A wheelbarrow used by the groundskeeping staff of the Iberostar Tucan in Playa del Carmen ~

Every morning, before sunrise, the white, sandy beaches are raked and groomed in preparation for the resort’s guests who will soon be frolicking in the ocean, lounging in beach chairs, snapping photographs and playing volleyball. This ‘garden’ tool is used to carry the shovels and rakes needed to complete these daily tasks and to collect the grasses, seaweed and other detritus brought in overnight by the warm Caribbean waves that roll in, crashing onto the shoreline hour after hour, day after day. This magnetic and irresistible force drew us out of our cozy, comfortable beds each morning in anticipation of this remarkable element of nature.

And thanks to the groundskeepers, it was lovely, inviting and alluring – a tropical paradise.