We were down there in February and then again at the end of March both times in the area between Playa del Carmen and Cancun February the water was dirty looking but they had a barrier that was keeping most of the seaweed out When we went at the end of March the first couple days were ok then the seaweed came in so heavy that it made a 3 foot high ridge along the shore and a floating carpet of seaweed in the water It was very windy so I guess that pushed the seaweed ashore People we talked to that stayed closer to Tulum said it wasn't bad down that way so maybe that's something to look in to They were doing what they could to clean it but it was overwhelming them Sad but I love the area and will continue to go there for the weather the pool and to support the workers at the resorts who have always been very nice to us when we have gone there
I saw on the news a few days ago about all of the seaweed and red tide in Florida. This looks awful. I remember you putting up a video some time ago about seaweed. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Happy Saturday! Thx for an informative update! I swear I saw ur name come up in Global News this week when they were talking about seaweed. Was that u???
Thanks for posting these. We'll be staying at the Hilton about a mile up from the port. Do you know if any of the hotels are investing in cleanup of the beaches in front of their hotels?
The Hilton has great location. Love that place! Some of my previous videos are shot at the Hilton beach. There are volunteers that come out on to the beach around sunrise and start cleaning up the seaweed. There are also tractors that are picking up the piles that the workers make. And there are trucks waiting at Avenue Constituyentes to take the seaweed away so it doesn't smell as bad. Many of the people cleaning the beach are volunteers. Some days the beach looks good and others it has lots of seaweed. They usually make it look good for the weekends because lots of people are heading to the beach. Hope you have a good trip.
It seems tourism will move towards other places away from the Caribbean! I hope they enjoyed their glory while it lasted! Real state will go down in those places! 😢
Tulum is getting seaweed. It is a little south of where I am. It has less seaweed than Playa and it supposed to start in May. I think it is starting earlier this year. Let me know what it is like when you are there. I might be down there before May. If I am I will notify you. Thank you for watching!
Yes they will put the barriers out in April but some are worried that they are expensive and may be harmed during hurricane season. They have to try something. I have also heard they want to gather it out in the ocean and submerge it to 2000 feet. It is becoming a nuisance for many. Let's see what happens. Thank you for watching!
The sad thing is that the media, not losing a word about it, letting unsuspecting tourists come from far away, overpriced demand a lot of money, which does not flow into the support of this catastrophe but into your even thicker wallets, only together we can ensure that these paradises are spared. Like me from Switzerland, 🇨🇭
Sad to see, but maybe it'll wake people up, especially when it hits Florida. Slight changes in ocean surface temps have created this situation. Who knows when it'll end?
I grew up on the ocean and this just looks normal. Right now my beach is coated in seaweed and herring spawn, there's a couple thousand sea lions and tonnes of different gulls and many bald eagles. It's not disgusting it's awesome. City folks are delusional and don't realize nature's abundance. 😂
@@leonardsheatravel good thing most of the resorts have at least one nice pool for swimming/cooling off. I've been wading through seaweed my whole life so I've adjusted to it. We're also blessed with beautiful lakes and rivers that are clear and clean so we seek those spots if our guests aren't as salty as us! 😜
@@leonardsheatravel Hello Leonard, I know this video is a few weeks old...but...I've been watching as many of your interesting & informative posts as time will allow. I feel compelled to comment on a few points of this video & I do-so respectfully. First, the article you quoted from...stating 2023 will be a mild year for sargassum... is one of several such articles "purposely" placed in the press to mislead people about this serious issue. Mainly as an effort to keep the tourist-driven economy from crashing. From your commentary, I sense you suspected the same. By mid-Summer of 2022, the massive, Caribbean-bound growth of sargassum in The Atlantic was well-known by international authorities. During December 2022 & January 2023, it doubled in size to 5,000 miles. By March 2023, it had increased to 8,000 miles. Now, its' widespread impact has become sadly obvious. With the nearly perfect growing conditions created by nature & aided by agricultural practices in South America, it seems certain to inundate beaches of The Caribbean Region for the foreseeable future & year-round. Depending on regional weather conditions, hurricane frequency, sea currents, etc, The Caribbean Region will continue to experience varying amounts of sargassum on the beaches; from mild to extreme. It's important for locals & tourists alike to clearly comprehend there is no longer a "predictable" sargassum season. The past 22 months have proven this depressing reality. Considering the prolific growth of sargassum in The Atlantic, there's no reason to believe this situation will improve any time soon. Second, The family you pointed-out @ 06:45 in this video is...unfortunately...a too common sight along the beaches. Most people are clueless about the danger of handling sargassum. This plant is full of arsenic & heavy metals like cadmium. When it dies and rots, it releases gases which are hazardous to humans & wildlife. Such as Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia & Methane gasses. The "brown" color of the seawater you commented on is rotting sargassum. As it rots these hazardous chemicals & gasses are released into the water. Equally hazardous is the dead and rotting sargassum on the beaches. Any person & animal entering the sea in these areas are at risk of developing serious health issues. Sargassum should never be handled with bare hands. Certainly not when it's brown & dead. Medical authorities throughout The Caribbean Region are now reporting health issues directly related to sargassum. Lastly, there is a serious issue created by the disposal of sargassum. By now, there have been millions of tons of this arsenic & cadmium-laden plant cleared from beaches & dumped on the lands in The Caribbean Region. There has been no information given about where & how this toxic material is being disposed of. I seriously doubt ANY environmental concerns are being considered & addressed. By dumping tons of sargassum on the land, it has been rendered useless for agriculture & hazardous for humans & wildlife. Additionally, the land in this region is "Karst". The toxic chemicals from the dumped sargassum will easily reach the underground freshwater supply of countries in The Caribbean. It is certain to poison the underground river system of The Yucatan Peninsula & its' cenotes. This complex situation will become a toxic nightmare in the near future. Best regards from Yucatan, Ben
This is an awful update as I was hoping things were better! I was considering a last minute trip to Mexico bc there r some deals right now but the beaches look dreadful.
