Guyana - Land of Many Waters

21st November to 4th December 2022

Tour Report by Reba Minett

 

 21st Nov 2022 – London Heathrow, T3 to Bridgetown, Barbados

 And so our story begins with the first long-haul flight many of us have taken for a few years! Upon arrival in Bridgetown, we were met by the local agent who assisted us through immigration incredibly quickly. Once all our luggage arrived, we checked in for our onward flight to Georgetown, Guyana. In Georgetown we went through immigration, a very rapid and painless process. Our luggage had already been placed ready for collection and we went through customs ‘nothing to declare’ and out to meet our local guide, Wally, to begin our Guyanese adventures. We loaded our luggage onto the minibus and made ourselves comfortable on the coaster for the one hour drive to Cara Lodge Hotel.  After check-in, everyone made their way to their rooms to retire for a good night’s sleep. The kitchen put together a small sandwich, fruit and a yoghurt to take us through until breakfast.

 

22nd Nov 2022 – A leisurely morning and afternoon city town of Georgetown

 With a long day yesterday, we all enjoyed a relaxing morning in the hotel. Some of us ventured out for a wander around the neighbourhood, making use of the local supermarket. It might have been raining… a little bit! We met with Wally in the Reception area at 1300 for an overview of our trip before heading out on our afternoon city tour. This is a great way to see the city and all the main sites. Due to the rain, we began with the Walter Roth, Amerindian Museum, passing through the city and seeing key buildings such as the Prime Minister’s and President’s residence on our way there. Wally showed and explained all the displays which gave a good introduction to the history of the indigenous people of Guyana and how their traditions have carried on to today including the preparation of cassava. Upon leaving the museum, we drove past the National Library and (a quick view of) St. George’s Church. When we arrived at the second museum on our schedule, the National Museum, we found out it was closed for the day – presumably due to the weather. We then entered the humdrum of Stabroeck Market and through the inside stalls which sold many different wares such as electrical goods, shoes and even wedding dresses! From here, we drove past other significant buildings: the Parliament Building, the Magistrate’s Court, City Hall, over to the 1763 monument to commemorate the abolition of the plantations. On the main road here, there were cars that were bonnet-face down into the water that had flooded the streets and had to be pulled out with the help of other vehicles! We finished off our city tour at the sea walls where we could thoroughly enjoy the vast array off birds as the rain had finally taken a break for the day. Our birding list has begun well. This evening, we had our Welcome Dinner after which Rene Edwards from CI Guyana gave a talk on conservation in Guyana. This was very interesting and provoked quite a few questions about Guyana and its culture. To finish off the evening, our steel-drum player, Camo, gave some lessons on how to play the drums. Despite the rain, floods and temporary rivers around Georgetown, we had a wonderful day and a great start to the trip! 

 

23rd Nov 2022 – Culinary delights with Delvin Adams

 What a fantastic day! At the outset, this seemed like it was going to be a full-on, completely packed day… but it really wasn’t and was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. We had our pick-up at 0730 to go for breakfast and meet our culinary host Chef Delven Adams. Delven is well-known for having filmed a TV spot with Gordon Ramsey on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zD-rWaMPos. We arrived at the Grill and Jerk Bar and enjoyed fresh 'Guyanese cherry' juice, tea and coffee and the local breakfast with bananas, edo and cassava, scrambled egg and fish. This was very relaxing and a very enjoyable way to begin the day. From here, Abel, our driver, took us the short distance to the Bourda market. We began with a visit to the Guyana Shop with its vast array of Guyanese food products: sauces, spices, oils, etc. coming from the interior regions. Delven entertained us for two-and-a-half-hours with a compelling walk around the market and stalls. Chef was looking for ingredients to make our lunch and was happy for us to make suggestions if there was something we wished to try. He decided that today was going to be snook (fish) using the barbeque sauce that we picked up at the Guyana Shop, with different vegetables from the market including aubergine (locally known as ‘boulanger’), bora beans, ochre, as well as farine. After the fruit and veg section of the market and the interesting pharmaceutical stalls, we went through the fish and meat market. We were able to experience first-hand how the fishermen fillet the fish and the skill and talent they have for making it look so easy! We stopped by the stall where Gordon Ramsey ate and had an argument about rats and rodents, and then we finished up with a fresh and refreshing coconut water stop, with a drop of rum here and there! We then parted ways with Delvin as he went to prepare lunch for us with his team and we headed back to the hotel to freshen up for an hour before heading out to the Botanical Gardens via the Georgetown Cricket Club. Unfortunately, the cricket grounds were still very much flooded out, but we did make a stop to have a look and take a photo of the famous Bourda Oval. 

