Before December 2014, I lived in Guadalajara. It is a beautiful Mexican city, but the closest beach is 3 hours away and it has no comparison with the ones in the Caribbean where the ocean has a beautiful turquoise color and white-sand beaches.
Now that I live in Cancun, which is 70 km (43 mi) from Playa del Carmen, I have the opportunity to get away to the Riviera Maya and break the monotony of the week. Just by traveling one hour away I feel I’m on vacation. That’s why I love my weekends in Playa. Living here feels as if I am on a permanent vacation with breaks for work.
For the past few months, the amount of a type of seaweed called sargassum had increased dramatically in the area. Later I found out this was not only a problem in the Riviera Maya, but it was also affecting the whole Caribbean Sea including some famous islands such as Trinidad y Tobago, Dominican Republic, and Saint Martin to name a few.
It seemed like it was never going to go away. I remember going to Playa del Carmen 2 months ago. I felt kind of sad to see the ocean like that. You could notice an awful orange frame in the middle of the ocean and a weird smell caused by the seaweed. At the same time, the efforts of everyone involved in the cleaning process were evident. These included private and public authorities. Nevertheless nothing seemed to be enough to battle this natural phenomenon.
I love going to the beach and swimming in the ocean. The ocean makes me relax and at the same time it gives me energy. Last Saturday, I went to visit a friend of mine in Playa del Carmen. I used to go to the beach at least twice a month and he went every Sunday. It is easier for him to go to the beach since Playa del Carmen is a smaller town than Cancun. Everything is closer and there the access to the beach is easier. However, once the seaweed problem got worse, we stopped going.
We were hanging out with his roommate and he told us that he had gone for a swim and that the seaweed was gone. So, now that we had heard it was all clear we were really excited about going and experiencing it ourselves.
Sunday morning, we woke up really early. I had a delicious breakfast prepared by my friend and headed to Playacar which is our favorite spot in the beach.
When we got there it was amazing to see how the ocean was crystal clear, no seaweed around. The water had that beautiful and distinctive turquoise color. For a moment, we stood there in awe of the sparkling reflection of the sunrays reaching the horizon. It was wonderful!
Later, when we were ready to go swimming, we submerged into the ocean and it was awesome! The water was fresh. Temperature was perfect! The ocean was quiet. No big waves. It was like a huge saltwater swimming pool. We even saw a little boy swimming naked and reminisced about those simpler times when we were children.
And what better way to reminisce about the past than to look at old photographs. Come to the Riviera Maya to experience firsthand its magnificence and capture those moments in a family photo, or with your significant other, or just a selfie. Share your pics with us!
