Last week I went on an amazing vacation to Trinidad & Tobago with my fellow PCV's Alyssa and Meghan and my friend Maureen from DC. It was pretty much the best week ever, here is a link to some pic's from the trip. Enjoy!! :)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3771862576581.2139544.1277258438&type=1&l=c0d1d6778b
Friday, November 2, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Fall
This afternoon as I was swinging in my hammock, re-reading a book and trying not to sweat, I started thinking about the seasons, fall in particular. Of course, other than rainy/dry there are no seasons in Guyana but it is now September and back home fall is about to begin. I have no idea what the actual weather is like back in the States but in my head I am picturing leaves changing colors, the air getting slightly cooler, and pumpkins and scarecrows starting to appear on people’s front porches. Fall is my favorite season by far and, while I am still absolutely in love with my Peace Corps experience, I felt a little twinge of sadness at the thought that I was about to miss out on another fall back home.
Fall is probably my favorite because I grew up in New England and, in my opinion there is nothing more beautiful than New England during the fall. I was suddenly flooded with memories of going to a pumpkin patch, riding on the tractor through the fields to find the absolute perfect pumpkin, and running through the corn maze. I could picture countless haunted houses, haunted forests, haunted fields, haunted anything and everything. Drinking apple cider and going to Stew Leonard’s to get their pumpkin soft serve ice cream.
It’s probably safe to say that most of the things I am missing about fall right now are food/drink related. As I sat in my hammock I suddenly remembered all the awesomely delicious foods that only appear during the fall. Pumpkin spice lattes and caramel apple cider at Starbucks. Pumpkin donuts and muffins at Dunkin Donuts. Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest. Whole Foods starts putting out all the really good Jew food in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; kugel and latkes and matzo ball soup. And don’t even get me started on Thanksgiving. If anyone can figure out a way to send me some Oktoberfest and latkes, you will be my best friend forever :)
Of course, I miss more about fall than the food. I think it’s more about missing the seasons changing in general. They changed 4 times a year, like clockwork, for 23 years, and it’s hard to get used to the fact that while I’m here they just won’t. I probably won’t really get used to it and then just when I’m about to, I will be back in the States :) And as much as I love the heat and the sun and the rain down here in the jungle, I’m still biased enough to think that a New England fall is just a little bit nicer. For now all I can do is just rock in hammock, close my eyes, and imagine colored leaves and haunted houses and apple cider.
Fall is probably my favorite because I grew up in New England and, in my opinion there is nothing more beautiful than New England during the fall. I was suddenly flooded with memories of going to a pumpkin patch, riding on the tractor through the fields to find the absolute perfect pumpkin, and running through the corn maze. I could picture countless haunted houses, haunted forests, haunted fields, haunted anything and everything. Drinking apple cider and going to Stew Leonard’s to get their pumpkin soft serve ice cream.
It’s probably safe to say that most of the things I am missing about fall right now are food/drink related. As I sat in my hammock I suddenly remembered all the awesomely delicious foods that only appear during the fall. Pumpkin spice lattes and caramel apple cider at Starbucks. Pumpkin donuts and muffins at Dunkin Donuts. Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest. Whole Foods starts putting out all the really good Jew food in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; kugel and latkes and matzo ball soup. And don’t even get me started on Thanksgiving. If anyone can figure out a way to send me some Oktoberfest and latkes, you will be my best friend forever :)
Of course, I miss more about fall than the food. I think it’s more about missing the seasons changing in general. They changed 4 times a year, like clockwork, for 23 years, and it’s hard to get used to the fact that while I’m here they just won’t. I probably won’t really get used to it and then just when I’m about to, I will be back in the States :) And as much as I love the heat and the sun and the rain down here in the jungle, I’m still biased enough to think that a New England fall is just a little bit nicer. For now all I can do is just rock in hammock, close my eyes, and imagine colored leaves and haunted houses and apple cider.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Summer Library Day Camp
This past week, myself and another volunteer held a summer library day camp in a village called Bagotsville. My friend and fellow volunteer, Yesenia, did all the planning and coordination, I was just the "assistant camp counselor" :) We had about 25 kids ages 6-12 attend, everyday from 9am to noon. We did arts & crafts, health talks, story time, and physical education. It was a huge success, the kids loved it and Yesenia both had a lot of fun (although it was absolutely exhausting, I came home everyday and had to immediately take a nap). Here is a link to some pictures I took throughout the week. Enjoy!! :)
Day camp photo album
Day camp photo album
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Shell Beach Adventure
So there are 2 important things to know about my recent trip to Shell Beach: #1: Getting there requires a 5 hour open air speedboat ride. #2: We planned our trip during prime turtle egg laying season, which also happens to be monsoon season in Guyana. That should begin to paint a picture for everyone...
