I came to the Gulf coast specifically to visit Villahermosa and to see the giant stone heads carved by the Olmecs. Apparently they were the first large meso-American culture and predate the Aztec, Maya, Inca empires. There is a park in the city that has the large stone artefacts... Apparently, these people didnt so much build the giant stone temples/pyramids, but rather, the rulers would solidify their status as ruler by having a likeness of their head caved in stone, as large as possible... What ever makes you feel good I guess!
Anyway, there were about five or six of the large heads and they are quite impressive I admit. There were also a few other large stone artefacts, but not much else in the way of remains of this culture.
But, located in the same park was a zoo.
It was not as bad as the old zoos that I recall as a child (tiny concrete and steel cages for big animals), but it definitely left me feeling very sad for the large cats and the large birds... Not a happy life!
But here are some pictures of the critters anyway:
