Pollution: The Hidden Side of Tulum (page 5 of 5)

Sorry, the system sent it to me as a reply to my comment. Have a good evening. Best, Jp

Hello,

I came across this post and I'm shocked and saddened by what you're writing!!! 😮 We went to Tulum for a little over a week in 2004 (in August because we were tied to school holidays) during a solo trip to the Yucatán and Chiapas. Back then, there were very few hotels. We stayed at the Los Lirios bungalows, 7 km south of the historical site, and further down there was a small campsite and beyond that the Sian Ka'an reserve. On the other side, I remember the Mayaland Hotel, a permanent building with thatched huts, and that was it. No trash or dump anywhere, the beach was deserted. I don’t know what’s become of the village itself (I haven’t read the rest of this thread), but we used to buy delicious fruits there, especially cherimoyas, and really big juicy avocados. We feasted on coconuts picked from under the palm trees on the beach. There was a crowd, though, to visit the site, and like everywhere else, we went at opening time. There you go... all of this seems a world away from what it’s apparently become today... On our way down to Chetumal (Belize border), we had a picnic at the Bacalar lagoon. There were very few people there (I imagine that’s changed too?). I remember a little Indigenous girl gave me a small green fruit that we saw on all the roads, kind of like a small green orange but with an inside that looks like lychee. Then we headed back up to Chiapas via Escárcega, passing through the forest, which was completely deserted. Except for one military checkpoint, a quick search, and two questions. "Do you find Mexico peaceful?" "What do you think of the president?" 😉 In this context, I wonder what’s become of the little Oscar y Lalo lagoon, just above Tulum: a few kayaks, a deserted beach on the other side of the small bay enclosed by a coral reef...

Hey,

You only have to see how much France has changed in 14 years to realize that the Yucatán must have evolved too (for better or worse—everyone can decide or argue that for themselves). Personally, I deeply regret those 14 years of "progress" back home...

So, are we better off here than there? Are they wrong to want to cash in on tourism? Are we really in a position to lecture them when we look at what we’ve done to our Mediterranean coastlines, for example?

Bottom line, we should clean up our own act first and sometimes climb down from our pedestals of arrogance.

Leaving for the Yucatán in 6 days. So excited! ++ JP

In short, we should sweep in front of our own doors and sometimes come down from our pedestals of arrogance.

Uhhh... am I reading this wrong, or are you talking about me here? Is it forbidden to make an observation? So if I understand you correctly, things have gotten worse here (or elsewhere)—though honestly, in 14 years, I haven’t noticed anything particular in France—but it’s true that when it comes to "the Mediterranean coastlines," I only know Aigues-Mortes and the Espiguette beach, which hasn’t changed a single dune since 2004. So we can’t miss a time when mass tourism hadn’t yet wreaked havoc in certain parts of the world?

No, no, don’t take it personally! It’s also an observation on my part. We’re often quick to criticize the speck in our neighbor’s eye while missing the plank in our own. And this is a general thing, not aimed at you :) The world moves forward with its excesses, its excesses, and its failures in many areas. And in my opinion, it’s not going to get better. Even in France, even if you don’t share my view on the state of the country (I’m a former military guy). We probably don’t live in the same place, and that’s likely why I’m so eager to head back to the Yucatán for so many reasons. But again, don’t feel personally targeted by my previous post. ++ JP

PS: The destruction of the Mediterranean coastlines started long before the 14-year period you associate with it. For me, those 14 years referred to the time between 2004–2018—your trip and your memories—and this year. And in those 14 years, though, a lot has changed in France, I assure you :)

OK. 🙂

Let’s just say I live between two extremes: the most populated city and the least populated department...😉

Hi there,

It’s true—this pollution is a real problem. I didn’t notice it four years ago, but now it’s glaringly obvious, and it’s really time to take action...

When our host at the Puerto Morelos hotel told me, "You’ll see, the region has changed a lot in four years," I didn’t quite get what he meant. But now, seeing Akumal—a small beach that used to be family-friendly on weekends and almost deserted during the week—packed with tourists drinking alcohol in the middle of the day... When I see that you now need a guide just to watch the turtles swim, with the area strictly marked off to keep crowds from bothering them... When I see the trash (plastic caps and bottles) littering the turtle beach in Tulum, a supposedly protected site... It makes me sad. This little slice of paradise has become a victim. Tourism (and not the best kind) has exploded, and the locals haven’t been able to keep up.

The Yucatán is unfortunately in danger. This natural area, a refuge for so many species, is slowly being destroyed by mass tourism and careless people. Open-air dumps are popping up in the jungle... The sea is polluted...

Whether you’re planning a trip to the region or not, I’d recommend looking into this issue. Check out the site The Dark Side of Tulum. A group of motivated, environmentally conscious people is doing their best to make a change and raise awareness. They need help, though—it’s a huge task. They also have a Facebook page: https://fr-fr.facebook.com/thedarksideoftulum/, and several YouTube videos that show the extent of the damage and how urgent it is to act.

Normal on the public beaches

Uh... I agree with you, but... do you think the Mediterranean Sea is much better?... 🤪 Check out this article: Pollution and tourism

It really makes you a lot less eager to dip in there...

TULUM = BALI = PHUKET = MEDITERRANEAN

Today, 95% of travelers visit less than 5% of the planet. A city dweller is lost, disoriented outside these all-inclusive spots.

PS: The destruction of Mediterranean coastlines began long before the 14-year period you associate with it.

There’s some exaggeration in that statement, and maybe it’s time to stop with the doom-and-gloom conformism. I lived in the Var for several years, went freediving there regularly, and the beaches along the French coastline are clean. At some point, we need to stop swallowing all the media hype and their catchphrases.

The greenwashing there is intense, even more than elsewhere. And the hipsters lounge around on Instagram without a care about where their crap ends up...

There are no problems, only solutions. When it comes to pollution, Mexico will eventually build sanitation systems; Mexico is a developing country, don’t forget that either.

You're right, I've been living here for 50 years, diving here every year, and the seabeds have become almost sterile from Saint-Raphaël to Toulon, Le Brusc. But I’ll defer to you if you lived there a few years ago. Have a good evening, freediving, and utopia! 👋

Hi there, I’m traveling to Mexico this summer and I’m also encountering trash dumps in the jungle and pretty much everywhere on the roads in the Yucatán. We didn’t see this issue in the Oaxaca region. Thanks for all the info in this thread!

hi, as I wrote back in 2019, emerging countries will be forced in the future to build waste treatment plants and garbage collection systems... obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a video on YouTube showing piles of Bangladeshis cleaning a waterway filled with waste in a city in Bangladesh.

Besides, the biggest global market of tomorrow isn’t AI or high tech at all—the biggest market is sanitation, drinking water distribution, waste treatment, and so on. Can you imagine if governments in emerging countries decided to take such steps to improve quality of life in cities? And in this sector, France is very well-equipped with companies like Veolia, Derichebourg, and Suez