Bring of sand back from islands

[Organized Chaos]

If there was no potential harm countries would not have laws and regulations specifically banning the practice. If there was no potential harm countries would allow unrestricted import of small quantities of raw beach sand. They don't.

A majority of the laws you speak of, including those of the U.S. are put in place, not because it would wipe out beaches as we know it, but due to the possibility of introducing foreign micro-organisms and/or diseases. The U.S. CBP site speaks of this specifically.

 

I'm not saying there is zero environmental impact when someone takes home a pill bottle of sand. If I take a few leaves from the forest, technically that's "environmental impact." I'm saying it's not even close to being as dire as people in this thread make it out to be. I'm saying the industrial world now uses tons of marine sand to contribute to the world's construction needs, but no one here is complaining about that. Instead, you're complaining about the vacationer who takes home an ounce of sand in a pill bottle.

[marlynnp]

What law???

 

I keep seeing people post "it's against the law" or " not because it's against the law but..."

[pghsteelerfan]

We were told this on our first trip to Hawaii ... in 1999. I'm sure it began LONG before then and still lives today and will into the future ...

 

One of the most well-known myths in Hawaii is Pele’s Curse, which — it turns out — is not an ancient myth at all. Pele’s curse says that any visitor who takes rock or sand away from the Hawaii islands will suffer bad luck until the native Hawaiian elements are returned.

 

I had heard about Pele's curse with the lava at least 10 years ago (maybe longer?). It was an article in the travel section of our Sunday newspaper about the curse with the lava (they didn't mention sand). Included in the article were a few examples of the letters detailing the bad luck that were sent back to HI along with the lava. I only found out about the sand about two weeks before we went to Hawaii last September, so I did not purposely take any, but it did come home with us (shoes, swimsuits, and it even blew into our clothes since it can get windy). I have a friend who I collect a little sand for and I told her before our trip that I just read about the curse which included sand and that I was not planning on bringing any back. She told me "Good!!! Please, please, please don't bring any of that s**t back for me!". I did take close-up pictures of the sand in Maui since it was beautiful (so many colors). I don't know if this is related or not, but two days before our trip home, we received the very sad news from our neighbor who was watching our "boys" (4 cats) that she found one of them, deceased. He had just turned four years old the previous month and was healthy (our vet later confirmed she believed a blockage caused his death). This was devastating. We'd been in Oahu and Kauai before Maui and sand from those islands also "stowed away". Once home, I collected as much of the sand (even from our washing machine and dryer) and have it in a small jar...any more bad luck, it's getting mailed back. I'm not normally superstitious (our cat that died was a black cat and so is one of his brothers), but I also respect the places I travel to and if there are "curses" that the residents believe in, and because they live there they certainly know a lot more than I do, then I tend to believe them. But no sand from Hawaii was purposely brought back. So far, the proverbial *other shoe* hasn't dropped, so what happened may have been a coincidence.

 

 

I will admit to taking a wee little bit from the Caribbean islands we've been to, which probably adds up to a couple of tablespoons full, for myself and my friend. I never had trouble getting it back on the ships, but our last cruise was in 2015. I'm aware that Carnival has made some changes about allowing seashells, and probably sand, back on their ships and it appears they are enforcing it. If this is the case, then I wouldn't even bother trying to collect it, there are other things I can purchase as mementos from the ports.

[broberts]

What law???

 

I keep seeing people post "it's against the law" or " not because it's against the law but..."

 

There are numerous jurisdictions with laws/regulations.

 

For example, Trunk Bay, St John's, USVI is part of a National Park. In general one is not allowed to take collect souvenirs without prior permission, https://www.nps.gov/policy/mp/policies.html#_Toc157232976.

[crusinpsychRN]

"Pure sand, such as a small container of decorative beach sand, is usually allowed. Always check with the permit unit in advance for details." I've actually asked a customs agent, out of curiosity because this question comes up every now and then on the forum, the exact meaning of the wording. The key words here are "pure" and "decorative". If you bought in it a store, fine. If you scoop it up yourself on the beach, not OK, because it contains all kinds of organic matter.