At the Botanical Gardens, we spotted a Lineated and Crimson-crested Woodpecker in the first tree we came across. We then enjoyed many different birds including a Channel-billed Toucan and Red-and-green Macaws. Unfortunately, no West-Indian manatees were about. Lunch was calling so we continued our day out of town to Delvin’s own restaurant which is located in his own back garden and aptly named ‘Backyard Café’. Once everyone was seated, drinks were served which included passion fruit juice, water, beer and white wine. We were then treated to Delvin’s wonderful cooking which included: barbecue snook, roast vegetables, farine, traditional pepper pot and Delven's own coconut bread. We also got to taste the delicious fruit that he had bought at the market. After a quick refresh at the hotel we headed down to the docks to begin our cruise along the Demerara River. We arrived at Stabroek Market and were met by one of our boatmen, who led us out to our boat and, putting on our life jackets to make sure we looked safe, we set sail out onto the Demerara River.  We began up-river and entered a tributary to see some resting egrets, herons and sandpipers. Then we continued up-river and under the Demerara Harbour bridge - the floating bridge. We turned towards the right-hand bank of the river and made our way to a small congregation of Great and Snowy Egrets as well as Little blue Herons. From here, we headed down-river to an enormous group of birds roosting in the trees. We watched as the birds came into roost included the gloriously-coloured Scarlett Ibis. The Snail Kites seemed to be playing tricks on the Rufus Crab Hawks which was very entertaining for us to see. Wally and Richard estimated there were 7000 birds in the trees with 7 different species. Having enjoyed a wonderful sighting of all these beautiful birds, we began sailing back towards the ferry terminal whilst drinks were distributed with offers of wine, beers, Coca-Cola and rum along with some snack of chicken foot (but not real chicken foot), Viennese cheese whirls and plantain chips.

 Mooring back at Stabroek, we said our goodbyes to the boatmen and drove along Main Street to see the Christmas lights that decorated the tree trunks all along the avenue. We got back to the hotel at 1845 which gave us lots of time to finish packing our bags for our flight tomorrow. Another splendid day and lots to write home about.  

 

24th Nov 2022 – Transfer from Georgetown to the Iwokrama Rainforest via Kaieteur Falls

 Having placed the luggage that we weren’t taking outside our rooms by 0800, at 0830 we headed to the OGL airport for our chartered flight to Kaieteur Falls and then on to Fairview airfield and the Atta Rainforest Lodge in the Iwokrama Rainforest. Once at the airport, our luggage was placed on a trolley to be weighed. We also had to be weighed with all of our hand luggage. Our flight was delayed by half an hour, so we enjoyed tea and coffee and then boarded for our one-hour flight up to Kaieteur Falls. We flew out over the coast and got a great view of the mud flats along the coast of Georgetown. As we came around and started heading west, we flew over the capital, across the Demerara River and over the rice fields on the west side. We then veered south down into the interior, over thick rainforest. From this height, we could see, through the cloud cover, why Guyana is known as ‘Land of Many Waters’ as there were many rivers to be seen. As we flew in, we had an exquisite view of Kaieteur Falls. Our pilot circled around so that we could enjoy this wonder from both sides of the aircraft. We landed at the Visitor’s Centre and headed out for a walk to these amazing waterfalls. As we walked, we all looked carefully into the tank bromeliads to find Golden Rocket frogs and managed to find quite a few. At the Boy Scout viewpoint, the falls were covered by mist. This seemed to be clearing, and when we got over to the Rainbow viewpoint, we were gifted with beautiful, clear views of the Kaieteur Waterfalls. From here, we started to make our way back towards the Visitor's Centre for lunch. However, we took a detour along the way to find the infamous Cock-of-the-rock… and we weren’t disappointed. We found him along with a few of his friends! 