In all honesly i feel like your trying to keep people from coming, i’ve been along the beaches in playa del carmen march 5th to march 17th. Yes there was seaweed but plenty of clear beaches and swimming spots. How about you look for good beaches instead of worrying people?
Ya, I think that is a good point. There are some beaches that are good and some that are bad. I will try to focus on some good ones this week. It seems hard to predict from one day to the next which beaches will be good and that ones that will have lots of seaweed. Any beaches you know that are consistently good?
I got the same vibe from him. It happens. I was just in Miami early February and it was the same thing. Was in playa del Carmen, cozumel, isla mujeres and holbox early March island hopping and yes. Plays del Carmen had a lot of seaweed. But that's nature for you
We were down there in February and then again at the end of March both times in the area between Playa del Carmen and Cancun February the water was dirty looking but they had a barrier that was keeping most of the seaweed out When we went at the end of March the first couple days were ok then the seaweed came in so heavy that it made a 3 foot high ridge along the shore and a floating carpet of seaweed in the water It was very windy so I guess that pushed the seaweed ashore People we talked to that stayed closer to Tulum said it wasn't bad down that way so maybe that's something to look in to They were doing what they could to clean it but it was overwhelming them Sad but I love the area and will continue to go there for the weather the pool and to support the workers at the resorts who have always been very nice to us when we have gone there
I will pin your comment. Thank you for all the information. Thank you for watching!
I saw on the news a few days ago about all of the seaweed and red tide in Florida. This looks awful. I remember you putting up a video some time ago about seaweed. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Horrible for tourism! Thank you for watching!
Leonard, Thanks for letting us know about the seaweed and condition there. BIg 👍46 hope you have a wonderful week my friend.
Smelly. Stinky. And tough to swim here now. Thank you for watching!
Nice starting video giving location context with the bus/taxi terminal, and the ferry dock.
Thank you for the nice comment and thanks for watching!
Nice vidéo 😍
Nice place sharing with us ❤
Keep safe 🙏
Thank you for watching!
@@leonardsheatravel you're welcome 🙏
Here watching & showing full support.
Wish I was in Barbados. Any seaweed on your shores? Thank you for watching!
Thank you for sharing. The seaweed situation is unbelievable.
It is only getting worse. Thank you for watching!
we as fans of the caribean sea went elsewhere in the atlantic, poor natives
Good Day! Thx 4 the updates! I saw ur footage on NBC Today morning news on the seaweed situation. Wow!!!
I saw the seaweed story on the Today morning show! How did u manage to get on NBC! Thx for getting this update out! 👍
NBC got in touch with me regarding the seaweed situation. It is all over the news. Thank you for watching!
@@freespirit9299 NBC contacted me and liked some of the footage and I was just happy they credited me for all my footage. Thank you for watching!
@@leonardsheatravel Wow! You are a celebrity (sort of). That's cool that NBC came to you! Cheers mate!
That's a great shot of the family playing with the Stinky brown seaweed. Another fun day at the beach!
Hey all the more power to them but wonder if they have a rash from it! Yuck! 🤢
Perhaps the family is making the best of the situation. Good on them! LOL 😂
Hahaha! People pay thousands of dollars to go there and clean up the seaweed.... Thank you for watching!
@@seekingzen4502 Thank you for watching!
@@adventureseekergirl2898 Thank you for watching!
I’ve heard of seaweed being at any beach but this is overwhelming. I have never seen it that yellow n all over the water!
