Dear Editor,
The front cover of April’s edition of “National Geographic” magazine is a beautiful view from the edge of a mountain overlooking flocculent clouds floating above a verdant valley with a thin waterfall in the distance. The cover legend is “Exploring Islands in the Sky” followed by the teaser, “A Tepui in South America may hold clues to the Mysteries of evolution”. I was hooked but imagine my surprise when I looked at the contents-page and read: “Up the Mountain, to a World Apart” followed by “Why venture into a remote part of Guyana with no roads and no guarantee of getting out? To identify new species, to uncover clues about evolution – and to climb a sheer sided, flat-topped mountain known locally as a Tepui. By Mark Synnott. Photographs by Renan Ozturk.
Editor, I could barely contain my interest and went directly to page 36. The story and accompanying photographs flowed through, to end on page 71, a full 36 pages of fascinating facts and interpretations about a place I have never seen — in my own native land. The first words on page 36 were: “Mount Roraima rises from the rainforest ………” Most of the rest of the article centres around Mount Weiassipu which I gather is close to Mount Roraima but lower and more accessible. I had never heard of Mount Weiassipu before. The consolatory fact is that all of it is within Guyana’s boundaries versus Mount Roraima.
The last sentence of the article reads: “The real treasures of El Dorado aren’t gold or diamonds—they’re the plants and animals that call this magical place home.”
Editor, I think that this article might be available on line for readers in Guyana. But nothing can be as heartwarming as the magazine. As soon as it becomes available in retail outlets, I will send about twenty copies to libraries and friends — back home!
Yours faithfully,
Tulsi Dyal Singh, MD.
Midland, Texas, USA.
