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I traveled to Thailand in November 2016 and as part of my trip I was able to visit the beach nobody can (now) touch.
We departed early in the morning for the Royal Yacht Club of Phuket, the location of our departure to go visit several of the smaller islands such a Ko Phi Phi Don and of course Phi Phi Leh’s Maya Bay. Maya Bay was made famous by the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie about a backpacker’s search for a legendary beach untouched by tourism. That movies was titled -The Beach.
Will our own little gems of Cays go in the same direction and become beaches that can’t be touched?
In 2009, poor sanitation, a rat infestation and lack of toilet facilities forced the authorities to order the facilities on the island closed due to breaches of the Public Health Nuisance Act and the Public Food Handler’s Regulations.
In September 2012, as its contribution to the International Coastal Cleanup Day, the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club in association with other agencies had 60 divers engaged in a major underwater cleanup of garbage from the western side of Maiden Cay.
In 2012, the Jamaica Observers’ article ‘Tis The Season to party’ mentioned that those in the know will head to Maiden Cay on December 28 with the yacht set and party-hearty crowd for a pre-New Year’s daytime blowout fest.
In 2017, a new venture (Loose Cannon tours) started operating with weekly scheduled (sold out) trips to Maiden Cay. This made the trek that was once enjoyed by a few within the reaches of the masses.
As more persons visit the Cays, leaving behind garbage and polluting the water with environmentally unfriendly sun block that kills the marine life including corals, will we live to see our more accessible Cays being damaged beyond repair? Will the expected cruise ship arrivals to Kingston increase the numbers of visitors to unsustainable levels? Will our authorities be forced to follow the example of Thailand in banning access to these once-pristine islands?
My question to you: will you do your part and pledge to protect these once pristine Beaches? Will you help them to return to their glory days of no garbage, no rodents, leaving behind only memories of your laughter and footprints after your visit?
As a side note, I will confess that during my trip to Thailand, as a sports fisher, thoughts of charter fishing trips were weighing my mind. However, the lure and somewhat magical temptation of The Beach was overwhelming and won.
Read more on the beach nobody can touch here . https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_beach_nobody_can_touch
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