International Day Of Forests

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Created: Wednesday, 20 March 2013 12:39

Published: Thursday, 21 March 2013 07:30

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The 21st March 2013, the International Day of Forests (proclaimed by the FAO) marks the fifth anniversary of the project Viva La Ceiba!, launched by La Venta to contribute to the reforestation of a portion of Selva El Ocote (Chiapas, Mexico), partially damaged by fires and indiscriminate cut.

From five years now, La Venta collects voluntary subscriptions aimed at the "adoption" of one or more plants of Ceiba, which in fact are planted in portions of forest land that the association buys to rescue them from the indiscriminate cut.

One of the most important things that the association La Venta has put in place for the protection of Selva El Ocote is the establishment of the Reserva La Venta, a plot of land in the municipality of Cintalapa de Figueroa, about 80 km from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of state of Chiapas. In collaboration with the municipality and the Reserva de la Biosphere Selva El Ocote, in the same area also will be built in short the Documentation Center of the karst of Rio La Venta, dedicated to the study and preservation of one of the most diverse and interesting karst areas in the world.

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Goodbye Thomas

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Created: Tuesday, 19 March 2013 12:35

Published: Tuesday, 19 March 2013 12:35

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On February 17 died Thomas A. Lee Whiting, honorary member of La Venta, distinguished archaeologist, but above all a friend.
It is impossible to sum in a few lines the extraordinary biography of Thomas, born in Arizona in 1935 between Mormons and Navajo Indians and twenty-seven came -after having financed his studies of archeology with four years of military service held between Asia and the Pacific- to work in Chiapas with the New World Archaeological Foundation. Since then, standing to live in Mexico, Thomas became one of the pioneers of the archeology of Chiapas, author of hundreds of scientific papers, many of which are real milestones of the Mesoamerican archeology. In the last years Thomas, now chiapaneco to the core, has taught at the Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas and was one of the founders of a new school of archeology in Chiapa de Corzo. His many deserves have earned him the 1995 Chiapas Award, highest scientific acknowledgment of the state.

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Another world

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Created: Sunday, 17 March 2013 17:39

Published: Sunday, 17 March 2013 17:39

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Imawarì Yeuta in the Pemon Kamarakoto language means “the cave where live the gods of the mountain”, a place inaccessible to mortals, full of pure water, crystals and monstrous statues carved over millions of years.

After 15 days on Auyan Tepui, the mountain of the Devil, we are back with our feet on the ground and still fail to realize that this mythological world really exists and extends into the the massif with dimensions that we could never imagine. We think back to all the difficulties faced to organize an expedition so complex and expensive, in a country, Venezuela, difficult in so many respects. We insisted because the natural beauty of this land and the charm of the tepuis are, definitely, irresistible.

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Last days on the Tepui and new pictures

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Created: Thursday, 14 March 2013 17:51

Published: Thursday, 14 March 2013 17:51

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Our friends have just come out from a three days internal camp by which the relief of the cave has reached 15 km and a half. With so much explored but not topographed. This is doubly pleasing as the largest cave in quartzite known so far is 16 km long, so this one is definitely larger.
But the records count for very little in comparison to the emotions. And those transmitted by each phone call from the Tepui are so intense indeed.
Hearing them talking about internal waterfalls of nearly 100 meters, of galleries up to 200 meters wide and of the difficulty to explore along a river of that scale, of the 250 x 150 meters of the "Paolino Cometti" room, all that tells us every time amazement, wonder, and, why not, envy.

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First images from Tepui

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Created: Tuesday, 12 March 2013 12:39

Published: Tuesday, 12 March 2013 12:39

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As you can imagine is not easy to send images from the top of Tepui.
Heare there are the first they send us tonight and are stupend!

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The Universe of silence

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Created: Saturday, 09 March 2013 16:44

Published: Saturday, 09 March 2013 16:44

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VVenezuela, top of the Auyan Tepui, Sima del Viento camp.

10 km of cave topographed and at least five more explored. But, although important, the measures are nothing compared to the emotion of the distant voice speaking.

"Huge" is the word most used in the last call, and the second is "fatigue". Then there is one unspoken, but that resonates in the background: "ENTHUSIASM"!

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