Upon return to the Visitor’s Centre, we had lunch and then we reboarded the charter flight to the airfield in Fairview. Once we landed in Fairview, a minibus was there waiting to take us and our light luggage to Atta Rainforest Lodge (Region 8), along a wide dirt road, or the M1, full of potholes. This is the kind of road where you don’t drive on the left side, you drive on whichever is the better side! We had a couple of stops on the way looking for the Crimson-Topaz Hummingbird, to no avail. We did get to see a Kingfisher fly by with its evening meal in its beak, a Cocoi and Capped Heron as well as a Silver-beaked Tanager. It was also a great opportunity to stretch our legs. Arriving at Atta Rainforest Lodge, we were greeted by Eudel our Lodge Manager who gave us an introduction and orientation whilst the main resident, a Black Curassow, now nicknamed Elvis, came for some hand-fed snacks. Wally decided that it would be nice to have a short walk around the path near to the lodge to see what we could find. It was mostly insects: scorpions, spiders and millipedes. He and Tichie, one of the lodge guides, did try really hard to find a Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl, but, just like the hummingbird earlier, it didn’t show. Again, Wally’s fantastic eye didn’t fail us as he spotted a black scorpion under a leaf with hundreds of tiny babies on her back. It’s amazing what this man can find! We headed back to the lodge for dinner which we could smell cooking as we approached the lodge from the forest. After dinner, Reba played a few songs on the ukulele and we made our way to bed due to our early-morning start tomorrow.

 

 

 25th Nov 2022 – Atta Rainforest Lodge and the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway

 This morning, alarms went off with the rise of the sun and coffee, tea and cookies at 5.45am helped us fully wake up! There were a few birds coming around the grounds of the lodge so we enjoyed the viewing over our morning wake-up. As it was still raining a little and the second rain was happening in the rainforest, we decided not to go to the canopy walkway as there would have been too much mist so we headed down the lodge entry road to the main road to see what we could find. We walked the 1.5 km to the main road spotting a Red-fan Parrot poking its head out of its tree hole to see what the commotion was about as we passed by. We turned left along the road and slowly made our way along, moving out of the way for the passing ‘rush hour’ and getting the scope out to see far off birds. Realising that it was a quarter to eight, we began making our way back to the lodge with grumbling bellies, ready for a filling breakfast. Once we were feeling satisfied, we had some time to freshen up and then we went back out along one of the small trails to see what was about. We listened out for birds and using phone technology, tried to call them closer, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. We did see a lot of different fungi and learnt a lot about the flora of the rainforest itself. Back at the lodge, we had a lovely hour-break to rest, read and get a cup of tea or coffee before a delicious and well-earned lunch was served. 

After lunch, the sun was shining, the temperature had increased and many of us went to lie down, take a nap or continue reading. Around 1530, tea and coffee were calling so we all migrated towards the dining hut and an array of birdlife in the trees above. So much so, that we postponed our departure to the canopy walk until 1630. We again slowly began walking along the smaller trail in the rainforest towards the 162 steps that would lead us up to the suspension bridges for the canopy walkway. Everyone made their way across and managed to any conquer fears. There was a group of caracaras making a tremendous noise along with a pair of Red-and-green Macaws. As the sun began to set and the beautiful orange of the sun rays hit the sky, we completed the canopy loop and took the stairs back down into the lower level of the rainforest and back to the lodge. Having plenty of time before dinner, there was a cool shower waiting and then we made our way into the dining hut for another delicious dinner. Wally had been told there was a tarantula around in the evening so after finding it and showing Tichie where it was located, we went for a very short walk after dinner to see it – a Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula. We also had to step across a line of army ants that were parading, carrying eggs as they were moving house to another part of the forest. When we got back to the lodge and said good night, an adult cane toad was spotted at the entrance to the dining hut. It really had been a day of fungi, reptiles, arachnids and insects!

  

