Tala Clandestina

During the early 1980's, I lived in the San Bruno district of Xalapa, Veracruz. At certain times of the year, you would walk out to the street and see vendors selling boards that had been harvested without permits, i.e. "tala clandestina", from the pine forests around the Cofre de Perote. Dragging them down from the mountain with burros shaved several inches off the back of the board. [NOTE: Hope I can find more images from Xalapa. This was a wonderful place and a wonderful time in my life].

Cascada de Texolo

One of my favorite things to do during my time in the Xalapa region of Veracruz, Mexico was to hike down to the base of the waterfall at Texolo. The surrounding vegetation is full of tree ferns and epiphytes and Gunnera, all verdant and visibly happy in the constant mist.  That's Elysa in the foreground with the yellow t-shirt. [NOTE: Several scenes in the 1984 adventure film, Romancing the Stone, were filmed here]. 

Uxpanapa

The Uxpanapa region of southwestern Veracruz originally contained one of the largest expanses of tropical forest in Mexico. Between the years of 1974 and 1976, over 85,000 hectares of forest were cleared as part of a plan to resettle Chinanteco communities that had been displaced by the construction of the Cerro de Oro dam in Oaxaca.  Unfortunately, the deforested areas proved unsuitable for mechanized agriculture and the land was subsequently abandoned. A lot of lessons here. [NOTE: I was visiting a student's research site in Uxpanapa when I happened on these guys. They had just stopped cutting to have their lunch].