From Forests to Deserts

Most people know Mexico for its fantastic beaches, snow-clad volcanoes, huge canyons, endless deserts, and lost cities in the forest erected by past civilizations.  But there is a more hidden aspect, spreading below the surface of the deserts, of the cities ruins, and of the canyons:  it is the world of Mexican caves.  The amazing cultural and landscape variety of this country is reflected in its underground world, a world which contains some of the deepest caves on Earth and the longest ever explored underwater; others that are traversed by huge rivers, vast and tropical, others which are unique from a biological point of view, others that are just unique, like Cueva de los Cristales.

The great polyhedric nature of the caves physical aspect is often enriched by their archaeological interest:  in fact, far from being considered as infernal regions, caves were included by pre-Columbian civilizations in their  religious and practical world.  These then transformed into archaeological deposits, open doors on huge archives of time.

The cavers of La Venta have devoted themselves to the exploration of these caves for decades, pushing not only to places far from tourism but even to areas far from any human settlement.  Over the years, these explorations have drawn a complex web of stories and geographies.  It is not yet completed but this book offers its first general description.