Last weekend myself and 10 other PC volunteers took our long awaited trip to Shell Beach, which is a remote beach near the Guyana-Venezuela border where every summer giant leatherback turtles come and lay their eggs. This is one of the few places where this happens and they've been doing it since the dinosaurs. Getting to Shell Beach is not easy, one can either fly to Region 1 (and pay way way more money) and then take an hour boat ride from there. We opted for the cheaper and more adventurous option of the 5 hour speedboat ride that takes you up the Pomeroon and Whiney rivers, through the rain forest, and out onto the Atlantic Ocean. Our boat left from Charity Friday morning and our guide and boat driver was a man named Romeo, who has been doing this same trip for years and is also a Shell Beach ranger. During the boat trip there it rained pretty much the whole way. We all had rain jackets and ponchos on but when you're going 40 mph in an open air speedboat, rain jackets don't really do that much. And as an added bonus I found out that the $10 rain jacket I bought at Salvation Army before I left is not, in fact, waterproof. Always a nice surprise.
We somehow made it to Shell Beach in one wet piece around 4pm Friday afternoon. The beach is incredibly remote, there is only the guesthouse where we stayed and a few other houses where the rangers and other workers stay. The bathroom is either a wooden outhouse or the bush and the shower was a bucket bath. The owner of Shell Beach is an Amerindian man named Audley who bought the land on a 50 year lease from the government when he decided that the turtles, traditionally hunted and eaten, needed to be protected and preserved. He now has funding from all over the world from organizations like the WWF so that he can protect the turtles and their habitat. He also earns money from tourism groups like ours, who pay a set price that includes lodging, 3 home cooked meals a day, and 2 night time turtle hikes. I highly highly recommend this trip for anyone who likes outdoorsy/camping/Eco-tourism type stuff. Not only is it an amazing experience, but all the money goes to protect the turtles.
Friday night we ate a delicious meal prepared by Violet, Audley's wife before heading out on the hike. The rangers go out every night and walk up and down the beach from about 8 pm-2am checking for turtles. The guide at the front is allowed to have a small flashlight but no other lights are allowed because it might scare away the turtles. You are essentially hiking in complete darkness, using only the moonlight, as you try to navigate down the beach and in and out of the jungle. I probably fell down at least 3 or 4 times, tripping over fallen palm trees and coconuts. The rangers look for the tracks that the turtle makes out of the water and, once you find one, the rangers turn on special red lights so that we can see. Once the turtle starts laying her eggs, she goes into this hypnotic trance like state and you can take flash pictures and she won't react at all. On the Friday night hike we didn't see any big turtles but we helped the rangers release some baby turtles that had just hatched into the ocean. When the mother lays her eggs too close to the water, the rangers move the eggs and keep them until they hatch so they don't get swept away by the tide. The baby turtles were adorable and it was funny to watch them try and make their way to the waves. Only about 1 in 1000 baby turtles actually make it to adulthood, most will be eaten by sharks or catfish. We got back to camp at about midnight and pretty much fell into bed exhausted. We all slept in bunk beds covered by mosquito nets out on the open air porch
Since there are no turtles laying eggs during the day , all day Saturday we just hung out at the beach, took naps, and explored. The ocean was beautiful and it was so hot out, it felt like we were literally standing on the sun. I must of swam for 5 or 6 hours on Saturday and spent the rest of the afternoon walking up and down the beach, collecting shells and getting unbelievably sunburned. Saturday night we went out on the hike at around 9pm and just about an hour and a half into the walk we came across a giant leatherback turtle. The ranger said this is one of the biggest turtles that they've seen on the beach. We watched it dig the hole, which it does with it's back flippers, just scooping out dirt until there's a 2 ft deep hole. The turtles move so slow that this part can take up to an hour. Then she lays her eggs, this species lays about 70-80. We all took about a million pictures and videos, it was pretty amazing to watch. This turtle had a tracking device on it's back so that the rangers can monitor where it is and how many times it lays eggs. I asked Romeo if they name the turtles they track and he said that yes they do and that this turtles name was Alma, which I thought was pretty funny :) After the leatherback was done laying eggs, we started walking back down the beach towards the camp when we stumbled across a 2nd turtle who had just started laying her eggs. She was one of the smaller species but she lays almost 200 eggs each time she comes on shore. We were very lucky that we not only got to see baby turtles but also 2 different species of the adult turtles. As soon as we left to walk back at around 1am, it started to downpour rain. By the time we got back to camp we were all soaked completely but we were all so excited about seeing the turtles that I don't think anyone cared.