When it gets in the way of people swimming...it is too much. Thank you for watching!
Happy Saturday! Thx for an informative update! I swear I saw ur name come up in Global News this week when they were talking about seaweed. Was that u???
Hey I saw that too on Global! Cool that they used ur footage, not the seaweed. 😜
Canadian Media has been using some of my footage on the news lately. It is a big story for Canadian Snowbirds. Thank you for watching!
The weather looks great but the beaches are wrecked! Typically the resorts are on top of it but even with the tractors can’t keep up. 🤨
Weather has been great for the last 3 months. Thank you for watching!
OMG!!! I can’t believe how bad the seaweed is this year! I saw it is also bad in Florida in Miami! Very sad! ☹️
Florida has a double whammy with the Red Tide n now the seaweed heading their way! It’s crazy!
It is coming to Florida! Thank you for watching!
@@adventureseekergirl2898 That Red Tide might be worse. Thank you for watching!
Hi there! I am disappointed to hear the seaweed situation has not improved. This is bad news!!!
A lot of people are here and disappointed too. Thank you for watching!
Thanks for posting these. We'll be staying at the Hilton about a mile up from the port. Do you know if any of the hotels are investing in cleanup of the beaches in front of their hotels?
The Hilton has great location. Love that place! Some of my previous videos are shot at the Hilton beach. There are volunteers that come out on to the beach around sunrise and start cleaning up the seaweed. There are also tractors that are picking up the piles that the workers make. And there are trucks waiting at Avenue Constituyentes to take the seaweed away so it doesn't smell as bad. Many of the people cleaning the beach are volunteers. Some days the beach looks good and others it has lots of seaweed. They usually make it look good for the weekends because lots of people are heading to the beach. Hope you have a good trip.
It seems tourism will move towards other places away from the Caribbean! I hope they enjoyed their glory while it lasted! Real state will go down in those places! 😢
Yes, I think you are probably right. It is killing tourism. Thank you for watching!
panama work for another few years, on the long term i see US and Canadians fly to thailand and java in 14 hours
Arsenic alert !! The weed contains arsenic !
I did not know that! Wow! Thank you for watching!
The seaweed situation is growing! It's 8,000 mile long along the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Very concerning!
I will pin this comment. Thank you for the info. Thank you for watching!
What about Tulum I’m planning to be there in May
Tulum is getting seaweed. It is a little south of where I am. It has less seaweed than Playa and it supposed to start in May. I think it is starting earlier this year. Let me know what it is like when you are there. I might be down there before May. If I am I will notify you. Thank you for watching!
Sad
Thank you for watching!
I heard there are plans to put some sort of barrier in the ocean in Ap. Have a heard anything about that?
Yes they will put the barriers out in April but some are worried that they are expensive and may be harmed during hurricane season. They have to try something. I have also heard they want to gather it out in the ocean and submerge it to 2000 feet. It is becoming a nuisance for many. Let's see what happens. Thank you for watching!
Please keep us updated on the "barrier project" if you have any updates.
I was in the beginning of march there, its so sad, the paradise is ruined. I was shocked 😳 Only one place for clean beaches is Isla Mujeres.
Isla Mujeres is so beautiful. Great recommendation n hope they don’t get the seaweed 🤞
Nice line...Paradise Is Ruined...so true. Thank you for watching!
@@zoeytraveler8171 Isla Mujeres is beautiful. Thank you for watching!
The sad thing is that the media, not losing a word about it, letting unsuspecting tourists come from far away, overpriced demand a lot of money, which does not flow into the support of this catastrophe but into your even thicker wallets, only together we can ensure that these paradises are spared. Like me from Switzerland, 🇨🇭
TY for this video! It’s all over the news and how it’s unprecedented this year. It’s costing the governments millions of $$$
I hope the cost doesn’t increase the price at resorts. Yikes!
It is costing the tourism industry too! Thank you for watching!
@@zoeytraveler8171 Good point! I think people will not be going back next year. Thank you for watching!
Sad to see, but maybe it'll wake people up, especially when it hits Florida. Slight changes in ocean surface temps have created this situation. Who knows when it'll end?
Good point. Once it hits Florida people will take notice. And it is supposed to be headed that way. Thank you watching and the comment.
@@leonardsheatravel Not enough wastewater plants and too much poop in the water.
I grew up on the ocean and this just looks normal. Right now my beach is coated in seaweed and herring spawn, there's a couple thousand sea lions and tonnes of different gulls and many bald eagles. It's not disgusting it's awesome. City folks are delusional and don't realize nature's abundance. 😂
Thank you for your perspective. I will pin your comment. Thank you for watching!
