For those of us trapped in the wet-dog-days of autumn grimness, of unremitting gloom, cold, and damp, when the sun recedes in the mind into merely a concept, increasingly difficult to visualise, then a little relief, if only imaginary, is in order. Of course, this image is undeniably photoshopped, but then this is, after all, a creative effort. The sand perhaps naturally carries with it the genetics of a sun-drenched beach; it’s not an extraordinary sand, no exotic minerals, no shapely foraminifera or other organic designs are on display. But under a microscope no sand is really ordinary.
This one is from the Playa de los Muertos on Mexico’s Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta. It contains quartz, limestone and other grains of rock from the cliffs along the coast and the hinterland, along with the occasional shell fragment.
It’s a highly popular resort beach. Its name, “the beach of the dead,” is hardly enticing and there are any number of stories as to the origin of the name – Indian attacks on silver-miners, pirates, smugglers, and graveyards. But we must remember the cultural context: the Dia de los Muertos is a major and cheerful celebratory occasion in Mexico. The name would certainly not bother me, but I’m not much for popular beaches and prefer poking about in the sand to simply lounging – but boy, does this place look good from London in November.
[Thanks to Betsy Kimak at Sandrific for this sand.]
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