26th Nov 2022 – Atta Rainforest Lodge and trails

After our morning wake-up of tea and coffee, and bird spotting around the grounds of the lodge until 0630, we began our day with a stroll out to the main road and headed north (right out of the entrance). As we were looking for a bird on one side of the road, there was a sudden splash in the swap on the other side as a Black Caiman entered the water hunting for prey. We were lucky enough to also see a not-so-common Green-and-rufus Kingfisher and a brightly coloured Green-tailed Jacamar.  After two-and-a-quarter hours and with grumbling bellies looking for breakfast, we turned back towards Atta Lodge and made our way along the entry road. Breakfast was very much enjoyed and once finished we decided that we would take one of the smaller trails off the entry road which was less flat and had more rocks and roots around.  Again, there was a lot of interesting fungi to be found as well as a Ferrungious-back Antbird, a Black-throated Trogon and a pair of Red-fan Parrots, sitting pretty on an upper branch for great photos.  Once back at the lodge, we rested up before lunch and then enjoyed a relaxing and restful afternoon until tea and coffee at 1530. We then drove out to the main road and turned north (right) to see what was about as the sun set. Tichie was with us, cruising on the roof of the vehicle to make sure nothing was missed. We drove quite a long way down and were hoping to stop at one bridge that usually has a lot of wildlife around it. However, as they are still building the new bridges, there were workmen there until after sunset. We stopped at another bridge further down the road, but unfortunately, there wasn't much to be seen except for a Spix's Guan.  On the way back, Tichie and Wally had their searchlights out but, apart from a Pink-toed tarantula in the middle of the road (surprisingly still alive and not squished), we didn’t see too much else.  When we got back to the lodge, we had a lovely surprise – barbeque dinner under the stars! We enjoyed BBQ grilled chicken and beef, along with local speciality “farine”, beans, vegetables, salad and spaghetti. The staff at the Atta Rainforest Lodge have definitely taken good care of us!

  

27th Nov  2022 – Atta Rainforest Lodge to Rock View Lodge, via Surama Eco-Lodge

 

Our last morning at Atta Rainforest Lodge. We again met in the dining hut for tea and coffee before heading out for an early morning walk. However, this morning we had two options; either to go back into the canopy walk-way with Tichie or to stay in the lodge grounds and see what was about. Six of us decided to go back to the canopy and three of us stayed with Wally. By 0800, we were all back at the lodge for breakfast. Then at 0900, with all our luggage again loaded on the roof of our minibus, we left Atta Rainforest Lodge along the main road to a secret pathway that is only known by local guides and which led us to a Guianan Cock-of-the-rock lek. Here, we were remarkably lucky and spotted three male Guianan Cock-of-the-rocks in all their splendid colouring. Afterwards, we departed Iwokrama National Park on our way along a very bouncy side road to Surama. We were greeted by Frank outside the Visitor’s Centre who gave some information about the village itself and pointed out what some of the different buildings were used for. We then continued on to Auntie Paulette and Uncle Daniel’s farm where we were greeted and given a wonderful local lunch of the homemade farine with bora, edo in broth with spaghetti, and fried chicken. Fresh cherry juice was served as a beverage. Auntie Paulette demonstrated how the cassava is processed by peeling it, grating it, squeezing it using the matapi, and cooking it to make it into farine. Next, outside, Uncle Daniel had all his tools ready on a table for a demonstration about how us to make bows and arrows. Afterwards, we tried shooting the arrows using the handmade bow and managed very well! Saying goodbye to the family, we made our way out of Surama village and on to Rock View Lodge. When we arrived, we were greeted by Velda and Colin and their son Zorba. Once we had dropped bags off into our rooms, we met in the Reception gazebo for some refreshing lime juice before heading out for a short walk through the meadows to see what was about. At 1830, we were invited by Colin for a welcome drink in the enclosed veranda upstairs from the restaurant. Colin and Velda were wonderful hosts, serving Brazilian ‘Caipirinha’, a national cocktail made with rum, sugar, and lime along with freshly made plantain and cassava chips. On the ring of the dining room bell, dinner was served, with a lot of pleasant chatter around the table and of course, Piccolo, the capuchin monkey, was about looking for a snack!  

 

