Coping With the Mexican Heat: Keeping Cool

Many vacationers head to Mexico for the sunshine. It's one of its main attractions! However, that same sunshine should be treated with respect. Approached correctly, you will return home with a gorgeous tan and amazing memories. Approached incorrectly, you will risk spending your vacation indoors, trying to ease the sunburn, while desperately rehydrating against the early onset of heat exhaustion. This isn't a blog for sunlovers and those from hot climes - you know what you're doing, just get on with the party. This is a blog for those who have headed to Mexico to find out what this fabled sun looks like, as it doesn't turn up much back home.



These are our tips. If anyone else has any others, please do comment and I'll edit them in (naturally with a credit to you):

* Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothes (as few as is appropriate). Light colors reflect the heat, while dark colors absorb it. Also choose materials like cotton, which allow your skin to breathe.

* Remember to lather on the sunscreen, if you are going outside. Rub it on everywhere. You would be amazed at the amount of people who burn the bottom of their feet; because they used the sunscreen all over their bodies except there, then sunbathed on their front. If you are going into the water, then you will have to use biodegradable sunscreen. This will wash off in the water, so remember to reapply it when you come out. Also note that the sun can still burn you in the water, so keep alternating which parts of you are exposed to it above the surface. Thinking here of all the amateur snorkellers, who were so entranced by the pretty fish and coral, that they failed to notice their backside turning bright red. Occasionally rolling or treading water for a few minutes will ease everything. Nipping out to reapply the biodegradable sunscreen, when you feel yourself burning, is even better. Always read the instructions on the sunscreen, particularly if it's an unfamiliar brand, as they do differ.



* If you must rush around, then do so in the early morning or in the evening. It's cooler then, so you have less chance of over-heating.

* Ensure that you are always hydrated. Heat causes sweating; sweating causes loss of water from your body; your body needs water. Therefore keep bottled water on you and take a sip, if you feel your mouth going dry. If you are going on a day-trip somewhere, take lots of bottled water with you, especially if you aren't sure if your destination has shops or a water fountain.

* Carry a spray bottle of water. If you're getting hot, then spray it over yourself. This works particularly well if you then step in front of a fan or into an air-conditioned building, as the water dries off you, cooling you down. This is precisely how sweat works to cool you down too.

* If you have access to a freezer, then freeze bottled water. As you heat up, go and get one out (replacing it with another bottle to freeze). Roll the frozen bottle around the back of your neck and anywhere else that's feeling too hot. This wil cool you down. It will also thaw the water. You can then open the bottle for a nice, refreshing, ice-cold drink.



* Carry a zip-bag with cool, damp fannels in it. If you are getting too hot, take out a fannel and place it at the back of your neck. It will instantly cool you down.

* Relax in the shade. There are usually no shortage of hammocks under palm trees or sun loungers with parasols on the beaches of Mexico. Use them. You really will regret falling asleep, on an exposed beach, in the height of the afternoon sun, if you don't. Mainly because you will spend the rest of your vacation applying aloe vera to deep burns.

* Try not to eat heavy meals during the extreme heat of the day. It will just make you feel more lethargic. Do eat spicy foods. It's no accident that spicy foods tend to originate in countries known for their sunshine, like Mexico. Spicy foods help you to sweat more, which cools you off. Alternatively, light foods, like salad or fruit, are good for keeping you fuelled up with energy.

* Soak your feet in cold water. The temperature of your feet often affects the temperature of your whole body.

* Contemplate the sunhat versus no sunhat debate. A hat will shield your face from the sun, thus protecting you from sunburn; but it might also trap heat. We lose most of our body heat from the top of our heads, so that's the last place where you want to retain it. A compromise is a hat that allows ventilation to your head, like a cotton cap or a straw hat with loose weaving. In fact, why not go for the hat that was actually designed for protection from the Mexican heat? A sombrero! High-crowned to provide ventilation; wide-brimmed to cast a shadow over your face and shoulders. Precisely what is needed here!

* Don't tough it out. Never, ever think to yourself, 'yeah, I know I'm burning, but I'm so comfortable that I'll just lie here a couple of moments more'; or 'yeah, I know I'm thirsty, but I'll just hang on until we've walked this mile to that nice, shaded restaurant'. Listen to your body's needs and react immediately, that way you're not storing up trouble for later.

