I just returned from a fabulous trip to the Mayan Riviera. It was as beautiful as it sounds, pristine beaches, clam seas, warm winds, and strong drinks. The Mayans sure had a beautiful playground. I was fortunate enought to be one of the few on earth to camp at a marine preserve called PezMaya.
PezMaya is not easy to get to, we had to ride the bus for an hour, hike for over an hour and take a 2 hour boat ride to the island. (We started just north of Cancun) Once we arrived, it was breathtaking, and obvious that no humans lived there. There were no people, no mariachi bands, and no electricity or running water. We were on untouched land. Ahhh how peaceful it was, you could almost forget that anyone else existed outside this little piece of paradise, except for one big reminder... the piles and piles of trash that have washed up all over the island! It was truly unbelievable how much crap was all over the place. Everything from beer cans to clothes to large pieces of benches, I was in shock. How did all this trash get out here? Did other campers bother to hike all that way to this private island carrying this stuff? I asked the head of the preserve, who happened to be a friend of ours, the answer was not all that surprising. Cruise ships. Of course! Yes, all that stuff that people chuck off the boat ends up on gorgeous land like PezMaya.
I have heard it before, that there is a giant island of garbage floating in the pacific that measures twice the size of Texas. That trash is not all from cruise ships of course, but with hundreds of cruises sailing our seas, the garbage and sewage alone (I won't get into chemicals spills, and smog) is credited to polluting pristine beaches across the world. From beaches in California to Malaysia, to Cuba, cruise ships trash is a major issue.
Luckily, the EPA is making an effort to fight this. Just this month the EPA now requires cruises ships to have a clean water permit. Check it out, click here.
Have you had any similar experiences? Please share with us in the comment section.