We left to travel home early Sunday morning, around 8am. It only rained a little on the way home, for most of the ride it was sunny. Getting home required the 5 hour speedboat ride, followed by a 45 minute car ride, then another 30 minute speedboat, and finally a 30 minute minibus ride. Getting anywhere in Guyana takes a minimum of 2 types of transportation every time :)
The trip to Shell Beach will always be one of my most amazing and incredible experiences ever, not just during my Peace Corps service. It was so awesome to see these turtles, who have been following the same migratory and nesting patterns since the dinosaurs, out in their natural habitat. Shell Beach itself is such a beautiful, calming, and relaxing place, it was easy to feel satisfied and at peace the whole time. If I could, I would go back there tomorrow and stay longer. Anyone who wants to visit me here in beautiful Guyana, this is probably the trip I am going to make you take so be prepared :) Below is a link to just some of the 300 plus pictures I took. Enjoy!!!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3243886977521.2126900.1277258438&type=3&l=378c24f4f9
Last weekend myself and 10 other PC volunteers took our long awaited trip to Shell Beach, which is a remote beach near the Guyana-Venezuela border where every summer giant leatherback turtles come and lay their eggs. This is one of the few places where this happens and they've been doing it since the dinosaurs. Getting to Shell Beach is not easy, one can either fly to Region 1 (and pay way way more money) and then take an hour boat ride from there. We opted for the cheaper and more adventurous option of the 5 hour speedboat ride that takes you up the Pomeroon and Whiney rivers, through the rain forest, and out onto the Atlantic Ocean. Our boat left from Charity Friday morning and our guide and boat driver was a man named Romeo, who has been doing this same trip for years and is also a Shell Beach ranger. During the boat trip there it rained pretty much the whole way. We all had rain jackets and ponchos on but when you're going 40 mph in an open air speedboat, rain jackets don't really do that much. And as an added bonus I found out that the $10 rain jacket I bought at Salvation Army before I left is not, in fact, waterproof. Always a nice surprise.
We somehow made it to Shell Beach in one wet piece around 4pm Friday afternoon. The beach is incredibly remote, there is only the guesthouse where we stayed and a few other houses where the rangers and other workers stay. The bathroom is either a wooden outhouse or the bush and the shower was a bucket bath. The owner of Shell Beach is an Amerindian man named Audley who bought the land on a 50 year lease from the government when he decided that the turtles, traditionally hunted and eaten, needed to be protected and preserved. He now has funding from all over the world from organizations like the WWF so that he can protect the turtles and their habitat. He also earns money from tourism groups like ours, who pay a set price that includes lodging, 3 home cooked meals a day, and 2 night time turtle hikes. I highly highly recommend this trip for anyone who likes outdoorsy/camping/Eco-tourism type stuff. Not only is it an amazing experience, but all the money goes to protect the turtles.
