 and 80 mm. The average annual rainfall is 780 mm.

Government of Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is the head of the department (Partido) of General Pueyrredón. The current Mayor of the city and department is Gustavo Pulti, of the local party Acción Marplatense.

The Honorable Concejo Deliberante (the town council) has some legislative powers. The term of office for both the Mayor and council members is four years.

In 1919, Mar del Plata became the first town in South America to have a Socialist Mayor, a son of Italian Immigrants, Teodoro Bronzini. The Socialist Party would dominate the city political landscape for most of the 20th century.

The Government official page has a comprehensive listing of all Mayors and Commissioners of Mar del Plata from 1881 to the present.

There is an extensive but interesting work by the American sociologist Susan Stokes about the democratic process in Mar del Plata since 1983 in comparison to other regions of Argentina. One of the main thesis of her articles is that the social and economic development of Mar del Plata was quite atypical, with a strong prevalence of middle-class values that discouraged the policy of clientelism that is the common background in other urban environments of Argentina.

Cariló

Cariló (from the mapuche word "Green Dune") is a beach resort town in Argentina. It is situated in a man made forest on the Atlantic coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, approximately 360 km south of Buenos Aires city in the adminastrative division of Pinamar Partido.

Until a few years ago, access to the town was strictly controlled by the ruling authority. Today Cariló is publicly accessible, but comparatively high prices ensure that it remains the preserve of the well heeled.

Cariló offers a lot of activities to individuals of all ages. The beach town offers sand dunes that attract many tourists for four wheeling. Many hotels and lodges in the area either have All-terrain vehicle, or quads, to rent or are associated with a company on the beach that does it. Dune bashing is a local favorite in the area for tourists and year round inhabitants.

How to get there

Access is via intercoastal state Route 11 (Spanish) that travels along the coast of the Province of Buenos Aires. Train, bus and plane are also available from Pinamar and Villa Gesell (please, check transportation availability as it may vary according to low or high season) and then a taxi is required to get there (about 6 to 10 miles from these terminal stations).

History and tourist attractions in Carilo

The Cariló area was transformed from large desert dunes close to the sea to a huge forest and a beach.

In the early 1920s, Mr. Héctor Manuel Guerrero started the forestation of the farm cóalled "Dos Montes". This farm included a cattle ranch called "Médanos" (meaning "Dunes") that has a surface of 1.700 ha. Several problems were faced as the lack of transportation and accesses were combined with almost no experience regarding on-sand forestation. Guerrero family decided to keep the forestation up to the sea shore, and included some fruit trees that brought local bird species.

In 1935, that new forested area was named "Cariló" that means "Green Dune" in local Indian language, Mapuche.

In 1938, the forestation nurseries were moved to the farm "Dos Montes".

In 1947, More than 660 thousand trees were ready to be planted.

In 1948, an estate house called "Divisadero" (also "Casa Grande") was built over a dune by the sea with the forest behind.

During the 1970s, all the forestation nurseries were disabled when the forestland of the total private property of the Guerrero family was completed.

The sons of the founder decided to name all the streets of the Cariló, using wild plants/trees - for those streets running perpendicular to the sea - and local bird names - for those that are in parallel to the sea - in alphabetical order.

Cariló is a beach town that offers many hotels, lodges, cabins, and summer homes to tourists both from Argentina and elsewhere, rather than having yearlong residents. Since it is a hotspot amongst tourists it offers several activities to visitors.

• Cariló Beach

Offers a clean ocean environment for families and freinds.

• Downtown Cariló

Downtown Cariló offers many unique shops around the Paseo Epuyen. Small, family own restaurants can also be found in this area, which allow for a cozy dining experience.

• Cariló Dune bashing

This beach town's sand dunes allow for fun on the All-terrain vehicles.

• Cariló Forest

Cariló not only has a beach to enjoy from but it also is built amonst a forest, which gives a chance for tourists to enjoy from the natural wildlife of the plants and animals.

Las Grutas

Las Grutas is a beach resort town located in the Argentine province of Río Negro, in the department of San Antonio, with a stable population of 3,500 inhabitant.s

It's located 15 kilometers southern of San Antonio Oeste, and is visited by over 250,000 tourist every summer. Its beaches are known for having relatively warm waters in spite of their location in the Patagonia, due to the wide tidal amplitude, and the protection of the San Matías Gulf. The town was founded in 1964, mainly as a group of campings, and soon began growing. But it was not until the 1980s that tourism industry finally exploded, with the construction of numerous hotels and a provincial casino.

Las Grutas', meaning "The Caves" in Spanish, comes from the caves created by the erosion of the sea on the cliffs that separate the city from the beach. The access to the beaches is therefore restricted to the existing 12 descends or "bajadas". Their names, from north to south, are "3 de febrero", "Los acantilados", "A.C.A.", "La rueda", "Cero", "Primera", "Segunda", "Tercera", "Cuarta", "Quinta", "Sexta" y "Séptima", the last seven named from first to seventh.

The first accesses where the ones named "Primera", "Segunda", and "Tercera" (first, second and third), to which new ones were added as the town, and the number of visitors grew.

Near the "Cero" access there are pools artificially carved in the stone that change their water in every tidal cycle. When the tide is low, the water in the pools is quickly warmed by the sun. In colder days, old people and children sometimes prefer to make use of the pools instead of the sea.

