Pink Lake

We went by taxi for about an hour and a half to visit Pink Lake, sometimes called Salt Lake. According to a local man, the water that forms this lake seeps underground from the ocean, and thus the water is salty even though the ocean does not flow directly into it. For some reason the lake has a pink cast to it, and that pink color is more defined at sunset. We were not there that late, but we could see a little of the pink color.
Much salt is harvested from the lake. Each day men go out in little boats and dig up salt deposits from the bottom of the lake. They carry that salt to shore, set it out to dry, put it in bags, and then load the bags onto big trucks. This is very hard work and extremely low paying work.
The boats have to be replaced often because of the salt damage to them.

Some of the men really wanted to take us out for a boat ride, but we did not go. The boats did not look like they were in good condition, and there were no life jackets. However, the men said that the water is not deep and that no one would drown because of the heavy salt content of the water. The heavy concentration makes a person float---at least that is what they said!

When the salt is brought to shore to dry, it is put into piles. The signs are put on the piles to designate which pile belongs to which family. The women work along side the men to pile the salt and to bag it.

These bags are ready to be loaded onto the trucks.

Some of the women quickly spot visitors, and they come quickly with their items for sale!

This is the village beside the lake. There are souvenirs for sale, as well as food and drinks. We only bought orange Fanta to drink.

Following is a link to more pictures of Pink Lake.

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/senegal_pink_lake.htm