If you’ve been following us on Instagram and TikTok, you’ll know that we’ve spent the last six months travelling around South and Central America. We visit so many beautiful places, but there was one environmental issue that we witnessed in multiple locations was sargassum.

Sargassum is a type of seaweed, and while it might not sound like a big problem, it washes up on beaches around South America and the Caribbean, sometimes covering entire beaches. It has helped to create employment opportunities in some areas, with locals paid to clear the beaches of sargassum, but many are concerned about the long-term impact the problem could have on tourism.

We realised that many people back in the UK might not be aware of this problem, so here are five facts about the seaweed you might not know...