The area (large limestone mountains north of the capital Tuxla) has been known for its great speleological potential but also for the aversion of the inhabitants to speleological researchs, were they Mexican or foreign. Instead, thanks to the contacts with the relatives of our mate Luca Ruiz, who is a native of this land, and to the patient work of report and presentation of our goals done by Gianni Todini, the doors have been opened. We have been given trust, and we have tried to repay it involving as much people as possible in the exploration and research of caves. Not only the people has not proven hostile, but they have accomodated us in their houses (the wise Don Agustin!) and have taken us to see all the possible holes. The downside has been that, at least in the area of the colonies Luis Espinoza and Chevarria, the caves close short due to lithological changes and only a resurgence has given us about 400 meters of development, with some possibility in climbing. Thanks to the arrival of Renato, a friend of Paul and a technician at the University of Tuscia, we have spent some time to lay the groundwork for a project of phytopurification of the wastewater that the community of Luis Espinoza pours directly into a sinkhole. Gianni will return in November to take it forward. We believe that our contribution here has to go beyond simple exploration and we try to make it real. And the caves? At the end, as often happens, we have seen two large karstic springs that promise a lot, but being different zones we have to repeat the presentation work with the people to get their trust. The duo Gianni-Lucas will soon be in action. Now, as you have read in the previous post, the group has moved in the Reserva El Ocote, Veinte Casas area. I came off and I am writing from Tuxla, while Ciccio has arrived from Italy, together with Umberto, the two Lauras, Daniel and Peter. Tomorrow also Chiara would probably join us. They will face the eastern part of the Selva, where an expedition from Bologna-Florence worked (there was also the good Adiodati) at the end of the 80s. Now, however, the group arrives here with the experience accumulated over the last 10 years in the Selva El Ocote, the goals are not lacking (including the diving exploration of the cave by Cecilio) and we'll see.

Stay tuned for news and photos from the selva.

Tullio

This expedition is made possible thanks to the sponsorship of our friends: Intermatica (satellite phone), Ferrino (outdoor materials), Dolomite (trekking and mountaineering shoes), Scurion (LED lamps), Amphibious (dry bags) and a contribution in material from Mountain House (freeze-dried food for hiking and extreme environments) and TTM Mobile (phone-outlimits line).