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A new species of giant tortoise has been discovered in the Galapagos after DNA testing found animals living on one island had not yet been recorded, Ecuador's environment ministry said. Researchers compared the genetic material of tortoises currently living on San Cristobal with bones and shells collected in 1906 from a cave in the island's highlands and found them to be different. The 20th-century explorers never reached the lowlands northeast of the island, where the animals live today, and as a result, almost 8,000 tortoises correspond to a different lineage to what was previously thought. "The species of giant...

Two cyclists, one German and one Polish, are feared dead in Mexico after authorities found a body in a ravine and other signs they may have plunged off a cliff, investigators said on Friday.The two men -- Holger Hagenbusch of Germany and Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland -- had been traveling the world by bicycle, but were reported missing in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. Investigators believe they may have lost control on a treacherous road between the towns of San Cristobal and Ocosingo and tumbled into the ravine, said local prosecutor Arturo Lievano. "It's a very accident-prone area,"...

While the streets are calmer now, tension is building again as the anniversary of the February uprising nears. Venezuela's crisis has only deepened with falling crude prices crippling the oil-dependent economy, leading to a cash crunch that has restricted imported goods to just a trickle. Basic items like flour and diapers are hard to come by even on the black market and the government has had to deploy soldiers to keep peace outside stores where people wait hours for a chance to pick through near-barren shelves. "Things are as bad as they were a year ago but now, in addition...

700,000 have effectively seceded from the corrupt, socialistic, and repressive government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The rebels are working on defensive perimeters to keep out the National Guard. Meanwhile, back in Caracas Maduro is getting an upper hand on the opposition. Maduro is trying to pacify San Cristobal by sending goods to its supermarkets that were rarely there before the rebellion. Students want their deaths at the hands of thugs to have meaning for a big cause: “We prefer to die in an army attack than for an iPhone in an armed robbery outside our homes.” Hey Mexican readers,...

Paging Andrew Zimmern! Paging Andrew Zimmern!!! You MUST visit San Cristobal and the surrounding region of the state of Tachira. I´m a big fan of ¨Bizzare Foods¨ and I believe the closest Zimmern has ever come to this area was Ecuador. Keep in mind that the state of Tachira was almost completely cut off from the rest of Venezuela until early in the 20th century due to the high mountains and lack of adequate roads. Therefore this region developed its own unique cuisine in isolation from the rest of the country. Access to these many foods is easy accessible at...

I can´t say that I´m a fan of Michael Jackson. I´m not particularly fond of his music nor do I agree with a lot of his lifestyle which best be left unmentioned. However, I do have to give Jackson credit for bringing us an incredible innovation...Moonwalking. And it was Moonwalking, or at least the drunken version of it, that made yours truly a big hit at a mountain resort wedding party on Wednesday. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let us drop back a few hours from your humble correspondent´s drunken Moonwalk to our arrival at the resort. We...

Before I tell you what happened on my second day in Venezuela, a correction on the geography. San Cristobal is about 600 miles mainly west and only a little south of Caracas rather than just south as I posted before. It is in the state of Tachira which is one of three Andean states of Venezuela. Andean which means it is part of the Andes as you can tell from the heights of the nearby mountains and the coolness of the weather. Anybody into hang gliding would love it here. Right near the airport where I landed we spotted somebody...

Hugo Chavez is stirring trouble with Colombia to disguise domestic failures and Venezuela would be "mad" to enter a conflict with its neighbor. Perez said the Venezuelan leader's recent controversial exhortation to his army to "prepare for war" was a political smoke screen. "He is obviously trying to distract attention from the immense failure of his government after 10 years in power," Perez said at his home in San Cristobal, capital of Tachira. "In Venezuela today, there is neither electricity nor water on a permanent basis. The crime figures are battering us all. The country has gone backward enormously in...