Friday night we ate a delicious meal prepared by Violet, Audley's wife before heading out on the hike. The rangers go out every night and walk up and down the beach from about 8 pm-2am checking for turtles. The guide at the front is allowed to have a small flashlight but no other lights are allowed because it might scare away the turtles. You are essentially hiking in complete darkness, using only the moonlight, as you try to navigate down the beach and in and out of the jungle. I probably fell down at least 3 or 4 times, tripping over fallen palm trees and coconuts. The rangers look for the tracks that the turtle makes out of the water and, once you find one, the rangers turn on special red lights so that we can see. Once the turtle starts laying her eggs, she goes into this hypnotic trance like state and you can take flash pictures and she won't react at all. On the Friday night hike we didn't see any big turtles but we helped the rangers release some baby turtles that had just hatched into the ocean. When the mother lays her eggs too close to the water, the rangers move the eggs and keep them until they hatch so they don't get swept away by the tide. The baby turtles were adorable and it was funny to watch them try and make their way to the waves. Only about 1 in 1000 baby turtles actually make it to adulthood, most will be eaten by sharks or catfish. We got back to camp at about midnight and pretty much fell into bed exhausted. We all slept in bunk beds covered by mosquito nets out on the open air porch
Since there are no turtles laying eggs during the day , all day Saturday we just hung out at the beach, took naps, and explored. The ocean was beautiful and it was so hot out, it felt like we were literally standing on the sun. I must of swam for 5 or 6 hours on Saturday and spent the rest of the afternoon walking up and down the beach, collecting shells and getting unbelievably sunburned. Saturday night we went out on the hike at around 9pm and just about an hour and a half into the walk we came across a giant leatherback turtle. The ranger said this is one of the biggest turtles that they've seen on the beach. We watched it dig the hole, which it does with it's back flippers, just scooping out dirt until there's a 2 ft deep hole. The turtles move so slow that this part can take up to an hour. Then she lays her eggs, this species lays about 70-80. We all took about a million pictures and videos, it was pretty amazing to watch. This turtle had a tracking device on it's back so that the rangers can monitor where it is and how many times it lays eggs. I asked Romeo if they name the turtles they track and he said that yes they do and that this turtles name was Alma, which I thought was pretty funny :) After the leatherback was done laying eggs, we started walking back down the beach towards the camp when we stumbled across a 2nd turtle who had just started laying her eggs. She was one of the smaller species but she lays almost 200 eggs each time she comes on shore. We were very lucky that we not only got to see baby turtles but also 2 different species of the adult turtles. As soon as we left to walk back at around 1am, it started to downpour rain. By the time we got back to camp we were all soaked completely but we were all so excited about seeing the turtles that I don't think anyone cared.
We left to travel home early Sunday morning, around 8am. It only rained a little on the way home, for most of the ride it was sunny. Getting home required the 5 hour speedboat ride, followed by a 45 minute car ride, then another 30 minute speedboat, and finally a 30 minute minibus ride. Getting anywhere in Guyana takes a minimum of 2 types of transportation every time :)
The trip to Shell Beach will always be one of my most amazing and incredible experiences ever, not just during my Peace Corps service. It was so awesome to see these turtles, who have been following the same migratory and nesting patterns since the dinosaurs, out in their natural habitat. Shell Beach itself is such a beautiful, calming, and relaxing place, it was easy to feel satisfied and at peace the whole time. If I could, I would go back there tomorrow and stay longer. Anyone who wants to visit me here in beautiful Guyana, this is probably the trip I am going to make you take so be prepared :) Below is a link to just some of the 300 plus pictures I took. Enjoy!!!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3243886977521.2126900.1277258438&type=3&l=378c24f4f9
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Lethem Rodeo Roadtrip: Part Two
So 20 hours after setting off from Georgetown we had arrived in Lethem for Rodeo weekend. Lethem is probably my favorite part of Guyana. It is so beautiful and open, all wide savannas and dark green mountains. The earth is not sandy like it is here on the coast but a rich terra cotta colored clay. We stayed on the secondary school compound with another PC volunteer named Antoine, who is in the group before mine. We all strung up our hammocks and got ready to go out. Only 4 of the 7 of us wanted to go out to the bar where the Rodeo pageant/talent show was being held, seeing as though we just got off a 20 hour bus ride. I'm not sure where I found the energy after getting literally no sleep but for some reason a cold beer and a cowboy talent show sounded like the perfect plan :)
June, Chelsea, Meghan and myself, as well as Antoine and Dan, another volunteer, all piled into cars in the pouring rain and headed for the Takutu hotel and bar where the pageant was supposed to be held. Of course, when we got there we discovered it had been canceled because of the rain but we managed to console ourselves with a few beers and some cowboy-people watching. Fun Rodeo fact #1: All the Guyanese cowboys wear the same thing: jeans, boots, a hat, and a navy blue plaid shit. All the Brazilian cowboy where the same thing too: boots, hat, jeans, and a black shirt. We stayed until around 11:30, at which point we were pretty much asleep on our feet. I wish I could say that I finally got a well deserved good nights sleep but, since my hammock was by the window which didn't shut all the way and it was still pouring, I slept fitfully in my poncho wrapped in a towel.
