On our first day of our Jungle Kingdoms tour, we took the bus from Villahermosa to an Olmec site called La Venta. Because the Olmec civilization is so old, relatively few artifacts have been found, and no written language that can be interpreted. The Olmec flourished in Mexico long before the Mayan - La Venta was founded approximately in 1200 B.C. and was a prominent Olmec city until it was abandoned around 400 B.C.

It was hot and humid in La Venta, it is located on a board flat coastal plain - when we stood on top of the pyramid, we could see jungle stretching for miles in all directions. We were told that fish was a major part of the Olmec diet; I wonder why they didn't build their city on the coast. Water was a major issue for these ancient civilization, very few rivers flow across the Yucatan - most of the rain is absorbed into the ground and limestone rock. During our visits to the Mayan sites, we saw reservoirs, channels and drainage systems that carefully directed rain water into large underground storage chambers for the dry season. It is likely that the collapse of the Mayan civilization was due to an extended drought that lasted for many consecutive years.

At La Venta, our guide was Dr Rebecca Gonzales, who has spent decades excavating at La Venta and other Olmec sites. When we were in the museum, she was able to describe what it was like to personally dig up some of the artifacts on display. About half of La Venta is underneath the nearby town, so that will never be excavated.

A lot of the monuments found at La Venta were moved to an outdoor museum called La Venta Park in Villahermosa. We visited that park on the morning of our second day.