(This image is from the series of the same name: "Look mummy, no hands, no hands!")
1 of 3 prints for sale
The Story:
Seductive bubblegum pink, I just wouldn’t suggest you take a drink. Welcome to the world-famous Lake Retba also referred to as “Lac Rose”, but let’s just call it what it is, “The Pink Lake” and for those who love a bit of cross-country rally, the former arrival point of the “Dakar Rally”. This iconic landmark is literally only separated from the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean by a bank of sand dunes, oh the contrast.
Ok, let’s do some quickfire facts on the lake, November to May is the best season, as long as you aren’t one of Charlie Wonkers Oompa-Loompa’s you would struggle to drown with a max depth of 1.5 metres, an added bonus is with it’s extremely high salt content of approx. 40%, you can float like as thou you were in Dead Sea, look mummy, no hands, no hands!
Some fancy solar energy absorbing bacteria “Dunaliella Salina” (I had to google it) is what gives the lake its fancy pink hue, but beneath lays white gold…SALT! 20,000-60,000 tons per year of it is excavated by men and women who protect themselves from the hot African sun with shea butter to reduce skin damage.
West Africans regard food as LIFE and it is no joking matter, the rivalry can be tense, relationships have broken down over which nations makes the best “Jollof Rice”. They are also extremely serious about their fish, not just the freshness, but how it is preserved and that is thru salt. The salt from Lake Retba is sold internationally but it is regionally and domestically where it is most important as it used in so many traditional West African recipes.
Location: Cap Vert, Senegal
(Actual print size may vary, but only by a few centimetres)