@@leonardsheatravel good thing most of the resorts have at least one nice pool for swimming/cooling off. I've been wading through seaweed my whole life so I've adjusted to it. We're also blessed with beautiful lakes and rivers that are clear and clean so we seek those spots if our guests aren't as salty as us! 😜
@@leonardsheatravel Hello Leonard, I know this video is a few weeks old...but...I've
been watching as many of your interesting & informative posts as time will allow.
I feel compelled to comment on a few points of this video & I do-so respectfully.
First, the article you quoted from...stating 2023 will be a mild year for sargassum...
is one of several such articles "purposely" placed in the press to mislead people
about this serious issue. Mainly as an effort to keep the tourist-driven economy
from crashing. From your commentary, I sense you suspected the same.
By mid-Summer of 2022, the massive, Caribbean-bound growth of sargassum in
The Atlantic was well-known by international authorities. During December 2022 & January 2023, it doubled in size to 5,000 miles. By March 2023, it had increased to 8,000 miles. Now, its' widespread impact has become sadly obvious.
With the nearly perfect growing conditions created by nature & aided by agricultural practices in South America, it seems certain to inundate beaches of The Caribbean Region for the foreseeable future & year-round.
Depending on regional weather conditions, hurricane frequency, sea currents, etc,
The Caribbean Region will continue to experience varying amounts of sargassum on the beaches; from mild to extreme. It's important for locals & tourists alike to clearly comprehend there is no longer a "predictable" sargassum season. The past 22 months have proven this depressing reality. Considering the prolific growth of sargassum in The Atlantic, there's no reason to believe this situation will improve any time soon. Second, The family you pointed-out @ 06:45 in this video is...unfortunately...a too common sight along the beaches. Most people are clueless about the danger of handling sargassum. This plant is full of arsenic & heavy metals like cadmium.
When it dies and rots, it releases gases which are hazardous to humans & wildlife. Such as Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia & Methane gasses.
The "brown" color of the seawater you commented on is rotting sargassum. As it rots these hazardous chemicals & gasses are released into the water. Equally hazardous is the dead and rotting sargassum on the beaches. Any person & animal entering the sea in these areas are at risk of developing serious health issues. Sargassum should never be handled with bare hands. Certainly not when it's brown & dead.
Medical authorities throughout The Caribbean Region are now reporting health issues directly related to sargassum.
Lastly, there is a serious issue created by the disposal of sargassum. By now, there have been millions of tons of this arsenic & cadmium-laden plant cleared from beaches & dumped on the lands in The Caribbean Region. There has been no information given about where & how this toxic material is being disposed of.
I seriously doubt ANY environmental concerns are being considered & addressed.
By dumping tons of sargassum on the land, it has been rendered useless for agriculture & hazardous for humans & wildlife. Additionally, the land in this region
is "Karst". The toxic chemicals from the dumped sargassum will easily reach the underground freshwater supply of countries in The Caribbean. It is certain to poison the underground river system of The Yucatan Peninsula & its' cenotes.
This complex situation will become a toxic nightmare in the near future.
Best regards from Yucatan,
Ben
Thank you for watching!@@duygukayhanisaskank4915
This is getting National attention as it’s not just in Mexico. Horrible if they doesn’t get under control.👎
The seaweed is coming to Florida. Going to be horrible. Thank you for watching!
This is definitely a tourism killer as I can’t justify paying for the luxury resorts especially ocean view with the seaweed. 😔
Not the type of vacation u want to remember. (Shaking my head)
True! Thank you for watching!
@@adventureseekergirl2898 Thank you for watching!
This is an awful update as I was hoping things were better! I was considering a last minute trip to Mexico bc there r some deals right now but the beaches look dreadful.
Go for the weather and pools but not the beaches. Thank you for watching!
In all honesly i feel like your trying to keep people from coming, i’ve been along the beaches in playa del carmen march 5th to march 17th. Yes there was seaweed but plenty of clear beaches and swimming spots. How about you look for good beaches instead of worrying people?
Ya, I think that is a good point. There are some beaches that are good and some that are bad. I will try to focus on some good ones this week. It seems hard to predict from one day to the next which beaches will be good and that ones that will have lots of seaweed. Any beaches you know that are consistently good?
I got the same vibe from him. It happens. I was just in Miami early February and it was the same thing. Was in playa del Carmen, cozumel, isla mujeres and holbox early March island hopping and yes. Plays del Carmen had a lot of seaweed. But that's nature for you
@@robyun722 Thank you for watching!
i wouldnt go to mexico now or before even if it was free
I know some people agree with you. Thank you for watching!
Is it sewage water from the town making the water brown, I wonder, I'm Shure they don't treat there sewage but just let flow out to the sea
Someone else asked that too. I don't know the answer to that. Thank you for watching!