Ok, this isn’t a travel post but it brings awareness to the little known topic of diamond smuggling in Guyana. Take a look at this report: Boa Vista on the diamond contraband route.

Starting with a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle’s book exploring South America, documentary filmmaker Adrian Warren in “The Making of the Tepuis Film: The Living Edens : The Lost World” examines one of the most remote areas of the world. Roraima is one of the table top mountains in southern Brazil, along the borders of Brazil and Guyana.

Go to the site just to see the incredible aerial photo by Adrian Warren of Roraima peeking out above the clouds. If you like adventure, then that photo should make you start planning your own trip to Roraima. In this documentary film, broadcasted on PBS in 2002, Warren tells of his first encounter with Roraima as a young biologist in 1968 working in the Guyana Highlands. That early experience led him to come back years later and, it seems, will keep him coming back to Roraima.

“There is still much that is waiting to be discovered on and around Venezuela’s ancient tepuis. They are one of the last unknown frontiers of our planet, but, even now, we have only just begun to uncover their secrets. While it is comparatively easy for physically able tourists to spend a night or two on the summit of Roraima or Auyantepui, organizing a trip to spend enough time on the Tepuis to conduct any kind of exploration or survey, though, is not easy. They are remote, and the summits are bleak, cold and uncomfortable….The majority of the Tepuis remain unclimbed, and are out of range for helicopters unless one has a budget large enough to set up fuel dumps in advance. …But for those who succeed in reaching, and exploring, the magical Tepuis, extraordinary adventures, experiences, and perhaps new discoveries, are waiting on their mist enshrouded, elusive summits.”

A large part of the article tells the history of the researchers who first explored Roraima. As far as I know, this article is the most detailed account on the net of the early explorations of Roraima. The story of Jimmie Angel, the pilot for whom Angel Falls is named.

Warren’s scholarly article includes references to 189 sources on Roraima and the tepuis moutains.

This incredibly informative site is a must-read for anyone contemplating a trek to Roraima or for anyone just interested in the history of explorations in South America.