28th Nov 2022 – Rock View Lodge

 These early mornings seem second nature now! We enjoyed coffee, tea and herbal tea this morning before heading out on our pre-breakfast walk along the main road and off on one of the small paths. The habitat of this area is very different to the of the Atta Rainforest Lodge as we walked along flat, grassy land rather than through dense rainforest or along the dirt road. We did see a lot of different birds and were especially happy to see the Orange-backed Troupial which shouldn’t normally be found in this region. Back at the lodge, we enjoyed a homemade breakfast before being given an orientation of the lodge by Zorba. From the pool there are some steps up to Inspiration View which gives a wonderful panorama over the Makarapan Mountain Range. Heading back down into the grounds, we passed the family cemetery, the Dakota bar where the World Cup was being shown and along to the ponds at the back. Here, fresh chicken was brought along to feed the Brazilian ‘Arapaima’ in the pond and catching glimpses as it came up for food and air alongside its pond companion the Amazonian Giant River Turtle. Walking through the array of different fruit trees, we enjoyed a demonstration from one of the ladies of the lodge on how to roast cashew nut shells in order to get rid of the poisonous oil (is everything poisonous out here?!), which makes them safe enough to eat. We even had the chance to crack open the shells ourselves using a special metal hammer and eat them while they were still hot. To finish off this lovely, relaxed morning, we saw how peanuts are roasted before freshening up with some delicious homemade lime juice (with or without sugar). We now had some down time and Colin turned on the Wi-Fi so we could check football and rugby results and look up some flowers and wildlife information online. Lunch was served and we were ready to taste more delicious local dishes. After lunch, we had 2-and-a-half-hours to relax in our hammocks before having tea and coffee and being shown how cotton is spun. Our late afternoon walk took us through the back meadows again where we were graced by some amazing sightings some ‘way’-off and some ‘way-way’ off. The cloud formation this evening was stunning and a lot of the time, seemed more like a painted picture than reality itself. We returned to the lodge to get ready for pre-dinner drinks with our host Colin. Dinner was served as usual at 1900. 

  29th Nov 2022 – Rock View Lodge to Karanambu Lodge, via the peanut butter factory & Pakaraima Mountain Inn

 This morning, we had our usual early morning with tea and coffee and, unfortunately, a lot of rain as well. We waited a while to see if it would subside before heading out to the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains. As we made our way along to the start of the trail, we were thrilled to see a large Jabiru Stork in the pond. It was starting to get later into the morning, so we began our climb up the nature trail, over rocks and using the handrail (though making sure there was nothing on it first!). About ⅔ of the way up, the rain came again and forced us to turn back. Well, at least we can say we walked some of the Pakaraima Mountains path! After breakfast, our minibus was ready to pick us up and we began our journey with a stop at the peanut butter factory where Sonia Sears, the factory manager, was there to greet us and Virgil, the principal of the local school, gave us a tour of the small, women-run factory. From here we then drove to the Pakaraima Mountain Inn for lunch with a stop along the road for some splendid bird watching. At the lodge, we were hosted by Uncle Charlie and Auntie Veronica. Uncle Charlie regaled us with some of his stories and then, bringing out his guitar, he serenaded us with a few songs. Lunch was brought out and we tucked in to Auntie Veronica’s delicious food. We also got to try some homemade lime juice with brown sugar known locally as ‘swank’. After lunch, we took a short walk up the hill to the lodge and enjoyed the beautiful savannah views, bird-watching and a quick nap. From here, we drove to Ginep Landing where we had 3 boats waiting for us to take us down the river to Karanambu Lodge. Along the river, we got to see a green iguana, red howler monkeys, brown capuchin monkeys and wedge-capped capuchin monkeys. The trip took 2 ½ hours and when we got to the landing, we had to walk 500 m up to the lodge, thankfully still during daylight. Here, we were allocated our cabins and our bags were brought up from the boats. Once we settled into our cabins, the dinner bell rang and we made our way across to the dining hut for a pre-dinner lemonade or rum punch before being seated at the table for dinner.

 

 

 30th Nov 2022 – Karanambu Lodge

 This morning was a very early morning with alarms being set to be ready for 0515. Beginning with our usual teas and coffees to get us up and raring to go, we then set off in the pick-ups in the search for giant anteaters out on the savannah. We ambled along and came across the Double-striped Thick-knee. Both the female and the male gave us a fantastic wing display as they tried to protect their nest. We continued our journey, looking out for the 'men on horseback' – vaqueros (Spanish for ‘cowboy’) - who would point out if they came across a giant anteater. Halfway through, Marcus, one of our drivers, spotted something dark moving through the marshland and sure enough, it was a giant anteater! We circled around to get slightly closer and then Marvin and Uncle Kenneth positioned themselves so they could gently steer it in our direction where we were waiting patiently, cameras in hand, holding our breaths so as not to make a sound. This was all worth the effort as this wonderful creature came undulating past – an emotional experience for us all. Once the anteater had gone off in the distance to bed-down for the day, Wally then spotted a very rare Bearded Tachuri in the bushes who wasn’t in a hurry to leave our surrounding area, so we got a great look at it. Onwards then to the Burrowing Owls who didn’t fail in standing proud and guarding their homes. Here, we also had a pitstop with some juice, water and biscuits before heading back to the lodge for breakfast. What a great start to the day! After arriving back at the lodge we had breakfast. At 0945, Wally took a walk down to the landing site in hopes of finding a Blue-back Mannikin but to no avail. Other birds were spotted though and a morning out bird-watching in Guyana is never a waste. We then relaxed until our afternoon outing, with lunch in between and teas and coffees just before we left, going out in the boats in hopes of finding some giant river otters. As night began to fall, we sat among lily pads and Amazon lilies, waiting for the flower to open its petals to entice a beetle in to help pollinate it. When we got back to the lodge, the dinner bell rang and we enjoyed our last dinner at Karanambu Lodge.

