Odyssey
XCALAK - POACHING PROBLEMS
Anglers aren’t the only ones after fish in this rich habitat. The flats are vast, and it’s easy for poachers to slip through undetected. Periodically, fishermen from other towns come to Xcalak and set up illegal nets.
XCALAK - CHANNEL DREDGING DEJA VU
We’ve given a taste of the fish and folk, now we’ll take a look at some of the ecological problems facing the flats of Xcalak.
XCALAK - SARGASSUM EXPLOSION
Now let’s get into the weeds. Sargassum is a brown seaweed with berrylike air bladders, typically forming large floating masses. Xcalak has a major sargassum problem. It piles up along the shores making it difficult to navigate and creating an unsightly mess. And it smells—awful.
XCALAK - MEET TALKATIVE TOMMY
Tommy is an Xcalak local. He looks 15, but Tommy is our guide Alejandro’s 22-year-old son. Because Alejandro also looks younger than his age, we thought Tommy was his younger brother.
THE ODYSSEY’S MAIDEN VOYAGE TO XCALAK
Xcalak (pronounced ish-ka-lak) lies at the southern end of the Yucatan Peninsula near the Belize border—a dusty five-hour drive and a world away from Cancún.
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