The next day we woke up early and went over to Brazil for the morning. The border town of Bonfim is small and quaint and infinitely more developed than most of Guyana, even though its still relatively poor. We drove around for a quick tour, walked around for a little, and bought some delicious Brazilian beer. After Brazil, we headed over to Rodeo for the afternoon. Rodeo was awesome. There were stands with crafts and games, food stalls selling grilled wild meat and cassava and plenty Brazilian beer and a Brazilian rum drink called a caiparinia. And, of course, they were playing American country music. We walked around, did some shopping, and got some meat and cassava and a caiparinia for lunch. The rodeo events were in the afternoon: bucking bronco riding and bull riding. Both of these were hilarious and fun and we all sat in the stands, screaming and cheering for the riders while drinking a lot of caiparinias. I have some funny videos of a few of the riders, including one where the bull charged the fence we were standing behind and you can see my camera go all crazy as we all try to back away and another where the bull suddenly just stopped bucking and wanted to sit down. It was such a fun afternoon and we stayed until it got dark. Later that night we came back to the Rodeo grounds where there was now a huge dance party going on. We danced and drank Brazilian beer until almost 2 in the morning.
On Sunday we were up early again for the trip out to Moco Moco falls, which is about 30 minutes from Lethem. The bus took us out to the falls where we got to hike and swim for a bit. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Moco Moco falls is in stages, not a straight drop. So theres a little bit of the falls, then a pool to swim in, then more falls, then another pool, and so on and so forth all the way down the mountain. It was so much fun to hike up the falls and swim in the various pools. We spent all afternoon there and then spent the evening at Antoine's relaxing and playing cards until the bus picked us up at 10pm for the trip back home.
The trip back to Georgetown was less eventful than the trip to Lethem, it only took us 17 hours (I got a window seat this time around, which was very exciting) and we only got stuck a few times, but never as bad as when we were going. We got lost when we first started out, for about a hour and a half, but surprisingly that didn't make us lose anytime. We got back to Georgetown at around 5pm and I was home by 8pm. I had ever been so happy to be back at my apartment.
Overall, it was an amazing and memorable weekend full of good times, good food and good friends. There wasn't one moment when I wasn't smiling or laughing or having fun. I would do the whole thing over again in a heartbeat. Below is a link to just some of the 400 pictures I took over the weekend. Videos will be posted soon. Enjoy!!
June, Chelsea, Meghan and myself, as well as Antoine and Dan, another volunteer, all piled into cars in the pouring rain and headed for the Takutu hotel and bar where the pageant was supposed to be held. Of course, when we got there we discovered it had been canceled because of the rain but we managed to console ourselves with a few beers and some cowboy-people watching. Fun Rodeo fact #1: All the Guyanese cowboys wear the same thing: jeans, boots, a hat, and a navy blue plaid shit. All the Brazilian cowboy where the same thing too: boots, hat, jeans, and a black shirt. We stayed until around 11:30, at which point we were pretty much asleep on our feet. I wish I could say that I finally got a well deserved good nights sleep but, since my hammock was by the window which didn't shut all the way and it was still pouring, I slept fitfully in my poncho wrapped in a towel.