 

 

1st Dec 2022 – Karanambu Lodge to Georgetown, via Letham

 We began this morning again at 0515 as we wanted to try and see some giant river otters. So at 0530, we made our way down to the landing site where the boats were waiting for us and set off down the river, picking up speed down to where the giant otters are usually found. When we got there, our skippers turned off the engines in hopes of seeing them. A brown-bearded saki did linger around in one of the treetops but sadly, we didn't get to see anything else. Uncle Ken decided that we should take a look further down to see if anything was about, but nothing was seen or heard. Having cruised around the rivers and creeks for a while and only coming across a brown-capped capuchin monkey and a small handful of birds, we started making our way back to the lodge for breakfast and our imminent departure. With the breakfast bell ringing just after we arrived back, we all made our way in for breakfast. As everyone was ready and all luggage was loaded onto the back of one of the pick-ups, we headed off earlier than our scheduled departure time for Lethem. We had a wonderful surprise and an unscheduled stop on the road when a giant anteater was spotted ambling along. Wally stopped the other vehicles and everyone got out for a close-up view of this amazing creature. This really was a fantastic ending to our time in Karanambu. We then got back in the vehicles and continued our journey to Lethem, with another short stop to view the Jabiru Stork sitting atop of its nest with 2 chicks. We were away again, heading directly (or as directly as the roads would take us) to Lethem. We arrived at the check-point into Lethem and then took a right at the roundabout which took us to the bridge that separates Guyana and Brazil. Here, we stopped for some photos above Takutu River, a tributary of the Amazon River and the only bridge crossing between Guyana and any of its neighbouring countries.

We drove back across into Guyana and on to our lunch venue where we served ourselves from the salad buffet, the meat and spaghetti. However, the roasted steak was definitely the most popular and very tasty. After lunch, our drivers took us over to the airport where we had been told that check-in wouldn’t begin until 1445. However, they were very kind and let us check-in once we arrived. Across the road from the airport is the ‘Visit Rupununi Guyana’ office of which Melanie is the President of the NGO. Some of us went across to see the office and we finally found a Guyanese flag in the shop next door. Back in the Departure Lounge, we relaxed in the air-conditioning, used the WiFi, and watched as Japan beat Spain in the 2022 World Cup. At 1650, we were called to board our flight to Georgetown. We had to go through security check at the foot of the plane which was conducted by one man and his security wand. We took off from Lethem on time with a calm and pleasant flight up to Georgetown. Upon arrival at OGL, Georgetown, we had to go through a quick immigration and then pick up our luggage. Once we were through to the outside area, our driver was there to pick us up and take us back to Cara Lodge. As it was Restaurant Week this week in Guyana, a table was booked for us with a semi-set 3-course meal where we had a choice at each course. It was all delicious and very much enjoyed. We didn’t stay up too late as we all need a good night’s sleep after a long day and ready for an early morning for our Full Day tour tomorrow. 

 

2nd Dec 2022 – Cara Lodge, Georgetown – Take Two!

 We were so close to having some form of a lie-in this morning, but with another early start, breakfast was served at 0630 and we met in the Reception at 0700 ready for our full day tour of the Essequibo River. Eugene was our guide for today, and he introduced himself on the bus and gave some commentary about where we were going. Today, we got to drive over the floating bridge which we had previously gone under during our evening boat ride at the beginning of the tour. The journey was around 1.5 hours and when we arrived in Parika, we all boarded on the speed boat and headed out towards Fort Island along the Essequibo River. Fort Island, previously known as Flag Island, only has a population of approx. 73 pers. It was part of the Dutch colony and the old church has now been converted into an interesting Dutch Heritage Museum. There were many different artefacts here which provided evidence of both Dutch and British colonies. Leaving the Dutch Heritage Museum, we walked along to Fort Zeelandia. This is not a big fort, but the four walls are still present and there is an armoury on the premises as well. Just be aware of the possible new inhabitants in there, seeking shelter from the rain…! Wally also managed to spot a three-toed sloth in one of the trees that was sunning itself and giving us a good view. We made our way back to the boat after everyone watched the sloth sunning itself in the tree top, and headed over to Baracara Falls. We came off the Essequibo River onto the Mazaruni River and made a stop to see the prisons that were intended to be used by all the British colonies in the Caribbean and is still used today: one for severe offenders, and the other for first time offenders.

