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Other entries in Georgetown

The Next Country (#39)

Thursday, October 18

Got up very early (4:30, getting used to being up by 5:30, sleeping in now means 7 AM). Today is the start of a long trek from Paramaribo (the capital of Suriname) to Georgetown (the capital of Guyana). If all were to have gone as per schedule we would have arrived at 3:30 (rather than 6:30), but as I soon learned, nothing in Guyana is designed to follow a schedule or itinerary. At least we were in an air conditioned private bus.

We traveled along or near the coasts of Suriname and Guyana. The actual coast is a series of dykes as both countries and especially Guyana are below the maximim high tides. This causes problems not from the ocean but from the extreme long rains that happen in May and June. It is common and expected that the homes along the coast (where most of the folks of Guyana live) will have the basement of the house flooded. Consequently many people have their houses on stilts or have a small ground floor (stair well) with the real residence upstairs. Had to cross several rivers, including two with ferries.

The first ferry was at the border between Suriname and Guyana. We were delayed for an hour because customs and immigration were taking their time processing people. We were fortunate to be in the shade as the temperature was in the mid 30's (90's) and with extreme humidity. This temperature is a constant under-current throughout my time in Guyana; it was extremely uncomfortable to be outside, especially in the sun or doing any physical exersion, like hiking, and worse still, climbiing mountains, which we did a lot of.

At the second ferry closing we missed the sailing we were supposed to be on as it was full. My mates sought out shade; I wandered around and came across a saw mill next to the ferrry landing. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the workers cutting logs into planks using old technology, a lot of muscle power and much pride. The workers allowed me onto their work platform. It was so pleasant to see these men exhibit such pride and joy in showing me what and how they did their work. Equally, it was interesting to note the lack of any real safety standards. After watching them for an hour,I returned to the bus. We were the second last vehicle on this ferry, but at least we were on our way.

Guyana has few resources, one being bauxite (like Suriname) and another being huge stands of relatively virgin/first growth forests. Most of the trees are softwood, but a few are very unique and valuable hardwood trees (especially a tree called purple heart). The challenge is to get the hardwoods out of the forest (it is a swamp and very dense) without taking out all the other trees. G and S are struggling with establishing forest practises that allow for sustainable harvesting , balancing the economic needs of the locals against ecological issues and interests. One of my mates who has been to many rainforests noted that she had never seen such huge and untouched rainforests before. In many ways S and G's rainforests are better examples of true jungles/rainforests compared to the Amazon. Both countries are pitching their eco-tourism as being the real Amazon jungle experience given the serious logging Brazil has done in their Amazon jungles.

Note. A jungle is technically defined as a dense collection of trees whereas a rain forest is a jungle with a lot of rain. This is the difference as per my guide. However, saying jungle sounds sexier than saying rain forest.

Arrived in Georgetown at 7, 14 hours after leaving Paramaribo (one hour for time zone change). Georgetown is a very poor town of 230,000. You don't need to be told not to walk around at night, the streets are full of rather desperate, large, black and angry looking men. Today, relatively, went pretty much according to schedule, the last time that would occur for a while.

Facts on Guyana. Population 730,000 (200,000 more than Suriname). It is larger than Suriname. Gained independence from Great Britian in 1965. Nationalized the bauxite mines in 1971. Was a friend of Cuba and Russia during the cold war (now sucking up to China). Their socialistic tendencies have only recently been dropped so the country is struggling to get on the capitalistic band wagon. The country appears poorer than Suriname. The population is 40% Indo, 30% black, 8% indigiuos indians (called collectively Amerindians) and the balance white and chinese. The West Indians control and own most of the wealth in the country. The politics of the country are divided along racial lines, making it difficult for strong or effective government or leadership. Suriname was very racially tolerate, not the same for Guyana.

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