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TEOPAN:
The Temple In The Caldera
More than 50,000 years ago, in the northeast of what is now known as the nation of El Salvador, a massive volcanic eruption occurred. The explosion was such that it left a 25.9 km² boiler that slowly filled with water. Millennia later, the Pipil, indigenous people of the region, named the place Coatepeque or “Serpent’s Hill". They climbed the mountain and after visiting the lake, they found an island inside it. Thinking about how mystical it must be for a volcano to hold an island inside its caldera, they declared it a sacred land. From then on, the island became a “temple”, for word that in Pipil is “Teopan”.

With an area of 3.55 km², the size of the island forced me to compose a panorama of 16 drone shots to cover the northern part of it. The island is located in most of the southwestern part of the lake, which made it ideal for photographing it from the north, since it could also show the sunset in the background.

However, even while flying in the middle of a lake, I was not alone. A boat sailed through the middle of the lake, transporting people who wanted to enjoy the same view as me, but from the height of the water. It can be said that the drone was looking towards the opposite side of the island, since the clouds coincided with the color of the sunset and these were reflected in the water

Working on another project, I set up my camera for some night photos and decided to leave it all night without touching it. Luckily for me, the spot I was pointing to turns out to be exactly where the sun and the moon rise. Being the opposite of early bird, I got up early and took the opportunity to capture different periods of time. The ones above are part of said lapsos, but curiously the water at dawn has almost the same color as when the moon lights up.

While the colors of the water had remained the same throughout the sunrise and sunset, the contrast when night comes is much greater. I decided to take the bluish tone of the night and the orange tone of the day to create a "mirror panorama". Composed of the same landscape at different times, join both photos and rotate one horizontally to reflect the same landscape in different times. It is worth mentioning that these were put together using a third photo of the darkest hour of the night as a transition between both environments.

Unfortunately, at the time of the capture of this image, a rare phenomenon was occurring in the lake. More than usual algae began to accumulate on the surface. Not only that, but the water began to bubble with the smell of sulfur that came from it. The locals warned us that we do not bathe in the lake, since contact with these algae could produce itching and stinging. Curiously, this happened mainly at noon, when the lake was at its warmest moment.

However, the algae problem did not prevent the boats from transporting tourists across the lake. This drone take was taken in the afternoon. At more than 800 meters high, the island casts a shadow when the sun begins to set. This can be seen at the bottom of the image above, along with some of the algae that accumulate on the rocks.

A man in a jet ski tries to beat a flying bird. It is not uncommon to find employees who venture into their employer's toys to find tourists and rent them the equipment for an hour. They usually go dock by pier in search of people (mostly families) willing to pay the rent in advance.

Boat trips around Teopan are a common sight when flying with a drone. It makes sense since, already being this the most luxurious area of the lake offers views of mansions and the most luxurious houses, additionally the waters are colder during the afternoon and the island offers a unique diversity of wildlife. Teopan offers a lot to see from a boat ride.