On a recent trip to the far southern Yucatan, our plans to walk and wade the sea-side flats for bonefish and permit were spoiled, quite literally, by decaying sargassum that lined the beaches and chased most folks away with its rancid stench.
Ocean conditions in the Caribbean were just right for this agal seaweed bloom, and as mats of it drifted ashore with a full-moon tide, the beautiful little fishing village of Xcalak was was awash in an aroma that simply can’t be described appropriately without an occasional retch.