Beaches are fascinating. As the ocean spreads out for miles in front of you, curving gently towards the horizon en route to the next continent, all sorts of revelations and personal philosophies seem to pinpoint you there in that moment. Throughout history, beaches have been places where pirates landed, country flags were proudly staked and wary seafarers fell to the warm sand in gratitude. Now, we seek them to escape our landlocked lives, to test our strength against the ocean on surfboards, to discover underwater worlds, and most of all, to find peace on the edges of land and soak up the vision of ocean meeting sky (preferably with a refreshing tropical drink in hand).
I could absolutely live on Playa Palenque, it’s so seductively beautiful. The three-quarter mile stretch of soft volcanic sand edged in green might look long, but sure enough you are lured all the way down to the towering bluff at the far end. By the time you’ve strolled there, stopping often to touch the soft curves of driftwood, admire neon pink crab legs or break out into a dead sprint, the other end beckons you – tall jungle trees laden with white flowers and the tide creeping closer to the black rock jetty that divides the beach at high tide.
Perhaps it was all this beach crawling, but I ended up with dozens of pictures of just the sand on Playa Palenque during my last trip. It really is amazing how the waves of black and white sand make new patterns every couple of steps. With warm waves washing in around your legs as you stroll, the sand patterns are almost too good to be true, you cannot believe you are about to walk through this stunning presentation of sand art.
I think that these images of Isla Palenque sand almost seem to be abstract paintings rather than photographs. In a burst of inspiration, I mocked four images to look like framed prints to be used as wall art, and I love the way the gallery turned out. Looks like a little vision of Playa Palenque might be displayed over my couch before long. What do you think?