The next day we woke up early and went over to Brazil for the morning. The border town of Bonfim is small and quaint and infinitely more developed than most of Guyana, even though its still relatively poor. We drove around for a quick tour, walked around for a little, and bought some delicious Brazilian beer. After Brazil, we headed over to Rodeo for the afternoon. Rodeo was awesome. There were stands with crafts and games, food stalls selling grilled wild meat and cassava and plenty Brazilian beer and a Brazilian rum drink called a caiparinia. And, of course, they were playing American country music. We walked around, did some shopping, and got some meat and cassava and a caiparinia for lunch. The rodeo events were in the afternoon: bucking bronco riding and bull riding. Both of these were hilarious and fun and we all sat in the stands, screaming and cheering for the riders while drinking a lot of caiparinias. I have some funny videos of a few of the riders, including one where the bull charged the fence we were standing behind and you can see my camera go all crazy as we all try to back away and another where the bull suddenly just stopped bucking and wanted to sit down. It was such a fun afternoon and we stayed until it got dark. Later that night we came back to the Rodeo grounds where there was now a huge dance party going on. We danced and drank Brazilian beer until almost 2 in the morning.
On Sunday we were up early again for the trip out to Moco Moco falls, which is about 30 minutes from Lethem. The bus took us out to the falls where we got to hike and swim for a bit. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Moco Moco falls is in stages, not a straight drop. So theres a little bit of the falls, then a pool to swim in, then more falls, then another pool, and so on and so forth all the way down the mountain. It was so much fun to hike up the falls and swim in the various pools. We spent all afternoon there and then spent the evening at Antoine's relaxing and playing cards until the bus picked us up at 10pm for the trip back home.
The trip back to Georgetown was less eventful than the trip to Lethem, it only took us 17 hours (I got a window seat this time around, which was very exciting) and we only got stuck a few times, but never as bad as when we were going. We got lost when we first started out, for about a hour and a half, but surprisingly that didn't make us lose anytime. We got back to Georgetown at around 5pm and I was home by 8pm. I had ever been so happy to be back at my apartment.
Overall, it was an amazing and memorable weekend full of good times, good food and good friends. There wasn't one moment when I wasn't smiling or laughing or having fun. I would do the whole thing over again in a heartbeat. Below is a link to just some of the 400 pictures I took over the weekend. Videos will be posted soon. Enjoy!!
Lethem Rodeo Roadtrip: Part One
This past Easter weekend was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable of my almost 25 years. It was one of those weekends that 10, 20, 30 years from now I will look back on as one of the best times of my Peace Corps experience. This past weekend, from Thursday night until Monday night, myself and 10 other volunteers traveled to the village of Lethem, Guyana for their annual Rodeo celebration that is held every year on Easter weekend. It was nothing short of a crazy adventure.
It started at 8pm on Thursday night in Georgetown, where we met up with some other travelers at a Shell gas station to load onto the bus. Our bus sat 24 people in rows of four and the trip down to Lethem can take anywhere from 15 to 20 hours depending on the quality of the road. For the majority of the trip, probably about 90% of it, the road is unpaved, just packed dirt that is full of potholes, ditches, and, when it rains, turns into a nice thick mud. Needless to say, we received many warnings about the trip down, with everyone telling us it would be an experience we would never forget. But as we loaded onto the bus, we were all way to excited about the upcoming weekend to be nervous about the ride. I ended up sitting in the far back row of the bus in front of the suitcases (which kept pushing into me the whole ride, giving me some nice bruises up and down my spine), in the foldout seat in the aisle. This was ok with me for 2 reasons: 1. Everyone knows that back of the bus is the most fun and 2. I can never really sleep in moving vehicles anyways.
We started out on our journey, traveling from Georgetown to Linden, about an hour and a half away on the last paved road we would see for days. After Linden, we turned off onto the 1st section of the dirt road, which was very wide, enough for at least 3 vehicles to drive side by side, and had dense forest lining it on both sides. There were a lot of potholes and ditches and the bus was purposefully swerving all over the road to avoid them, while barreling down at 80 kilometers per hour. The full moon was so bright that, even though the only lights we had were the headlights of the bus, you could see everything so clearly. We were on this road until the tiny village of Maruba, where we stopped a a small rest area to use the bathrooms. You know you are in the Peace Corps when you stop to use the restroom and then can't stop talking about how nice the bathrooms were. These had an actual toilet and paper, which is the height of bathroom sophistication in Guyana. We were all very excited about those bathrooms. About 45 minutes later was the Maruba police checkpoint. I have no idea why this existed. True, this was the last point of civilization until the Essequibo River, which was about 6 hours away, but it wasn't like we were crossing international borders or anything. I decided that the reason for this checkpoint was because, if they didn't stop every vehicle on the road, the tiny Maruba police outpost would have absolutely nothing else to do.
