I had 2 days in Georgetown before flying home. I wanted to buy some more souvenirs and see the manatees in the botanical garden. My first day I did some shopping and just relaxed. The hotel had free internet. I had been mostly offline for the last 2 weeks so I did some catching up here. Georgetown has a bad reputation for crime and I must admit I was a little worried about how it was going to be but I thought it was fine. Walking around I felt safe and actually enjoyed the city a bit. It’s all very low key. Many of the buildings are old and made of wood. No structure is over 4 stories tall. There are lots of well preserved buildings and many looking like they are ready to collapse but they all had their own character. People were friendly and some even said hello to me. In the interior the population of Guyana is mostly Amerindian but here in the capital the majority of people were black or of indian descent. Georgetown is the largest city in Guyana with a population of around 170,000 but it had a small town feel to it.

With all my souvenir shopping done, Alex and I went to the botanical gardens for my last afternoon in South America. The manatess live in a pond near the entrance to the gardens and are there for scientific research. We walked around their pond but only saw their bubbles on the surface of the chocolate milk colored water. I was disappointed. We walked around the gardens and thought we would check the manatee ponds once more before leaving. Now they were coming closer to the surface and were a bit easier to see. Then one of them came to a local at the shore who had some grass. He was feeding the manatee! I couldn’t believe it!

I grabbed a handful of grass and now I was feeding the manatee too! This was more of the type of encounter I was hoping for though I didn’t think I would be able to actually feed a manatee. The huge freshwater mammal just floated there still, waiting as I got more grass for it to it. It’s mouth was a like bristles and felt scratchy yet gentle on my hand. I could have stayed all day and fed the manatee and by the way it just waited there, that’s what it wanted me to do! But we left after a while. We stopped at a well stocked fruit stand where I bought a kilo of fruit for $5.

Alex and I went out for dinner last night but didn’t go too far. I didn’t want to test the safety of the streets at night by walking too far from the hotel. My last night I just ate at the hotel.

March. 2

I had reception set up a taxi for me to take me to the airport at 6am. The taxi arrived 20 minutes early! I was still sleeping! Needless to say, I arrived at the airport with plenty of time. The flight left on time and I arrived at JFK in New York at 2pm. Now I had at least a  4 hour wait for my one hour flight to Toronto. I arrived in Toronto at 8pm.  It sucked to come back to such cold temperatures but in other ways I was happy to be home again.

It was the end of another fantastic trip. Although I never saw my 2 ‘dream’ animals – jagaur and giant anteater, the trips was by no means unsuccessful.  I had some unique experiences and met some extremely friendly and hospitable people. Not seeing my dream animals just gives me a reason to come back again. I liked Brazil but I would probably return to Guyana first. It’s much easier to get off the beaten track there and into pristine forest. I believe with a little more time and money there, I could see a lot more animals. So much to see, so little time!

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

The one bus a day, 3 times a week from Lethem to Georgetown passed by the Kurupakari crossing at 5.30. Alex, a British/Brazilian I had run into a few times in Guyana was also catching the bus. We caught the bus right near the Essequibo river crossing. All the passengers had to get off the bus while it got on a ferry and we all went across. Once on the other side we drove only a short distance before stopping for a quick meal. Remember now, this bus has been traveling since 10.30am from Lethem. We got on our way again shorty after 6.30. It was dark and there wasn’t much to see but the stars above the forest canopy, when the road was wide enough to see them. The road was terrible and it was really slow going. It was only about 330km to Georgetown, with the last 100km from Linden to Georgetown being tarmac.I had anticipated about 8 hours for the journey. The optimists were hoping to get there in 6 hours.

We stopped at around 11 for coffee and some snacks. I thought we were making good progress until I looked at a road sign. After almost 5 hours, we still had another 200km to go! We finally arrived in Georgetown at 3am. I felt sorry for the passengers who had been on the bus since 10.30 that morning. Such a long and tiring journey on a bumpy road. I was a bit concerned about safety, arriving in Georgetown at 3am but the bus conveniently stopped at the Tropicana Hotel. Alex and I each took a room here.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

I was able to get my own guide this morning, Louis. We set out after breakfast but Louis had not heard what I told him earlier and was going to take me on a trail I had already been on. There are not many trails around the field centre and I had already walked them all. Instead we walked a half an hour to a small butterfly farm. There were only a few species here and it wasn’t really impressive. It was good to see though that the community had created this farm and was making some profit selling the larvae overseas.

