It is widely recognized that Olmec civilization influenced many neighboring cultures and later civilizations. Some time ago, we visited Santiago Tuxtla, a small town in Veracruz where you can find two colossal Olmec heads. This time we had an opportunity to see La Venta, the most important city erected by Olmec. This ancient civilization established cultural and ceremonial patterns in this region of the world. The Maya culture, who developed later, was inspired to build cities and pyramids, in a similar arrangement as the Olmec did. Similarly, Maya used stone to build altars, erect stelae, and sculptures.

La Venta thrived about 2500 year ago. However, this archeological site is not extremely impressive. For many years in the second half of the 20^th century, it was a part of the oil extraction field. While here, we were able to see the overgrown pyramidal structure out of compacted earth and a large number of stone sculptures. Unfortunately, all of them are the replicas because the originals were transferred to another park in a distant Villahermosa, the capital city of Tabasco. Probably the most interesting are Olmec colossal heads, which are the distinctive feature of this civilization. To date, 17 of them have been found, four in this location. Three heads facing north are aligned along east-west. It is not fully explained how large quantities of heavy stone were transported to this location, since the stones used here are not present in the immediate vicinity.

As the first ancient Maya city during this expedition, we planned to visit Comalcalco ruins. That place is interesting for two reasons. First, it is the westernmost city of the World of the Maya. Secondly, it is the only Maya city where in constriction bricks were used instead of stone blocks. On the way to the ruins, we lost our way. We had to turn back. Being in a hurry, I decided to cross divider on the dual road. In not more than a minute Police was on our tail. We quickly learned from the two officers that a very expensive fine would be issued for that type of the offence. I was not sure if bribe could be successful with two police officers were standing in front of me and with another two in the Police car. After a long conversation, the officer significantly reduced the penalty. I still did not know how give them the money. Should I give it to them directly, or should I drop it, so they can pick it up. I tried both approaches. When one bill landed on the road, officer quickly stepped on. It was clear I did not bribed him; he was the one who found the money himself. That incident contributed to the delay in our travel. When we arrived at Comalcalco ruins they were already closed, what a pity. Hungry, we had late lunch by the car next to the closed gate. We spent the rest of the evening driving to Palenque, the famous Maya city. When we finally arrived at the Mayabel Campground near the Palenque ruins, a heavy rain greeted us.