Visiting a Yucatan Salt Flat

Not a Desert

At first glance, you might think this photo is of a desert, probably because of the dry-looking, cracked ground in the foreground.

But this is no desert, as you would quickly find if you stepped out onto that cracked ground. With one step, your foot would be in a water puddle. Definitely not what you would find in the desert.

Although it looks deserted, this is actually a salt flat in the Yucatan in Mexico. The area fills up with salt water from the nearby ocean. When the water evaporates, salt is left behind. Lots and lots of it. The salt is then gathered for use.  The Mayans way back in the old days would use this salt to preserve their food. Those guys were pretty smart, weren’t they?

We visited these salt flats during our 2016 Cruise to Mexico, and we were impressed to see them and learn about how they were used then. And how they are still used for the same thing today, actually. Some good things stand the test of time, even if many centuries have passed.

Even though some time has passed since that trip, this is one of the images that lingers in my mind. Perhaps because it is much different from anything we have at home. Or perhaps because it was a nice, warm day there, the kind of day that I am looking forward to as summer approaches here.

Laura stands in front of the salt flat during our visit

You can see more from this trip in the 2016 Cruise to Mexico archive.

Living Water

Do you ever feel dry? Not like you don’t have any water on your skin. Although that can happen this time of year if you don’t drink enough water. I definitely recommend that you stay hydrated. Take it from me - you don’t want to experience the side effects of not drinking enough on a hot day.

No, I am talking about feeling dry on the inside. Maybe it is that you are just going through the motions. You know, going to work every day and then going home, only to get up the next day and do it all over again. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, of course. Especially if you are getting paid to go to work every day.

Or maybe you are feeling dry in your church life. Once again, that feeling of just showing up on Sunday and going through the motions. 

Maybe you are feeling like you need inspiration. Maybe that dry feeling comes from not knowing what to do with the rest of your life. Or even just the rest of your week. Maybe the dry feeling comes from not feeling like you have a purpose, as if you don’t know just what it is you are supposed to be doing.

How can you overcome this dryness? You hear people talk about fountains of inspiration, but I have yet to see one in person. Wouldn’t it be nice to go jump in a fountain like that and have the inspirational water take care of your dryness? If that were real, someone would even bottle up the water in a travel-sized pump spray bottle, so that you could spray yourself in the face with a little bit of inspiration whenever you need it. I wonder what they would charge for such a thing?

So what can you do? On a couple of different occasions in the Bible, Jesus said that He is living water, and that if we drink of His living water, we will never be thirsty again.

That sounds cool and all, but what does that mean? For starters, it means to read in the Bible to see what Jesus said, and to see what Paul and Peter and John and James said. And then to try to live out those words. Knowing what they say, look for ways to put them into practice. Get involved in the work of your church, and not just the worship services. Find ways to help people. Find ways to encourage others. Find ways to just be a friend.

The more you do, the more of this living water you will find flowing out of you. You might even find that there is so much to do that you can’t possibly do it all yourself. That’s a good problem to have.

If you are feeling dry, start looking for that living water, and then share it with others. Maybe you will find that just like the salt flat above, you just need to break the surface to find lots of water underneath.

Bible Verse

Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” - John 7:37-38

About the Photos

I really wanted to give these photos a sun-washed look. That sort of look seems to be popular these days in some places, and I think it is a nice summertime look. These photos worked for that sort of look, and I overlaid some brown tones over the photos to bring that out even more. The sun was bright that day, and to me this captures that tropical sun feeling quite well.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.

Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10

Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens

Date: July 19, 2016

Location: Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico