The sight gag is that these pink icons aren't really pink at all. It turns out the flamingo's signature hue is fleeting and that underneath every pink flamingo — whether in the Ria Celestun or elsewhere in the world — is a standard issue white flamingo that has literally been dyed pink from the inside out from swigging a cocktail of small crustaceans, insects, algae and other foods rich in beta carotene strained through a specially designed bill.

If beta carotene (remember your mother telling you to "eat your carrots"?) is reduced or eliminated from a flamingo's diet, that pink color fades to nearly white. In zoos, parks and aviaries, bird keepers augment their menus with alternative sources of beta carotene to keep their birds "in the pink."

At first faux pink blush, flamingos nevertheless make for a dramatic — albeit proportionally-challenged — sight. Balancing on pencil-thin, stilt-like legs and wielding powerful snaking necks that would be the envy of any contortionist, they are the poster birds for quirky. But gangliness quickly gives way to graceful upon seeing how these creatures navigate these tranquil waters unfettered.

Leaving terra firma for the skies is a different matter entirely.

When flamingos spread their sizable wings to go airborne, it conjures up vintage newsreel images of takeoffs by World War II-era bombers — each one a touch-and-go battle with gravity before eventual victory of flight.

Likewise, the modest Gulf of Mexico town of Celestun, which serves as portal to the flamingos' environs, is currently engaged in its own gravitational fight. Even in the tourist-centric Yucatan, this part fishing port, part beach retreat for 4,600 year-round residents, remains surprisingly undiscovered, unaffected and unspoiled.

Although situated in close proximity to the Yucatan state's cultural and business center of Merida, Celestun remains relatively isolated, due in part to its location inside the borders of the 146,000-acre Celestun Wildlife biosphere reserve, which limits development, hunting and harvesting of natural resources.

Another contributing factor to Celestun's stunted tourism growth has been the aggressive campaign waged by its larger coastal neighbor, Progreso, which has been striving to play in the tourist big leagues since achieving cruise port status in 1999.

Recent construction of several new moderate-sized condominium beach resorts intended to cash in on the area's pristine but underappreciated Gulf Coast beaches suggests that sleepy Celestun may finally be awakening.

Celestun's current beachfront features a number of hotels clearly past their prime. Most tourists are better served seeking accommodations at two newer properties built outside of town and accessible by an unpaved rutted coastal road.

At about the seven-mile mark sits the brand-new Playa Maya Resort, a hybrid condo/condo-for-rent property under development by a Canadian company. Another five miles farther stands the Eco Paraiso Resort, a popular all-inclusive eco-friendly hotel known for comfortable but Spartan accoutrements.