Around 3pm Louis and I left for Turtle Mountain. This involved a half hour boat ride downstream. The boat dropped us off and we walked through the forest for about an hour and a half before reaching the 300m (1000′) summit of Turtle mountain. In comparison to mountains around the world, Turtle mountain isn’t even a blip on the radar. 300m high barely even constitutes a mountain. Here in Guyana though, Turtle mountain was the highest peak in the area and the vast rainforest stretched unbroken below as far as the eye could see. I finally had clear weather while on a peak. We stayed up here for an hour before returning to the boat and the field station.

I was finally able to do a night boat safari and Louis again would be my guide. We had to wait for the birders to finish their nightly bird check list before I could eat and get on the boat. We left around 8. We cruised slowly upriver, Louis scanning the trees with a powerful spotlight. In no time he spotted a Amazonian tree boa high in a tree. Then 2 more tree boas further on. We saw eyeshine high in a tree which turned out to be a kinkajou. It was moving fast through the trees. We saw one more snake before going back. All in all in was quite a rewarding night safari for my last night in the forest. It was a saturday night and although my flight didn’t leave Georgetown till wednesday morning, I wanted to go to there on monday to give myself 2 days in the capital. Unfortunately though the bus schedule didn’t allow this. The bus only ran tuesday, thursday and sunday. I would have to take the bus sunday instead of monday.

My trip was nearing an end but I had been able to spend almost the entire last month in the rainforest. If I wasn’t in the forest I was in a city or village near the rainforest. I had the bug bites to prove! Despite all the bug bites and hardships I thoroughly enjoyed all my time spent in my favourite environment. But my trip wasn’t over yet. Ahead of me lay a long bus ride to Georgetown.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

Iwokrama is an internationally recognized research station and rainforest reserve. I couldn’t understand why they only had 3 guides to accomodate up to 20 or more visitors. These guides were busy with the tour groups. I couldn’t get my own guide and had to join a group. I did not want to join the Americans with their couple from hell. That left a group of 10 seniors from England on a birding tour. Their guide, Ron, allows me to join their group but seems unenthusiastic about my arrival. He comes up to me and I introduce myself yet he doesn’t introduce himself. I want to give him a chance but this is not a good beginning.

At 9am, I meet the group of birders. They are a friendly bunch and don’t mind at all that I am joining their group. They are curious about my travels and inquire about what I have done and seen in Guyana and Brazil. I tell them my harpy eagle story. These being birders, I thought they would appreciate my experience and most of them did. It wasn’t till later that I found out one of them wasn’t happy I was up there tree, but more about that later.

We started our hike down the road to the field station. It was a casual walk with them checking out some birds and me some flowers. I had found a red passion flower. Once we entered the forest the dynamics changed. Everyone was silent and focused. I would have never known there was a group of 10 people hiking through the forest. I really liked this. These folks obviously had experience in the forest and knew the proper etiquette.  They had their guide, Ron and a guide from Iwokrama, Egbert, known better as Eggy. The group became quite spread apart. For a while near the end of the 2 hour hike I was alone. We saw some birds and interesting insects and fungi but no mammals.

After lunch I was relaxing with a coffee and a book at the roundhouse. Ron, the birders guide, sat down with me. He makes a bit of small talk and then says ‘ You know you made a bit mistake telling the harpy eagle story.’ I didn’t know I had made a big mistake in telling the harpy eagle story. These people being birders I thought they would like the story but I guess one of them thought I and the BBC were disturbing this bird and she was worried about it. I asked him if he explained to her it wasn’t like that. These birders had been to see the same harpy eagle a few days ago. He said he explained it to her but she was still concerned with me. Why was he telling me this? This wasn’t my problem. Ron had a bit of an attitude earlier and now I really was sure I didn’t like him. He even shushed me twice on the hike! Once while walking on the road, while many people were chatting. Then again in the forest when I asked him in a quiet hushed tone about an animal. I thought what a prick! Later I had heard others that were forced to join his group for a hike and say similar things about him. They felt like they were invisible to Ron on the hike and so did I. It wasn’t my choice to join his group.

He said he let me join his group but there was tension in the group. I was surprised he said this. I felt no tension from anyone in the group and felt welcomed by them. I said maybe it was him that was feeling the tension! There was talk of me joining the birders again the next day for their hike to Turtle Mountain. Ron brought this up and starting saying he doesn’t know if I’ll be able to join his group. I didn’t really want to join his group anyway and after what he’s said to me today, there’s no way I’m joining his group! His group of birders dominated Iwokrama while I was there. Not only did they hog the limited guides but dinner wouldn’t be served until after they had their nightly meeting to check all the birds on their list that they had seen that day.

Thankfully that afternoon, Eggie was free to guide me. It was just him and I. He took me an a trail near the field centre that most tourists aren’t taken on. He said I was different though. “You’re hardcore.” He said. The trail wasn’t as manicured or as wide as the more popular trails. He said he always sees something on this trail. He had a flashlight with ultraviolet light to look for scorpions which glow under the purple light. We didn’t see any scrorpions and it was turning into a fairly quiet afternoon until we heard some movement in the trees. It was a wedge cap capuchin, a new species for me. It was far in the trees but Eggy let me borrow his binoculars which were more powerful than mine. The monkey was moving through the canopy. I followed it along the trail as best I could. It was just one monkey and when it stopped moving it was difficult to see. I kept with it though, determined to have a good view of it. Finally I had spotted it lounging on a tree branch. It was beginning to get dark in the forest but I was satisfied that I had seen the monkey clearly.

That night I was told again that there were no guides to take me on any night excursions.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

Iwokrama was my last place to visit before Georgetown. It’s the largest protected rainforest in Guyana, spanning one million acres.I arrived there in my usual fashion, without reservations! The director quickly and somewhat frantically told me they were booked. That was ok, I have my tent and set up it under a basic shelter that was meant for hammocks. Always having a tent is one reason why I rarely book ahead. I always know I have somewhere to sleep. Making reservations has never been my style.

After setting up my tent and showering, I made my way to the second level of the roundhouse, a large circular building that is the research station, library, laboratory and dining area. They made up a table just for me, just so everyone there knew I was alone. Thankfully as I was making my way to my single table, I passed the Americans on tour that I had met in Surama. They kindly invited me to join them. The couple from hell part of their group was still getting ready. With me at their table now, they set up another table for the couple. The 3 Americans couldn’t thank me enough! I had saved them from a dinner with their barely tolerable tourmates. They were on a 11 day tour of Guyana.  Being an indepent backpacker, yet staying at the same places as them and eating the same food, they were curious as to what I was paying. I told them I was paying $15 for a room at Surama and another $20 for food. They had paid $5000 for their 11 days! That was almost $500 a day! I was only paying $5 to camp at Iwokrama and then another $30 for 3 meals a day. On my way to Georgetown 3 days later, I passed a guesthouse just outside of the reserve. Here I learned I could stay and eat even cheaper and still do excursions into the same forest. This is great information to know when I return back to Guyana some year.

I wanted to do a night activity but apparently the night boat safari was full and there were no guides to take me on a night hike. Being an independent backpacker here and not on an expensive all inclusive tour, I was definitely treated different. Though it was sublte, no one was ever rude or unfriendly towards me, I could see that I was their last priority.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

Nick from the BBC had been setting up a sequence to be filmed of a juvenile harpy eagle. He had a perch set up 30m (100′) off the ground in the tree next to the harpy eagles nest. He had asked me the day before if I wanted to join him on the tree but I was already committed to the river trip. Now my last morning at Surama he kindly agreed to let me join him. We drove back to the main road and then headed north for a bit before stopping at a trail. A local from Surama, Patrick joined us. We walked for 20 minutes through the forest to reach the tree. The nest was in a huge 50m (160′) tall silk cotton tree. We would be climbing up the small but tall tree next to it. We couldn’t see the bird in the tree but Nick proceeded to climb up anyway. Nick had been coming here for the last few days in hopes of seeing the adults come back to the nest. The 8-10 month old juvenile hung around the nesting tree. All though it could fly, it just did short flights and always came back to the nesting tree. While Nick was up the tree, I could hear the harpy fly back to its nesting tree.

Nick had a brand new climbing harness for me. I had done some rappelling in South Africa and climbed some trees while in College but it had been a while. Nick set me up and gave me a briefing on how I would climb up. He had me on a 2 lines, one for climbing, one a back up safety line. I began to climb up. I would push up a climbing device ( sorry for my ignorance, I have forgotten all the technical names for the equipment I was using)  about 30cm (1′) with my arms and then stand up to complete the motion. My feet were in a loop that helped with the climbing. I was sitting on a climbing seat, Nicks’s prized possession for climbing. It was comfortable enough climbing up, though it was extremely tough work. I would have to rest every few minutes. The muscles in my forearms were on fire. Once I was about 15m (50′) in the air, Nick let me know that the harpy was doing something cool so he would be taking some photos and not taking up the slack on my safety line for a few minutes. This was fine. I would just dangle there looking around the forest at this birds eye view. I felt totally relaxed. I continued climbing drenched in sweat. This was 10am in the humid rainforest, swimming in sweat was inevitable.

