About 10 miles north of Maceió in Brazil is a section of beach called Praia de Sereia (Memaid Beach). This unusual mermaid statue is located on a small reef just off the shore. map
At times the reef is completely submerged, and at low tide it is accessible on foot.
There is a much rougher and probably much older mermaid statue of wood a few miles south of this location.
Whether the beach is named after the mermaid statue or whether there is an earlier inspiration for naming the beach after a mermaid is unknown at this point. If you know of any stories or legends relating to this, please let me know.
The beach and the mermaid statue are both popular with tourists.
These are not the only mermaid statues in Brazil. There are at least 4 more.
There is a replica of Denmark’s The Little Mermaid in Brasilia, at Brazil’s Navy Headquarters, donated by friends in Denmark in appreciation of the Brazilian navy courtesies when visiting Denmark.
Then there is the mermaid fountain in Belém, which was imported from Europe in the late 1800’s, and a heritage from the city’s Belle Époque.
There is also a mermaid monument on another beach near Espirito Santo in the south of Brazil. This beach is also called Praia de Sereia. There just has to be some history behind all this.
Finally there is a much more modern and abstract mermaid statue at the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
There are probably more….
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praia_da_Sereia
Additional images: If you would like to help with additional photographs of this mermaid statue, please contact us. Photos must be yours, preferably 10 megapixel or better.