[salty dingo]

The laws against taking plants and animals make lots of sense. You don't take rare or potentially dangerous items. But, there is absolutely no sense in saying "do not take sand"... The sea is constantly making more. Ever taken a shower and seen a decent amount of sand washed down the drain? As I said before, nobody cares about a little sand.

 

Except the folks who drive as fast as possible in huge SUVs and want to tell us about laws and environmental responsibility. Do you even think about the carbon footprint of a huge cruise ship transporting you for a non-essential purpose? No, I did not think so. Take some sand and let the complainers pound some sand!

[broberts]

I am nobody. :cool:

[joyful34]

I take snack size Ziploc bags and put a little sand from each beach we visit. I put the bag in my purse or backpack when we go back on board and have never been questioned by carnival. At The airport I carried it in my carry on luggage and just told the luggage screener person that I had it in there and they just nod and say ok.

I would rather out it in my checked luggage but there is a 50lb weight limit on checked bags and mine usually weighs 40-43lbs just with clothes & shoes. Even a little bit if sand weighs A LOT!

[goofygal531]

I take sand from every beach we visit. I write on a ziplock prior to sailing example "7 mile beach Grand Cayman" then toss it into my Beach bag. My kids usually toss a few shells and rocks in the bag too.

 

Once at home, I put the sand and shells in a jar. Glue it shut and label it with the beach and date.

 

Only once did a TSA agent question my sand. She pulled it out of my carry on. I told her it was sand and she laughed saying she had to make sure I wasn't smuggling cocaine.

 

I've also brought home conch shells from grand Turk's conch graveyard. Just wrapped them inside dirty laundry in my checked luggage. No problem.

[Keys2Heaven]

Are you allowed to bring back sand from the islands? A small amount idk a baby jar. I'm thinking of doing a craft with them.

 

I think I've read that "technically" it's a no-no. Do people do it....yep! It's sand!

 

I guess if enough people did it, the island would sink. LOL

 

Listen, if it were a REAL problem, this would be posted more frequently here, right alongside MDR dress code issues, Cheers! questions and FTTF!

[SRQbeachgirl]

This thread reminds me of our first trip to the Caribbean almost 30 years ago. We brought a little shell home in our suitcase and when we opened the suitcase at home, the shell crawled out! We had one angry little crab on our hands!

 

We took it to a local aquarium fish store and they kept it in one of their tanks. We went back and checked on it a couple of months later and they had It in a tank by itself, because it kept eating the fish in its tank. They said it had a major bad attitude, but who could blame it after being taken from its home in the beautiful Caribbean, stuffed in a suitcase, thrown in an airplane cargo hold, and then stuck in a tank?

 

Lesson of the day: Always make sure whatever souvenir you bring home isn’t alive! Lol

[MsOne]

This thread is HILARIOUS!!!! Everytime someone posts bringing it back will make the island disappears leaves me cracking up!!!!!

[SLCruisers]

I bring back sand from different islands from time to time. Living close to Galveston, our sand is tan and course. I actually use the different sands with my students so they can see that sand can be different from beach to beach, both in color and coarseness. We even pull out a magnifying glass to really see the sand closely. They love the salt and pepper sand from Costa Rica because of the volcanic rock.

[wmwmarmstrong]

Just roll around on the beach. There will be plenty to take home hiding in all your nooks and crannies. :D

 

P.S. Sand police are out in full force tonight. No, millions of people aren't taking jars of sand from tropical beaches. Oy vey.

 

Thanks Chaos! I just spewed my ice tea all over my screen!

 

Saw visuals in my mind of nooks and crannies and the sand police!

[Doug & Cindy Scrap Hunter]

This thread is HILARIOUS!!!! Everytime someone posts bringing it back will make the island disappears leaves me cracking up!!!!!

 

Hilarious for you because you'll never see it. Like our national debt just passing it on to our great great grandchildren, HAHAHAHA!!