After about 20 minutes I finally reached Nick’s perch in the crotch of the tree about 30m (100′) high in the tree. Once I was up here the reality of the situation hit me and now my heart started beating a little faster. Now I was high up and had no more climbing to do . It was easier to ignore the height before because I had a job to do, get myself to the perch. Now that I was here, it was intense. Nick wanted me to move up to his perch while he climbed up higher but I felt more comfortable on my seat below him. The harpy was in the tree but was partially obscured by some foliage. Besides the height and the heat, I also had to deal with huge ants and mosquitos. After about 30 minutes up here, I was ready to go down. The harpy still wasn’t in a great position for me but Nick got some great photos from his vantage point. He lowered me down. I felt relieved to be back on the ground back it was an amazing experience to be up that high off the ground so close to such a majestic bird. This was definitely a highlight of the trip. Not many people can say they have done this.

The harpy eagle landed on a branch much closer to Nick a while after I was down. He stayed up for a while, getting some amazing shots. He was blown away to be this close to a wild harpy eagle.  The harpy is the largest and most powerful raptor in the Americas. They can weigh up to 9kg (20lbs) and have a wingspan of 2m (6′). Their diet includes monkeys, sloths,anteaters and even young deer and capybara.

We headed back to the truck around noon. Patrick took the lead and was 5 minutes ahead of us. Nick was walking briskly and I was right behind him. I was watching the ground when I noticed Nick walk over a snake and continuing with the pace, I walked right over the snake. I was looking down at it while I walked over it and thinking ‘Holy shit, I’m walking right over a snake!” It all happened so fast. After the fact I told Nick we had just walked over a snake and showed him. The snake wasn’t small by any means but it wasn’t huge. It was partially concealed under a large leaf. I took some photos of it and Nick tried to brush it off the trail. This snake, like the fer de lance I saw in Brazil, was in defense and attack mode. It would not be moved on the trail by a simple branch. Nick literally had to physically move it off the trail. Back in Surama I showed my photos to the guides. It was a very venomous snake we had walked over! I can’t believe how close we both came to being bitten. The thoughts of this stayed with me all day.

The Americans on the tour here were going to Iwokrama next, which is were I was going also. I was hoping to catch a ride with them but we got back too late from the harpy eagle. After lunch though, I couldn’t find any transport to take me to the main road. Nick was nice enough to give me a ride their in his borrowed work truck. I waited at the junction for about 30 minutes until the one bus a day from Lethem to Georgetown arrived.

There are more frequent minibuses to Georgetown but these are considerably less safe than the big bus, though they are faster. I was in no hurry and wanted to travel safely so I opted for the bus. A bus came by but it was full. The driver told me another bus was right behind. There was room for me on this bus. It took almost 3 hours to get to the field station of Iwokrama. The whole way the bumpy road went through primary rainforest. We stopped at a ranger station so the bus could register as it was entering the protected forest of Iwokrama. The road was absolutely filled with butterflies were we stopped. They seemed to all be of the same species but there must have been thousands of them. I had to get out of the bus to take photos and a short video clip. I had never seen anything like it before. There were so many!

We drove through some heavy rain on the way, making the road even worse and the going even slower. We arrived at the Kurupukari ranger station around 6. I was the only person to get off the bus here. I waited at the ranger station for a ride to the field station just a few kilometres away.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

After breakfast Junior and I set out for Surama mountain. It took an hour to reach the trail at the base of the mountain. From there it took 45 minutes to reach the 300m summit. Unfortunately for us, the weather wasn’t cooperating and the views were considerably less than stellar. It actually rained on us. We waited it out and then started to go down. On the way down it really rained hard. There wasn’t much cover and we both got pretty wet. Timing was in our favour though because as we reached the road back to the guesthouse, a vehicle from Surama was passing by. They gave us a ride back to the guesthouse. I relaxed for a while after lunch and then walked 5km to the Burro Burro river. There was a bit of a change up with guides and I was now with Leon.

