In 1936, Mexico began an impressive project: the construction of a pier at the town of Progreso, on the Yucatan peninsula, that would stretch a full two kilometres out into the Gulf of Mexico.
It was completed five years later, but by the 1980s increasing cruise and cargo ship traffic pushed the country to extend the pier another four and a half kilometres, bringing the total length to a ridiculous 6500 metres. If it were standing vertically instead of horizontally, it would be as tall as twenty Eiffel Towers. It’s the world’s longest dock, and from space, the way it interacts with the current is kind of beautiful.
The reason for the pier’s ludicrous length is that the water off Progreso is relatively shallow for quite some distance off shore, and if ships are going to dock, the pier needs to be long enough to reach waters that are deep enough to be safe.
Today, more than 80 years after its initial construction, the pier is in pretty good shape, especially considering the harsh environment it inhabits; saltwater and hurricanes tend to make it hard for things like piers to last the better part of a century. But the use of stainless steel in the rebar that reinforces the concrete in Progreso’s pier has helped it last surprisingly well, without much more than routine maintenance. By comparison, a neighbouring peer, twenty years younger and not built with stainless steel rebar, doesn’t look so good.
I would love to tell you, in keeping with the title of this week’s song, that the pier is open to pedestrian traffic, but sadly it’s not. So in fact, if you tried to walk it, you’d end up with exactly the opposite of this song’s title; the authorities would stop you and it would be a short walk on a long dock.
All things considered, it’s probably better to sit and enjoy this great new track by Blue Wednesday while imagining a dock walk.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The guitar, played by Dillan Witherow, is all sparkling water.
2. The piano that comes in at 1.17 is probably the most relaxing honky-tonk piano ever recorded.
3. It sounds like it ends at 2.12, but then it fades back in for another round. You know, in case you need your walk to last just a little longer.
Recommended listening activity:
Sitting in a place where just your toes dip in the water.