Save Eco Destinations

Closed off "Turtle nesting site" in the ruins of Tulum

This is a double post! (Are you excited? Woooo, you should be!)

Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. This is one of those times. Whether you consider yourself an eco expert or a newbie, skim this list in case there’s something new in there for you! And please feel free to add to it in the comments section.

• Stick to the rules that ask you to refrain from tresspassing into spots such as sea turtle nesting areas. The ruins in Tulum, for example, display a few signs with this message.
• Go ahead and pick up some trash and toss it in the garbage bin when other people have been inconsiderate. Help undo the harm with your kindness and compassion for life and the environment.
• Bring your own aluminum bottle to refill rather than wasting money and resource to buy and toss glass and plastic drinking bottles and cans (even if you can afterward recycle them, it’s better to reduce your use of resources to begin with :)). Why aluminum? Because plastic is toxic – and its carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, chemicals leech into water and food and enter your body (here is a plastic buying guide). Stay safe by recycling your water and nalgene bottles and switching to aluminum. Be sure to check whether the tap water in your area is safe to drink! The water in Tulum, for example, is not.
• Rent and ride a bike/walk/rollerblade/etc rather than drive when possible.
• Remain quiet in biodiversity areas – even the beach! And especially at night, when many animals venture out to nest, spawn, feed, and so on. Even whispering and small amounts of light have been found to disrupt the mating and normal behavior of wild birds and other animals.
• Do not feed birds, reptiles, and other wild animals.
• Be kind to the stray dogs that dot the areas where you’re spending your time – they’ve done nothing wrong. Consider buying them some food, at least giving them your leftovers, and setting out a bowl with water for them, particularly in hot weather. We all just want love and have the same basic needs, including food and water.
• Do not remove coral, rock, etc. when diving, snorkeling, and so on. Any removals can upset ecosystem balance – no matter how much you want that object as a souvenir!
• Support eco establishments and products!
• And speaking of eco products… remember that all toiletries and cleaners can be toxic (and usually are). For example, sodium laureth sulfate, which is in everything, has been found to cause cancer. Look it up here. Try switching to mindful brands for your body and the planet. Yes – they can be expensive. Cheap alternatives include using baking soda as shampoo and toothpaste, baking soda or cornstarch as deodorant, coconut oil to style your hair and as personal lubricant,honey or organic cold-pressed oils to cleanse your skin (this is excellent even for acne-prone skin), and so on. Find a deodorant recipe here plus more ideas here and here.

This planet is yours, mine, and everyone else’s – this includes non-human animals. It is not anyone’s to tras. It is our home. Let’s humbly bow and thank our Mother Earth for sustaining us, and offer our efforts to be sustainable in return. Join in the cycle of life, not destruction.

A natural bug repellent: Herbal Armor

Biodegradable skincare protects the environment – and you – from carcinogens e.g. parabens

Many tour companies will demand that you slather on biodegradable sunblock and bug repellent for diving into the ocean and cenotes, going kayaking, and so on. It would be fantastic to adopt this preference constantly, though. It’s the same as littering: shouldn’t we refrain from littering all the time rather than only when we are asked to?

First of all, regular sunscreens bleach corals, which are already dying off at an alarming rate due to several factors, this one included, and also global warming, irresponsible human activities, and other types of pollution. So any time you get in the water – even into a pool, as all water ends up in the ocean eventually and it is not treated for toxic chemicals, and even less in remote areas such as Tulum and Xcacel Xcacelito – you would be helping to take care of the environment by using only environmentally-friendly products.

Last, I will reiterate that regular sunblock contains carcinogenic ingredients – that is, they cause cancer. You would thus be doing yourself a favor as well by staying away from those products.

FYI: I found Hawaiian Tropic Biodegradable sunscreen in SPF 30 and 50 as well as a natural bug repellent in Tulum, on the road where myriad hotels are located on the coast. And you can, of course, find many such products online by conducting a simple Google search (such as this one). You can also search the Cosmetic Safety Database for details and products.

Check your cosmetics and ingredients here for safety.

I am writing this post in reference to the last one, in which I began talking about my eco vacation in Tulum. There, I stayed at a largely sustainable hotel that *gasp* did not provide guests with electricity in their rooms (although you did get hot and cold water and wifi was available).

Waking up to the waves in Tulum

Here are 3 reasons not to be scared of electricity-free establishments and vacations:

1) You awaken to the gentle rays of the sunrise – no jarring alarm clock, no missing the cooler hours of the day. Your day becomes longer and …

2) The night lures you to sleep earlier and more smoothly. I cannot even tell you how much earlier I went to sleep when all I had to give me light were a few candles. My insomnia vanished. It was fantastic. It felt organic and peaceful.

3) You practically have no choice but to actively spend more time performing quality activities such as spending time face-to-face with the people you came with (not watching TV or playing video games but actively interacting with each other), reading, living in the moment, feeling more connected to the flows and ebbs of nature, day, and nightfall. And even though I brought along a fully charged iPod, not once did I opt for mp3s over the relaxing swooshes of the ocean.

And the heat? Stay by the coast and the relentless breeze will soothe you. Especially if you’re naked. Try it.

The beach in Tulum, with a hotel or two off to the side

We first arrived at Cancun Airport, got stood up by the shuttle service we had already paid for, freaked out, threw an exhausting tantrum, had a couple of cocktails, and finally found a solution to our dilemma.

But on to the fun stuff.

I am sorry to inform that the only way to reach Tulum from Cancun is via the use of vehicles that run on gasoline, and there is no airport in Tulum (yet). The trip can take between 1.5 and 3+ hours, depending on much you choose to spend (about USD 30 for a 3+ hour ride with transfers or USD 100+ for a comfy drive with AC just 1.5 hrs long).

You can also rent a car – and maybe find a hybrid one! It’s worth finding out if that’s what you would rather do.

Riding a bike would take so long you’d probably collapse from the heat and dehydration before getting anywhere. If it gets unbearable just standing beneath the morning sun, imagine what it would be like riding a bike with luggage on your back and for hours on end. And it’s not like the road between Cancun and Tulum is picturesque either – it’s very green, but nothing to write home about.

On to the green, largely sustainable hotel -

We finally arrived at our eco hotel, which did not provide us with any electricity except a fan in our room during the day and wi-fi (you could charge your computer, just not in your room, as there are no outlets – but believe me when I say that spending the vast majority of my day away from the computer was 100% liberating and relaxing).

Note: I will tell you why the no-electricity factor is nothing to be apprehensive about in my next post.

A little of the romantic magic in Tulum

We had hot and cold water in our room (but we barely used the hot water at all!). We really did not need AC (it was summer there: late August) and must have used the fan once, if that. The ocean breeze was spectacular and all you really need to feel refreshed.

Okay – our hotel was on the coast. If you stay in the town of Tulum, which is 6 km. away from the beach, the breeze will be less potent. All the hotels I could see in the town advertised AC, cable, and so on. But why go there when you can take a break and detox from “civilization”?

Let me tell you: I can’t remember a time I’ve been so intensely relaxed for so many consecutive days.

Tulum is paradise for beach and nature lovers – and history + anthro buffs too, as Mayan ruins abound. And there are activities – plenty of them (more on that in a later post) – but I basically used most of my time sitting by the waves, staring at them for hours, and letting their beauty flow into me as the sound of the crashing waves cleansed me from the inside out.