As we got closer to the river, another guide arrived on his bicycle to help Leon with the paddling. They paddled the large canoe upstream for 1.5 hours and then we floated back in 45 minutes. We only saw birds, it was mildly disappointing. We waited at the benab near the dock for night to fall. At Leon’s suggestion, I thought I would do the river trip late afternoon and then walk back to Surama in the dark and get a night hike out of the deal for just the price of the river trip.

Before we even left the benab, the other guide spotted a slender snake up a tree. The 3 of us walked slowly back to the guesthouse. I spotted 2 more snakes and a tiny scorpion. It was a good hike. When we arrived, everyone was almost finished dinner but they saved some for me.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

There is no signals for cellphones out in this part of Guyana and hardly any internet. Contact is primarily through radio. Bertie said he would alert Surama that I was coming so they could expect me. Surama was about 9km down the main road and then another 5km on a side road. Berite said he had to go to a meeting in Bina Hill and then would give me a ride to Surama after he returned. I thought he would be a few hours. He didn’t return till almost 2pm. Bertie had seen the person in charge of tourism in Surama at the meeting in Bina Hill. He told them he had someone interested in Surama and they said they would pick me up. I got tired of waiting though, I didn’t know when they were going to pick me up. So I asked Bertie if we could stick to the original plan and he give a ride there. Shortly after we got on the side road to the village, Bertie’s motorcycle swung erratically out to the side. Flat tire! He turned around and walked his bike back to the junction with the main road. I kept going towards Surama.

After about an hour walking, Jackie from Surama finally showed up. They drove me the rest of the way. Surama is a small 5 sq km village surrounded by forested mountains. The guesthouse is situated away from the village and is really peaceful with great views. I wasn’t sure what to expect price wise but it turned out to be fairly affordable by Guyanese standards. My nice room was $15 a night and 3 meals a day about $20. I just had to pay for any activities I wanted to do on top of this. I did a short hike that afternoon with a teenage guide in training, Junior. We spotted some capuchin monkeys in the forest.

Guyana is more of a package tour destination than that of independent backpackers. It was almost the end of the month and I was only the second independent traveler this month. At dinner I met a group of package tourists from the States and Nick, from the BBC. He was part of a crew involved with filming teenage kids in survival situations in the forest. He was more a logistics guy,checking out locations before hand and working behind the scenes. It seemed like an interesting job.

I didn’t speak much with the Americans that night but that didn’t stop them from making the rest of us uncomfortable. Their guide was chatting with Nick and I and telling us about  a couple from his group of 5. They had been rude and complaining the whole tour so far. During dinner, the woman (both husband and wife were easily 50 -60 years old, these were not newlyweds!) stood up crying and said to her husband ‘  I don’t want to be here! Just give me the keys to the room! All I wanted you to do was join me for dinner and you wouldn’t do that”, etc. The husband acted aloof but he was the problem. The others in their group calmed her down enough to stay but later Nick told me he heard them arguing in their hut that night. I felt terrible for the 3 others in their group. They seemed friendly and down to earth and now they had to spend their entire tour of Guyana with these bringdowns.

I have had people suggest to me that I become like a private tour guide for a career but it’s the dealing with people that can be the worst part of that job. True most people are happy and relaxed on vacation but you never know when you’re going to get a terrible group or some grouchy individuals, that could turn a fun job into a nightmare. It’s still a good idea though that I have thought of before myself. Who knows, maybe in the future…..

Nights in Guyana seemed to be more windier and cooler than in Brazil and this night was no different. After dinner I spent some time swinging in a hammock on the porch behind my room.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

After breakfast the next morning, my guide, Revlon and I started the 8km hike to the cock of the rock nesting site. Revlon wasn’t an official guide but he grew up around the forest and knew it well. We traveled light and left most things back in the village. After 30 minutes walking in the savanna, we entered the forest. Soon we entered pristine forest and there was fresh evidence of jaguar, giant anteater and paca along the trail. It was so cool to think I’m walking on a trail that a jaguar walked that very same morning. Almost 2 hours later we reached the site of the old benab. We cleared some brush for my tent and for Revlon’s temporary shelter. Just as we arrived though it began to rain hard. Revlon had some huge leaves he had collected for his shelter and we huddled close together under these. The rain lasted 30 minutes and after I set up my tent. Revlon wasn’t going to set up his shelter now but I warned him that he should. We could hear more rain coming in the distance. He raced to set up his shelter and thankfully that second storm didn’t hit us.

