Desire Resort Forums

We just got back from RM and there have been some positive developments on the beach there. First they have installed a floating barrier about 30 yards off shore to help control the sargassum. According to CC it was installed about 2 weeks ago. They are also bringing in sand for the beach. For most of our trip, the beach/water was as pretty as we have seen it since we started visiting in April 2017. Particularly, the first couple of days the water was a pretty blue and crystal clear. The barrier is not 100% effective. Our last day, the sargassum came in heavy, but nothing like the empty stretch of beach north of the resort.

Apparently, it is a trial and if successful, they may install one at Pearl as well.

That's great news!! Hope it is successful.

I found a web site that reviews satellite images and looks for large patches of the sargassum and tracks them. They are indicating not as much so far this season. If anyone wants to follow:

http://seas-forecast.com/

Hopefully this won't have an impact on the sea turtles! We have actually seen nests on DRM's beach and the turtles even hatched during our stay too! (We missed the hatching unfortunately.)

Have they already started bringing in sand? Or is this something slated to be done in the future?

Both efforts needed to be done, but I’m most optimistic about the beach replenishment.

Thank you for update. I was coming here just to ask that exact question

Here is an article from Mexico News Today, it is not good news regarding the seaweed:

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sargas ... -349487641

marklu wrote:Here is an article from Mexico News Today, it is not good news regarding the seaweed:

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sargas ... -349487641

It would appear that politicians are ineffective the world over.

ContentTwo wrote:Have they already started bringing in sand? Or is this something slated to be done in the future?

Both efforts needed to be done, but I’m most optimistic about the beach replenishment.

It looked like they have already started. We saw workers bringing in bags of sand a couple of days and on our last day they were installing what appeared to be a pump and hose system to dredge sand from further out and return it to the beach. Not my area of expertise, but an educated guess. Also, I do not know if it is just a natural ebb, but the beach was already much deeper (wider?) than when we visited in November. In November, the water was basically up to the beach beds and last week, there was plenty of beach between the beach beds/loungers and the water.

texascouple1208 wrote:It looked like they have already started. We saw workers bringing in bags of sand a couple of days and on our last day they were installing what appeared to be a pump and hose system to dredge sand from further out and return it to the beach. Not my area of expertise, but an educated guess. Also, I do not know if it is just a natural ebb, but the beach was already much deeper (wider?) than when we visited in November. In November, the water was basically up to the beach beds and last week, there was plenty of beach between the beach beds/loungers and the water.

That is encouraging. I remember how narrow the beach was in November, and I was surprised that they hadn't taken any steps to replenish the beach. The north end of the beach was shockingly narrow. One of the reasons we stayed on the south end of the beach was the distance from the beds to the waterline. On the south end, we at least had a few beach chairs as a buffer between us and the gawkers and peddlers. Even that wasn't much, but at least it was something. There was none of that on the north end.

If they replenish the beach by bringing in sand in bags, I would be amazed. Hell, I would be impressed! I've seen it done with a dredge/pump and by truckloads. I'm not a construction guy but it seems like a very big job. I can't imagine how they could do it by bags, no matter how big the bags are. I hope some of the more recent guests can give updates about how they're going about it.

We're excited to check it out in October!

I've never seen the problem this bad. Looks like it's piled up about head high and ten feet deep at akumal.

https://www.locogringo.com/akumal-beach-webcam/

I always use earthcam.com. Plug in Puerto Morales and look for Casa Toucan. Its near town center. They have a live feed, its pretty clear. The sargassum does not look too bad. Seen it much worse.

We just returned from RM and the barrier was indeed doing its job. The beach and water were night and day different than they were on our last trip in January.

Looking for updates on this subject. Trying to plan a trip for October but don’t want a nasty smelly mess if it can be avoided.

We're going next week. Any news?

When we were there last week July21-25th beach and water were great! Very clean and clear. Very enjoyable to swim naked in!!