Miramar, Buenos Aires Province

Miramar is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province, 450 km (280 mi) south of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of General Alvarado Partido. The name "Miramar" cames from the words Mira (look) and Mar (sea).

 History

1870: The land that now includes General Alvarado Partido came into the ownership of Fortunato de La Plaza.

1879: The area changes jurisdiction from Balcarce to General Pueyrredón.

1887: It was around this time the project to build Miramar was undertaken by Jose María Dupuy, Rómulo Otamendi (engineer) and Fortunato de la Plaza.

1888: Miramar was founded on 20 September.

1889: Construction began on the first church in Miramar.

1891: The Partido of General Alvarado was created on September 29, with Miramar as its capital.

1911: The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway arrived in Miramar and the company later built a comfortable hotel and adjoining golf course in the town.

1920: The first aeroplane arrives in Miramar.

1927: The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway began the construction of the Miramar golf course.

1930: The hotel Dormy House was built adjacent to the golf course by the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, and later a tunnel was built to provide access to the sea from the hotel

Economy

The summer tourist season provides the most significant contribution to the economy of Miramar. Other economic activities include farming and agroindustry, with most of these concentrated around the nearby village of Comandante Nicanor Otamendi.

Attractions and activities of Miramar beach

Attractions

• Miramar Golf Course.
• Museo Punta Hermengo, museum.
• Vivero F. Ameghino, 5.02 km² of woodland.
• Enchanted Forest or Energic Forest
• Aero Club de la ciudad de Miramar, Aerodrome.
• Autodromo Roberto Hirch de Miramar, 1.47/1.72 km motor racing venue.
• The farm circuit, knows as "Mar y Pampa" near 37 Avenue has nice places, specially on weekends
• Vivero Dunícola "Florentino Ameghino"
• The dunes: 12 km of sand beaches - South of Miramar. There is a possibility to take a truck to know this incredible places and practise sandboard.
• The "Médano Blanco" (white dune), one of the tallest and close to "La Totora" brook.
• The coastline between Miramar and Mar del Plata (40km), has incredible landscapes with beaches, cliffs, brooks and wood.

Other attractions include the rivers Durazno and Brusquitas, an ecological reserve and a number of beaches.

Activities

• Surf: Many good breaks, one of which is famous throughout South America
• Golf: The course is of the well-known Scotch type.
• Fishing: by the coast, on board or in "La Ballenera" lagoon.
• Trekking: Especially in the forest ("El Vivero"), guide is recommended
• Mountain biking: Miramar is the point of the international circuits of mountain bike in Argentina, like "Panamerican Games"
• Horseback Riding: alone or with a guide, one can rent horses on weekends.

Monte Hermoso beach

Monte Hermoso is a town located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, some 100 km (62 mi) east of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of the partido of Monte Hermoso.

Founded at the beginning of the twentieth century, Monte Hermoso is a family seaside resort with more than 32 km (20 mi) of beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and with the unique characteristic in Argentina of having both sunrises and sunsets over the sea.

The summer climate of Monte Hermoso is more temperate than that of other major seaside resorts due to the sea breeze effect, while the water itself is warmer, making for a pleasant beach experience.

Monte Hermoso owes its existence to the 1879 purchase of 4,000 seaside hectares (10,000 acres) by Esteban Dufaur. His son, Sulpicio, created the El Recreo estancia in 1910, and in 1918, began welcoming guests with the inaugural of the Hotel de Madera; the hotel was built by Dafaur with lumber salvaged from a shipwreck on the shore. The settlement was established as such in 1975, and given autonomy on April 1, 1979.

The lighthouse, Faro Recalada a Bahia Blanca, 73 m (240 ft) high and the tallest in South America, is situated on the coastal road to Sauce Grande about 7 km (4 mi) east of the resort, where it marks the route to the nearby port of Bahía Blanca. Prefabricated in France by the same construction company, Barbier Bernad and Turenne that built the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it was erected in Argentina under the direction of Engineer Luigi, who also supervised the construction of the nearby naval base at Puerto Belgrano. Opened on 1 January 1906, the manned lighthouse, painted in red and white and giving out a white flash every 9 seconds, comprises an octagonal pyramidal cast iron tower with a central cylinder lantern and gallery. Guided tours of the lighthouse are provided daily.

Pinamar beach

Pinamar is an Argentine coastal resort town located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province. It has about 20,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census.

Located less than 400 km (249 mi)south of Buenos Aires, it is one of several small seaside communities that line the coast. Since Pinamar's main attraction is the ocean, it is a fairly quiet town during the winter months. Tourism is what fuels the economy during the summer.

Two facts set Pinamar apart from most of the other Atlantic Ocean beach cities: it is a planned city with a very strict building code, and it has been artificially turned from wild sand dunes into a forest (mostly of pine trees, which explains the "pina" in the name).

City planning, as defined by founding architect Jorge Bunge and maintained by elected authorities ever since, translates into a city mostly made up of residential houses with open gardens; that, together with the pine forest, combine to make the city a very nice setting. That explains why it has been chosen as the summer resort for many well-to-do Argentinians, in particular those living in Buenos Aires.

Pine planting was originally started in Cariló -- a town nearby Villa Gesell and copied in Pinamar, although the city plan for Villa Gesell was not as carefully laid out or kept through the years.