Collectors work the Pampatar salt flats as the sun sets on Isla Margarita.
Photographer: Matias Delacroix/BloombergWhen the Seawater Turns Pink, Poor Venezuelans Rush to Cash In
Pampatar salt flats attract hundreds left behind by economic rebound
In the glow of early morning, the Caribbean Sea shimmers a psychedelic pink in the pools that form along the eastern edge of Venezuela’s Margarita Island. To outsiders, the water appears surreal, other-worldly. To impoverished locals, it means there’s money to be made.
The pools cover salt flats that took shape centuries ago, and the pinker the water, the higher the density of salt coating the sea floor.