[Organized Chaos]

Thanks Chaos! I just spewed my ice tea all over my screen!

 

Saw visuals in my mind of nooks and crannies and the sand police!

That's a search I don't want any part of. Talk about your enhanced pat downs. Yikes! :eek:

 

 

Look at this picture of a beautiful tropical island...

 

 

That's right! It's not there anymore because all the dang cruisers kept taking baggies of sand home.

[Pyrate13]

Tried to do some ciphering using the 140,000 gallons mentioned earlier. After converting gallons to dry measure I estimated that 140,000 gallons amounts to about 50-55 dump truck loads of sand in a year. Spread that out over the approximately 7000 islands in the Caribbean (not including the Bahamas which are not in the Caribbean) I don't think anyone would notice. Yes, I know the cruise ships don't go to every island but then every person on the ships isn't taking any sand either. I doubt you would notice even in the islands ships do visit.

 

As for micro organisms, Someone bottles up a few teaspoons of sand and takes them to Iowa, Colorado, New Jersey, etc, and puts them on a shelf, maybe dusts the closed bottle now and again, I don't think that's going to cause a plague, a blight or anything else. Actually, as one poster mentioned, looking at the various sands under magnification to see their makeup can be both interesting and educational. Try it sometime.

 

Much ado about nothing. Oh by the way, just for the record, in high school I was an Environmental editor for the school newspaper so yes, I do care...about realistic issues. Governments and Institutions love to make regulations that make them look good and responsible but in reality are just bogus rhetoric and many times, nonsense.

 

My opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[broberts]

[MsOne]

Hilarious for you because you'll never see it. Like our national debt just passing it on to our great great grandchildren, HAHAHAHA!!

 

Thank you for quoting me for yet another laugh!! I forgot about the thread and it's silliness! The confusion over erosion...and the obvious misconception of a handful of sands versus entire worldwide billion dollar industries using sand for concrete, glass, etc. Wow! This absolutely amazes me :o:D

[torcruise]

Thank you for quoting me for yet another laugh!! I forgot about the thread and it's silliness! The confusion over erosion...and the obvious misconception of a handful of sands versus entire worldwide billion dollar industries using sand for concrete, glass, etc. Wow! This absolutely amazes me :o:D

It's not thing thou to go to someone else country and just take from and destroy the natural resources. But hey that is what you people do, such a Hugh since of entitlement SMH

[pspercy]

Make sure you wash beach sand in fresh water otherwise it'll eventually smell bad.

 

I once sent some Sahara desert sand to an elementary school, they were thrilled, had some gypsum crystals in it too :)

[wmwmarmstrong]

It's not thing thou to go to someone else country and just take from and destroy the natural resources. But hey that is what you people do, such a Hugh since of entitlement SMH

 

 

Shame on you MsOne!;)

[nicnic96]

LOL, I bring more than that back onto the ship inadvertently in my swimsuit and in my shoes.

 

Funny I was typing the same thing when I read your post. Actually since several seem concerned about this, I did the math and there are roughly 4 million teaspoons of sand in a dump truck. Anyone who has seen them move sand around on a beach knows that it takes many dump trucks to move a noticeable amount of sand.

 

I'm not encouraging everyone to take home buckets of sand, but I think if you choose to take home a small amount as a souvenir you probably are not harming the environment. And if you want to conserve...ask your spouse to empty their swimsuit and shoes into your bottle and you'll make the steward and plumber on the ship happy too! :D

[Organized Chaos]

It's not thing thou to go to someone else country and just take from and destroy the natural resources. But hey that is what you people do, such a Hugh since of entitlement SMH

Wait, what? And who is this Hugh you speak of?

[Doug & Cindy Scrap Hunter]

It's not thing thou to go to someone else country and just take from and destroy the natural resources. But hey that is what you people do, such a Hugh since of entitlement SMH

 

I agree just because greedy corporations destroy resources, doesn't mean we should help chip in. Let's go into the woods and take a limb with a nest on it. Who cares there are logging companies doing worse! :rolleyes: