Shelley in Guyana: Mum and Dad came to Guyana!

I got back from Orealla and had 4 days to get everything in order, complete an audit of a remedial programme at the University of Guyana, run a course on reading comprehension, clean, wash and buy supplies as Mum and Dad were coming to visit! I was very excited about this and I think most people in New Amsterdam knew they were coming and were also very excited about meeting them!

Monday the 1^st was emancipation day – the day Afro-Guyanese celebrate the abolition of slavery. On the Friday a lot of people dressed in traditional clothing (see picture below). The 1^st was a public holiday and there were celebrations including dance and special food.

Early Saturday morning I phone the taxi company for a taxi to the airport to be told “you do know there has been a plane crash it was coming from Trinidad”. After a small panic (!!) I found out that it had happened a few hours ago so thankfully Mum and Dad were not on it. They were due on the following flight. I tired to contact the airport / airline to find out what was going on, but this is Guyana so of course I could find out nothing. I headed down to the airport to discover it was shut. After 6 hours of waiting their plane finally came in and landed and it was great to see them.

I received my lovely plate so thank you to everyone who did that – it really meant a lot and now has pride of place on my shelf.

We headed up to Town and I gave them a brief tour going along the seawall, to see the lighthouse and to the parks. The next morning we started out journey to Kaieteur Falls. We took a 12 hour journey to reach where we were staying – this involved 11 hours in a 4 x 4 on a very bumpy road, then a one hour boat journey to Amatuk Island. Amatuk is an island in the middle of the river with two waterfalls either side of it. It was nearly dark when we arrived so we had a quick bathe in the water and got ready for the night in hammocks. The following morning we made another boat trip up the river to our next camp. It had been raining a lot before we arrived so the creeks were swollen and we couldn’t do any walking. The final day we started the OMG1 and OMG2 climb. It was hot and steep but we all managed it ok and completed the climb in 2 ½ hours. We climbed up through the jungle and at the top emerged onto the cliff face to the most stunning view. One way you could see for miles down a large valley with a river at the bottom and the other you could see the highest single drop waterfall in the world (741 feet).

We looked at the waterfall from the different view points and you can stand in the water right by the top. Part of the beauty of Kaieteur Falls is the lack of tourism. There are no barriers – you can stand right on the edge, you can put your feet over the edge of the cliff, you can do whatever you want! There are not many tourists – a small plane load arrived whilst we were there but after they had gone we had the whole place to ourselves. There is a simple house to sleep in, a ranger’s house and weather station.

That evening we sat and watched sunset over the falls – 1000s of swifts flew over our heads and dived bombed behind the falls where they lived. We also got up early in the morning to watch sunrise – everywhere was covered in mist. We saw the famous cock of the rock bird and the golden frog. I also saw a black cat – possibly a Panther. We flew out on the final day and got one last glimpse of the falls. The trip was very disorganised (even by Guyana’s standards) but the beauty and isolation of the place made it worth it. It will look very different in a few years when tourism takes off in

Guyana

We then went to New Amsterdam for a few days – looking at the Market and seeing where I worked. I had prepared Mum and Dad for all the comments I get when I walk along the street and the sipping noises – but none of it came. In fact people were extra friendly and came and spoke to us about what we were doing. Interestingly when it was just me and Mum walking we did get sipped at and a few comments – I need to take Dad with me as a bodyguard!

Friday night we headed on the boat to Orealla and spent the weekend in the Amerindian community. We came back on Monday and had a few days visiting friends of mine. Everyone made a huge effort and Mum and Dad really enjoyed their time with them. They were fed well and given food to carry back with them! We hired a car for a few days and I got to drive in Guyana – not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The hardest thing is all the animals on the road so you need to constantly be looking out for dogs or cows etc coming into your path.

We went to some schools that were running remedial programmes, a summer day camp at another school (Mum got mobbed by the children when she read a story), and we visited the beach, a sugar estate and just enjoyed seeing the country.

Finally we headed back to town onto Arrow point an eco-lodge a few miles outside of the capital. The best thing was it was excellent customer service (something unknown here) they looked after us and it was good to have a few days to chill at the end! Dad got to go mountain biking with the owner and we caught fish and made cassava bread. We had a beach bonfire and went looking for Caiman at night. We saw monkeys and lots of birds.

There were a few tears when I left them Monday night to travel back home but it was a fantastic two weeks!

It was interesting seeing the country again through fresh eyes. I think a lot of things which don’t bother me now / I don’t see any more did again such as the noise, rubbish speed of the driving etc. But on the other hand it was great to take ownership of the country and show people around. It has made me miss home and reminded me about things from home but that is only to be expected.

At present I am working in Town at NCERD (National Centre of Education and Research development). I was asked to work here by the Chief Education Officer. It’s been nice to be in Town – there is a hotel with a pool next door so I have been going for lunchtime swims. I went to a big concert at the National Cricket ground on Friday – was supposed to be Kartel and Marvado but Kartel didn’t show up. There has been a big feud between these Jamaican dancehall artists. The rumours were Kartel didn’t show up as when he got on the plane as he saw one of Marvado’s dancers and so stormed off or he has been bleaching his face and customs didn’t recognise him. Anyway it was a great night with a great atmosphere. We were warned not to get there before 12 – so turned up at 11.45pm. The warm up act didn’t start until 12.45am and the main act at 2am! We got home about 5am. Was really nice to have the concert outside as it is very hot here at the moment and even at 2am I was still sweating!

I have also been to the hairdressers and got my haircut – I have not blow-dried my hair for 6 months it was strange to see it looking so neat. Though within 2 seconds of walking out of the AC hairdressers it was back up.

A big batch of new volunteers have just arrived – I cannot believe that was us 6 months ago and it is strange to be on the other side. One of them mentioned they had been here 8 days – I can remember when I was counting in days, then it turns to weeks and now months!

As much fun as town is I am craving getting back to my own house. For the past 5 ½ weeks I have been in different places with the odd day back there. I think it shows how far I have come because I really consider it home (something I never would have believed a few months ago).

September will be a busy month with school restarting and I have a few projects lined up to keep my busy! One may be working with the women’s prisons (will keep you posted). Also one of the volunteers I work with has finished so there are now just two of us.

I am also aware how quickly the next 6 months will go – September is booked up with school things, hopefully the beginning of October I will be working in a different region for a few weeks on another project. There are still many places that I want to go and visit.

On a final note – if you can download it / you tube? Watch the BBC’s Lost Land of the Jaguars – will show you what a beautiful country I live in. Guyana has one of the biggest pristine rainforests in the world.

And on that final note the BBC where here a few months ago filming a programme on Guyana with a group of teenagers – I think it maybe to do with Raleigh so look out for it!

I sometimes have access to Skype so if you email me your Skype username I can add you and hopefully speak sometime.