A rose by any other name

Today, we escaped the city and headed to Lac Rose (aka Rose Lake or Lac Retba), most well known for its magic trick. At certain times, under certain conditions, it appears as if it is pink. I think it has something to do with its high salt content, which is higher than the ocean’s.

By the time we reached the lake, I swear I’d seen it all, except for the pink color. It looked orange, which is the color of the sand and soil leading up to it. The only way to see the advertised color is to wear rose-colored glasses, I guess. Luckily, I had some with me–no lie!

After ditching the agressive touts, we found a great hotel/restaurant/pool, where we had a great meal just inches from the edge of the lake, then went swimming in the buoyant water. The lake has a salt content that is 10 times greater than the ocean’s.

When it was time to head back, we asked our driver to take us down to where salt was being harvested out of the lake. It was the same place that was featured in a season of Amazing Race a few years ago. The teams had to dig up a certain amount of salt before receiving their next clue. It was a lot of work; it made me thirsty just thinking about it. Actually, it must have been all the salt from my swim leeching the moisture out of my body.

We sucked dry another big bottle of water on the drive home, and then drank some more.