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Activities > Beach combing, Sea-Beans and other Beach Treasures

 

What treasures are there to find along the beaches of the Costa Maya? Besides an array of shells and discarded objects, there are an astonishing variety of Sea Beans. Since you can walk for miles in either direction of Mayan Beach Garden, Beach combing is a great activity (just make sure to put waterproof sun-screen on the tops of your feet!)


Selection of Seabeans (Photo supplied by Ed Perry, author of "Sea-Beans from the Tropics, A Collector's guide to Sea-beans and other tropical drift on Atlantic Shores")

Mary's Bean (note the cross) somewhat rare in the US (picture from website www.seabean.com)

What are Sea Beans?

They are the 100s of varieties of tropical seeds that wash up on the shores.

We were introduced to "sea beaning" by a group of advocates from Florida who were guests here at Mayan Beach Garden. There enthusiasm was so real that we became interested in the hobby as well.

Where do Sea beans and other items come from?

Sea beans are seeds that contain air inside them so they float on the the Ocean currents, some starting in far off Africa and finding themselves to the Costa Maya. The Equatorial current is the primary current that brings sea beans to the shores of the Costa Maya. The sea-beans travel with the currents until carried ashore by wind and waves and deposited in the wrack. Also known as drift seeds, they begin their journey from all over the world. The seeds fall from their parent plant into waterways, such as the Amazon River, then drift into the ocean. They drift with the currents until they wash upon a beach far from their origin.


Hamburger Bean -- very common here (picture from website www.seabean.com)

What is the wrack (besides the WRACK bar at Mayan Beach Garden)?

The wrack is the strip of accumulated debris left on the beach by high tides. The wrack along the Costa Maya is composed of lightweight items such as sea grass, marine life, trash, small shells and sea beans. If you want to find sea beans, look through the wrack and you will find them. Larger shells are usually not found in the wrack.

Check out THE WRACK bar at Mayan Beach Garden Restaurant.

What do you do with Sea Beans anyway?

Aside from the satisfaction of an excuse to beach comb, seabeans in a bowl on a coffee table make a wonderful memory of your vacation on the Costa Maya - arguably on of the best places to find Sea Beans in the Caribbean. Many crafters find the Sea Beans make perfect jewlry.

The jewelry at the right is made from hamburger beans, which are plentiful here. The picture at the right is courtesy of Sea Beans from Exotic Lands


Click for more sea bean jewelry- opens a different website.

If you are interested in learning more about Sea-Beans, please pick up the book:

Sea-Beans from the Tropics: A Collector's Guide to Sea-Beans and Other Tropical Drift on Atlantic Shores
by Ed. Perry, John V. Dennis, Cathie Katz


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