We then sailed over to our stop for Baracara Falls and took a short walk to the stream. Here, we needed to cross the shallow water. The water was very refreshing on our feet, and although it was tinted with tannins, we could see how clear and fresh it was. We got to the falls and walked up to the top for some views out across the river. Wally had picked up some bananas and malaka fruit which we enjoyed here for a snack. From the Baracara Falls, we had a 2-minute ride over to Kyk-Over-Al, the oldest fort along the river, and a short walk around this small island. A path of leaf-cutter ants that were bustling back and forth entertained us here as well. We reboarded the boat to Sloth Island where we had lunch waiting for us after which we found another three-toed sloth loping about high in a tree. As the day was getting away from us, we departed Sloth Island for Parika and back to our waiting bus. Our ride to the Demerara Harbour Bridge was smooth and we managed to get across without so much as a-minute’s wait. When we arrived at the hotel, dinner was pushed back to 2000, so everyone had enough time to get changed, freshen up, and finish packing. We again enjoyed the ‘Restaurant-week’ menu, and tried something different this evening. We also presented Wally with a ‘thank you’ card signed by everyone which was so well-deserved. We couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable, friendly, smiley guide – he was wonderful! 

 

3rd Dec 2022 – Georgetown to London Heathrow, via Barbados

 Well, after a wonderful, thorough Guyanese experience, we have come to our last day. We all had placed our luggage outside our rooms, ready for collection at 0615. The hotel had made us small breakfast packs which we picked up from the Reception. Once all the luggage was loaded onto the minibus, we got on ourselves and started on our way to GEO, the international airport. What weather! The heavens opened and the rain came down just as if it hadn’t rained for months! Usually, Saturday mornings can be very busy on the road up to the airport but luckily, there wasn’t much traffic about. We said our farewells to Wally and checked in, dropped our luggage off for scanning and then went through immigration and security.  Our flight was called and we boarded through the pouring rain though fortunately, our flight took off on time. This time, when we landed in BGI, we were the only flight arriving, so we were quick through immigration. Our luggage was also through swiftly and so we headed off on our tour and more specifically for lunch. We were introduced to our guide, Olivia, and our driver, Roger, and we left the airport in the direction of Sunbury House. Upon arrival, we opted to go straight in for lunch as breakfast had been quite a few hours beforehand. Lunch was a choice of chicken or vegetarian wrap with coleslaw and salad. We then had a tour around the house with Kiana who took us through the downstairs rooms, the bedrooms upstairs, the horse saddles and carts in the cellar, and also ‘the kitchen’ whilst explaining how things worked "back in the day". We departed Sunbury House for a drive to the Tropical Flower Gardens. Here, Olivia gave us a guided-tour. The gardens were lovely, and on a hillside so once we went down, we then had to walk back up. The new owner was also giving a tour to another group but took the time to speak to some of us and was pleased to hear we were enjoying everything. Afterwards, we headed into the cafe where we are offered a free rum or fruit punch. From the gardens, we headed off to Bathsheba, where we stopped for a photo stop and leg stretch. It was a wonderful opportunity to get some fresh air, ready for our upcoming flight. Our last stop on this afternoon tour was at St. John's Church for a quick walk around and visit. There was choir practice going on inside which was nice to enjoy. This was a lovely afternoon and a great way to finish our trip. Back at the airport, we checked in for our Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow early as the desks were already open. The process was quick and painless and by 1745, everyone was through into the departure lounge having a quick bite to eat or relaxing with a nice cup of tea.  

Our flight from Barbados took off on time and we said ‘adieu’ to the sun, the heat and this wonderful trip to Guyana – Land of Many Waters.

 

Click here for the full wildlife list of the birds, flora and fauna that we encountered during the tour.

 

Click here for Guyana - Land of Many Waters tour