i went to Bonaire a few years back (awesome diving, and the shore

diving couldn't be easier).  as you may know, they have had salt

"mines" there for quite a while.  basically, they flood a few basins with

salt water and let the sun do the rest:  they end up with all the water

evaporated, and then scoop up the salt.

Salt mines on the south side of Bonaire

     as you can see, the water in the foreground looks pink. this means

that the water is shallow, and that the evaporation process is almost

done.  when the water is first put into the pens, it looks dark blue

or green.  the longer it's in the pens, the lighter it gets.

    anyway, i got to thinking: how much salt is there in the ocean?

apparently, quite a lot.  some sources say 4.5 million cubic tons

of salt, enough to cover the entire US to a depth of one mile.  Another

estimate is that there is enough salt in the sea to cover the entire world

in a layer more than 500 feet thick.

   originally, the salt mines in Bonaire employed slaves and

donkeys to do the salt collecting (now it's mostly automated).

you can still see the descendants of the salt mine donkeys roaming

around the island to this day. some are quite friendly, and will

come to your car.

One of the slave huts in the south of Bonaire.

A friendly donkey comes to our truck window.

Sadly, we had no comestibles to offer him.