After Maruba, the road changed drastically. It became more mud than dirt and it narrowed, so that only one vehicle could fit through at a time. The forest grew denser, thicker, and darker. It seemed to overtake the whole road and it went so high that it curved over top of the road and blocked the moon. Except for the bus headlight, it was literally pitch black. I don't think I've ever seen anything look that black or that dark, with no light from the stars or the moon. At this point it was around 12 or 1 am and, except for the driver, I was the only one awake, thanks to my inability to sleep while moving and the suitcases banging against my spine. So I sat there, bouncing around as we swerved and skidded in the mud, still trying to do 80 km per hour, thinking every thouht that is humanly possible. Some of them I thought twice. Around 4am the bus, attempting to get up a rather steep and muddy hill, got stuck for the 1st time. It tried a few times and keep sliding backwards.Finally the driver stopped and told everyone to get out and walk so that he could try to get up without all the weight. So we emptied the bus and, at 4am punch drunk on lack of adequate sleep, began walking. It was pitch black and we couldn't see anything. Not one thing. We were slipping and sliding on the mud, trying not to think about what lived in the dark forest that surrounded us. We went up the hill, rounded a corner, and waited for the bus to pick us up.
Around 8 am, still about an hour from the next sign of civilization, we hit a particularly muddy part of the road. As the bus was trying hard to get through the muck, we suddenly felt it lurch forward and then slide out of control. The next thing we know the bus is abruptly tilting to the left and we are sinking into the mud. The mud reached all the way up the windows. We all managed to climb out the drivers door up front and then stood in the mud as we watched a pickup truck that thankfully happened along pull our bus out of the mud and back onto the road.
An hour later, now half covered in mud, we reached the Essequibo river here which we crossed on a ferry. After the ferry is the Iwokrama Rainforest reserve park, which is a national reserve that is protected by the Guyanese government. The road through there is about 4 or 5 hours long so we stopped for a bathroom break at the gate. The only bathrooms there were some thoroughly used outhouses and I was the only one willing to use them without question. I'm sure it has something to do with using the outhouse at the lake house growing up, so I'd like to thank Gramps for helping me prepare for my Peace Corps experience :) Iwokrama was absolutely beautiful, just mile after mile of untouched rainforest. We made it through Iwokrama in about 4 and a half hours and as soon as we left it, the landscape changed again dramatically. The rainforest was replaced by endless open savannas, dotted with trees, and surrounded by lush green mountains. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip.
We made one more stop for a late lunch at an eco lodge resort about an hour outside of Iwokrama around 3pm. We continued on our journey towards Lethem, through the open fields and across dozens of small creeks on some less than trustworthy wooden bridges. Finally, at around 6 pm on Friday, 20 hours after we left Georgetown, we reached the village of Lethem on the Brazil-Guyana border. We were dirty and tired and sore but we made it in one piece and we were all more than ready for the weekend to begin.
It started at 8pm on Thursday night in Georgetown, where we met up with some other travelers at a Shell gas station to load onto the bus. Our bus sat 24 people in rows of four and the trip down to Lethem can take anywhere from 15 to 20 hours depending on the quality of the road. For the majority of the trip, probably about 90% of it, the road is unpaved, just packed dirt that is full of potholes, ditches, and, when it rains, turns into a nice thick mud. Needless to say, we received many warnings about the trip down, with everyone telling us it would be an experience we would never forget. But as we loaded onto the bus, we were all way to excited about the upcoming weekend to be nervous about the ride. I ended up sitting in the far back row of the bus in front of the suitcases (which kept pushing into me the whole ride, giving me some nice bruises up and down my spine), in the foldout seat in the aisle. This was ok with me for 2 reasons: 1. Everyone knows that back of the bus is the most fun and 2. I can never really sleep in moving vehicles anyways.
