La Playa, Mexico

The beautiful white sandy beach that surrounds the property here and extends all the way from the lagoon in the east to the ocean on the west, requires a lot of hard work. Our first impressions were probably like many of yours after seeing the pictures from our last post. Peacefulness, seclusion, palms and pristine, almost untouched beach stretching for endless miles. A nice thought, but not one that lasted too long. Depending on the time of year, the current in the ocean for the day and impending hurricanes, beach management can be anywhere from 30 minutes a day to all day and day after day. If you travel about a km out past the break water and look back at the coast line, you will see our beach shimmering in the sun. The wild coast line on either side is another story.

The daily maintenance of the beach involves raking up ocean grasses and weeds that wash ashore. On a good day, the tide will be at its lowest for most of the afternoon and once a quick morning rake has been finished, the view from the casa is nothing but white sand and gorgeous ocean colours. On a bad day, the tides will be beating against the shore, making any level of cleanup more difficult. Any day can be made worse by a weed called "sargasso." It can punish you for weeks at a time or even a month. It washes up constantly or just overnight, leaving you a morning surprise. The high tide will burry it under sand, making the cleanup even more laborious. Having an every other day groundskeeper helps, but does not eliminate the mornings consumed with raking, pitch forking and wheelbarrowing the stuff away. The coast, where there is not a casa that maintains a clean beach, is covered in the stuff. Sometimes a strong storm will come in and pull a lot of it off the beaches, but it returns soon enough. In unkept areas or where excessive amounts wash ashore due to coves and currents, there is no winning. The masses of sargasso that are not cleaned up or that can not be cleaned up, rot and stink in the water. At times the town of Xcalak entirely stinks of rotting sargasso (very much like spoiled eggs and garbage). The hard work pays off with a beautiful beach for us and our guests, which when you see the rest, is even more appreciated.

The biggest problem impacting the coast line here is trash. Not trash from locals and careless tourists, but trash that is and has at some point been dumped into the ocean. Anything and everything washes up on the beach each day. We were deeply saddened by this upon our first walk down the beach. The currents in the Caribbean drag garbage floating in from all over the world to the beaches of Quintana Roo. The number of sandals, shoes and/or just thick rubber soles, is staggering. A times you can tell when a shipping container has dumped somewhere out in the world's vast oceans, as its particular contents will wash up in batches for weeks. Everyone down the coast are finding the same things. Again, except where a hotel or fastidious home owner has property, the coast line is littered with garbage. You could send in an army to try and clean it, but it will just keep washing in. The problem lies with where the garbage is coming from and it is not an issue that only affects this coastline. Many areas around the word share this affliction. It is sad to see and witness first hand as it continues to get worse. Efforts are being made with awareness campaigns, such as the Festival De Las Culturas, held annually in Mahahual since 2013. Besides raising money through shows and art (some even made from beach trash) for cleanups, the festival educates tourists and locals on the growing problem. This unfortunate situation is not exclusive to this area of Mexico, as many beaches around the world, once unmolested by human trash, are now a disaster. Obviously it effects the environment, but also the local population, especially ones that depend on tourism to put food on their plate. When it comes to those trying to eek out a living in Xcalak, this is a serious problem that does not seem to have a positive ending in the near future.