After lunch of canned chicken sausage and biscuits, we walked further down the trail for 1.5km to reach the boulder strewn forest where the cock of the rock nests. These medium sized bright orange birds nest in the nooks and crannies of the rocks. There are at least a dozen nesting pairs in the area. The birds are not hard to spot. Their orange plumage is a stark contrast to the green darkness of the forest. They were quite comfortable around us, unless we made sudden movements, but even then they wouldn’t fly far away. We saw up to 5 males at once and one drab brown female. The cock of the rock is famous for its colors and its elaborate mating ritual dances.

We got back to camp just as it was getting dark. I took a bucket and brought it to a man made well nearby. This was the water source for drinking, cleaning and bathing. They had dug a well near a swampy area, cemented it and now it always has water in it. The well had been covered to keep any wild animals from falling in it. I drank the water with no ill effects. Revlon cooked a dinner of chow mein and chicken sausage. As he handed me my plate he said ‘I’m not sure how its going to taste. I’ve never cooked before.” This guy was 28 but he had never cooked before. He had a wife who did all that for him. The food wasn’t bad and with a little black pepper that I had brought with me, it was totally fine.

One reason I wanted to stay out in the forest was to do a night hike, so after dinner we got our torches and walked slowly down the trail towards the cock of the rock site. We could hear movement high in the trees. Probably a kinkajou or night monkey. I spotted a tarantula on a tree with an apparently broken leg. It looked very strange and in rough shape. Revlon spotted another large spider with less hair. Both spiders were easily larger than the palm of my hand. A small snake crossed our path. A few large toads were also easy to see. It was a nice nightwalk. Revlon said he had never slept out here before. He seemed to be almost more excited than I was to hike at night. He brought his bow and arrow with him just in case!

It was pitch black in the forest. Revlon was sleeping in his hammock without a mosquito net. His shelter was small and he was lucky it was a dry night. The next morning we got up at 6am, had coffee and then walked back to Wowetta. We left early in hopes of seeing something on the trail but had no luck. I washed some clothes and dried out my tent. In the afternoon, some kids took me to a nearby grassy mountain with great views.

The next day I was ready to move to my next destination, Surama.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011

Since travel costs can be very expensive in Guyana, I was sticking close to places I wanted to visit that were close to the main highway. I could take public transportation to these places or at least try to hitch.Richard found someone with a motorbike to take me to Wowetta, for a small fee of course. It was only 13km away but with all my gear I didn’t feel like hiking it or trying to hitch. Wowetta is a small yet widespread village along the main road just before the forest begins uninterrupted all the way to Georgetown. I am in the Rupununi, an area that covers 20% of Guyana,  grasslands dotted with pristine forested mountains. I asked around in the village and was directed to a woman named Priscilla’s house. It was a half an hour walk. Once there she welcomed me. I was their first visitor this year! The village’s 2 room guesthouse was occupied but Priscilla’s brother, Bertie, said I could stay in a spare room at his house, right next door. The room was a just bare concrete except for a dresser. I set up my thermarest and mosquito net. Though it was the dry season and not raining much in Lethem, the further north I went, the more it was raining. It was not supposed to be raining at all at this time of year. When I asked locals what they thought about this, they shrugged it off casually and said ‘Climate change.’

I came to Wowetta to hike their nature trail that led to a cock of the rock nesting site. The cock of the rock is a rare orange bird. I was more interested in getting into the forest and sleeping overnight than I was to see the bird. My guidebook said there was a benab ( a wooden structure to hang hammocks in ) in the forest near the nesting site. Priscilla told me that the benab hasn’t been used in 7 years! It’s thatch roof rotted away and it hasn’t been fixed. Most visitors just go out for the day and come back to the village. I told them I would really like to sleep out in the forest and that I had a tent. They said they would set it up for me for tomorrow.

After lunch it rained for a while. After it stopped Priscilla’s kids and the neighbours kids took me on a short nature trail. We walked the main road for a while before returning at dusk. There were quite a few plants blooming along the road. The most spectacular for me was a purple passion flower.  It was Priscilla’s birthday and there was a large gathering of family and friends for dinner. We drank local Guyanese wine and I must say it went down easy. I actually got pretty drunk and turned down any more drinks before I got way too drunk. It was a fun night. I had nights in Brazil like this with locals but here it was different. Everyone spoke english and I could talk with everyone. Guyana is an old British colony and the only english speaking country in South America.

Comments (0) Mar 11 2011