Yucatán from Above – El Cuyo, Ría Lagartos and Las Coloradas
A few days of beach holiday in Yucatán were a must, and El Cuyo had won me over: a small fishing village on the north coast with long, lonely beaches and turquoise Caribbean water. From above you see how the pale sand turns into low dunes and the sea rolls gently onto the coast.
Pale sand and green sea in broad stripes – the north coast of Yucatán.Colourful roofs behind palms and white sand – the fishing village of El Cuyo.A narrow jetty leads out into the green water off El Cuyo.Palms and colourful roofs above the wide beach.A motorboat draws its wake through the turquoise water.Sandy paths in the scrub beside the long, empty beach.Palms above the white beach, the turquoise Caribbean water behind.Blue, turquoise and white surf – the sea rolls gently onto the coast.Rust-brown scrub above the pale beach.Sandy paths in the dense green behind the beach at El Cuyo.Pale sandbanks shimmer beneath the turquoise water.A narrow strip of beach beside turquoise-green water.
Ría Lagartos
Not far away lies Ría Lagartos, a nature reserve that from above reveals itself as a network of waterways, mangroves and lagoons. Flamingos, crocodiles and many other animals live here.
A spit between lagoon and sea – Ría Lagartos, a web of waterways and lagoons.Pink salt pans in a row on a white crust at Las Coloradas.A white salt island in yellow-green water.Yellow and orange pans at the edge of the turquoise water.Rows of small salt pans between beach and yellow water.An orange salt field beside the road and the sea.A green spit with a road between lagoon and sea.White salt crust and yellow water.White salt islands in mustard-yellow water.Curving dykes between orange and green water.
Las Coloradas: the pink salt flats
And then the salt flats of Las Coloradas. From the air they glow in a strong pink, with the deep blue sky and the green of the mangroves. The colour comes from micro-organisms and algae in the salty water. The flats are economically important for the area – and for me one of the most photogenic subjects of the whole trip.
A large pink pan next to yellow water – Las Coloradas.A white dyke through vivid pink – the colour comes from microorganisms and algae.Angular dykes between olive-green and pink pans.Long pink pans with cloud shadows, the sea right beside them.Pink, green and brown along the coast – one of the most photogenic sights of the trip.