* If the beach is too hot, then go sight-seeing. Places like Cancún are full of attractions, shopping malls, hotel amenities, cafes etc, which all have air-conditioning and/or shade from the sun. You can always return to the beach when it's cooled down.

So those are our tips. Anyone got any more to add?

Why Biodegradable Sunscreen?

Everyone knows that you should reapply sunscreen after leaving the waters. If we didn't, then we'd soon be burning in the fierce sunshine and we'd spend the rest of our vacation suffering in the shade. However, have you ever stopped to wonder where the sunscreen went that you applied before you started swimming? The answer is simple. It washed off you and is now in the water.

The Polytechnic University of Marche, in Italy, researched the issue and learned that up to 6000 metric tons of sunscreen every year is settling onto the ocean beds. This wouldn't be such a problem, if it wasn't for the chemical reaction between the ingredients of sunscreen and the algae viruses on coral reefs. If this occurs then a coral reef could be completely killed within four days.


Damaged Coral Reef

Many resorts and companies around the Yucatán Peninsula have a policy of only allowing biodegradable sunscreen in their waters. Some operators will simply confiscate non-biodegradable products upon sight, whilst selling the biodegradable sort behind their counters. This is naturally more expensive and has led some tourists to scream, 'scam!' The more smugly selfish and ignorant even resort to lathering themselves in the destructive brands before they leave their hotels rooms, so that no-one can check whether it was biogradable or not. They then set off to potentially destroy the coral reefs, whilst feeling very proud that they saved themselves $9 USD.

The harmful chemicals are familiar to most popular sunscreen brands. They are PABA, octinoxate, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, oils, chemicals or the preservative butylparaben. All of these are damaging to the coral reefs. Even a small amount can react with the algae. This raises the odds to it being 15 times more likely that a virus will develop and, if that happens, then the coral will bleach and die. A coral reef risks contamination every single time someone swims in ordinary sunscreen. It's a timebomb waiting to go off.

Since 1968, The University of North Carolina has been conducting long term studies. Their conclusions are startling. 75% of the world's coral reefs are in the Indo-Pacific region, where they are dying off at a rate of 1% a year. That's nearly 600 square miles (1,553 square kilometers) of reef disappearing annually. In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef was covered in tethered plantoons (huge canopies) for two years, between 2004-6, to protect it. As the results were 'encouraging', the authorities are now considering plans for permanent covers. In the Caribbean though, where the local economy relies so heavily on tourism, the situation has gone critical. They daren't cover their coral reefs, when so many people come specifically to see it; while swimmers are contributing to higher concentrations of sunscreen in the water. The best that is currently being done are attempts to promote biodegradable sunscreen in the oceans, lagoons and cenotes.



Vibrant Coral Reef

Coral reefs are very pretty to look at. Most people who go snorkeling or diving are going to see the pretty reefs. However, there is much more to them than that. Coral reefs are often referred to as the rainforests of the ocean. Their biodiversity keeps everything ticking over nicely. Their presense controls the amount of carbon dioxide in the world's oceans. The oceans are currently the greatest sink of carbon dioxide that we have. The seas pull it from the air and store it there. However, in tropical waters, the opposite can be true. If the oceans become too saturated, then they start to release carbon dioxide into the air.

The coral helps to minimalise this. Without the coral reefs, you would be breathing in great lungfuls of carbon dioxide throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. The reefs also provide homes for many different species of marine life, which would simply become extinct without them. Many of these fish are caught to feed human beings and yes, they are covered in your sunscreen at the time too. Finally, reflect upon why coral reefs are often called 'barrier reefs'. It is because they stand between the bulk of the ocean and the coastlines; they slow the water down so that coastal towns aren't inundated.

In short, using ordinary sunscreen whilst swimming in the sea is the equivalent to leaving unattended open fires in the Californian forests or the grasslands of Western Canada. Yes, it might be ok. It might... Alternatively, you could just use biodegradeable sunscreen, which has none of the harmful chemicals, thus protecting both your sensitive skin and the coral reefs.

Biodegradable Sunscreen brands: BATAB, Cactus Juice, Caribbean Solutions, KissMyFace, MexiTan, Smartshield, Soleo Organics and UV Natural. They will probably be cheaper if you buy them on-line before you leave home, than if you have to make a desperate purchase in order to be allowed on a Cancún snorkeling trip.