Columns

The other day I got a call from the United States. “Peter Greenberg is in town and would like to interview you for his radio program,” a cheery voice said.

What is the world’s longest cave? That’s the easiest question I’ve ever had to answer in nearly 50 years of exploring caves.

The altitude is 2,850 meters above sea level. I’m on the rim of the crater at the top of Tequila Volcano, waiting, along with several friends, for the arrival of Sergio Vidal, Sandra Ortiz and Ulises Hernández, who started their long run from the top of El Cerro de Mazatepec early yesterday morning and – with no sleep whatsoever – are about to complete their 120-kilometer trek at any moment.

On January 20, 2012, the Guadalajara Reporter was the first newspaper in Mexico to report the discovery of hundreds of curious rock engravings along the shores of a small dam called La Presa de la Luz, located 120 kilometers east of Guadalajara, near the town of Arandas.

Launching his new book, “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area, The Lost Civilization of Teuchitlán,” at Guadalajara’s Paleontology Museum this week, Reporter columnist and cave explorer John Pint described his initial encounter with the late archaeologist Phil Weigand, the discoverer of Jalisco’s most famous ruins.

One of the many geographical benefits of living in Guadalajara is its proximity to volcanoes. There are few towns in the world where you could visit three of the principle types of volcanic landforms in just one day. Several years ago I suggested that some athlete ought to climb el Cerro de Mazatepec (a cinder cone or scoria volcano), cross the Primavera forest (a caldera, or collapsed volcano) and end the tour at the top of El Volcán de Tequila (a classic stratovolcano).