We started out on our journey, traveling from Georgetown to Linden, about an hour and a half away on the last paved road we would see for days. After Linden, we turned off onto the 1st section of the dirt road, which was very wide, enough for at least 3 vehicles to drive side by side, and had dense forest lining it on both sides. There were a lot of potholes and ditches and the bus was purposefully swerving all over the road to avoid them, while barreling down at 80 kilometers per hour. The full moon was so bright that, even though the only lights we had were the headlights of the bus, you could see everything so clearly. We were on this road until the tiny village of Maruba, where we stopped a a small rest area to use the bathrooms. You know you are in the Peace Corps when you stop to use the restroom and then can't stop talking about how nice the bathrooms were. These had an actual toilet and paper, which is the height of bathroom sophistication in Guyana. We were all very excited about those bathrooms. About 45 minutes later was the Maruba police checkpoint. I have no idea why this existed. True, this was the last point of civilization until the Essequibo River, which was about 6 hours away, but it wasn't like we were crossing international borders or anything. I decided that the reason for this checkpoint was because, if they didn't stop every vehicle on the road, the tiny Maruba police outpost would have absolutely nothing else to do.
After Maruba, the road changed drastically. It became more mud than dirt and it narrowed, so that only one vehicle could fit through at a time. The forest grew denser, thicker, and darker. It seemed to overtake the whole road and it went so high that it curved over top of the road and blocked the moon. Except for the bus headlight, it was literally pitch black. I don't think I've ever seen anything look that black or that dark, with no light from the stars or the moon. At this point it was around 12 or 1 am and, except for the driver, I was the only one awake, thanks to my inability to sleep while moving and the suitcases banging against my spine. So I sat there, bouncing around as we swerved and skidded in the mud, still trying to do 80 km per hour, thinking every thouht that is humanly possible. Some of them I thought twice. Around 4am the bus, attempting to get up a rather steep and muddy hill, got stuck for the 1st time. It tried a few times and keep sliding backwards.Finally the driver stopped and told everyone to get out and walk so that he could try to get up without all the weight. So we emptied the bus and, at 4am punch drunk on lack of adequate sleep, began walking. It was pitch black and we couldn't see anything. Not one thing. We were slipping and sliding on the mud, trying not to think about what lived in the dark forest that surrounded us. We went up the hill, rounded a corner, and waited for the bus to pick us up.
Around 8 am, still about an hour from the next sign of civilization, we hit a particularly muddy part of the road. As the bus was trying hard to get through the muck, we suddenly felt it lurch forward and then slide out of control. The next thing we know the bus is abruptly tilting to the left and we are sinking into the mud. The mud reached all the way up the windows. We all managed to climb out the drivers door up front and then stood in the mud as we watched a pickup truck that thankfully happened along pull our bus out of the mud and back onto the road.
An hour later, now half covered in mud, we reached the Essequibo river here which we crossed on a ferry. After the ferry is the Iwokrama Rainforest reserve park, which is a national reserve that is protected by the Guyanese government. The road through there is about 4 or 5 hours long so we stopped for a bathroom break at the gate. The only bathrooms there were some thoroughly used outhouses and I was the only one willing to use them without question. I'm sure it has something to do with using the outhouse at the lake house growing up, so I'd like to thank Gramps for helping me prepare for my Peace Corps experience :) Iwokrama was absolutely beautiful, just mile after mile of untouched rainforest. We made it through Iwokrama in about 4 and a half hours and as soon as we left it, the landscape changed again dramatically. The rainforest was replaced by endless open savannas, dotted with trees, and surrounded by lush green mountains. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip.
We made one more stop for a late lunch at an eco lodge resort about an hour outside of Iwokrama around 3pm. We continued on our journey towards Lethem, through the open fields and across dozens of small creeks on some less than trustworthy wooden bridges. Finally, at around 6 pm on Friday, 20 hours after we left Georgetown, we reached the village of Lethem on the Brazil-Guyana border. We were dirty and tired and sore but we made it in one piece and we were all more than ready for the weekend to begin.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
New pictures!!!
Here is a link to some pictures I took during Mashramani, which was this past Thursday, February 23rd. Mashramani is a Guyanese holiday that is also called Republic Day and it celebrates the anniversary of Guyana becoming an independent republic. This year was the 42nd anniversary. It is also called Guyana's version of Mardi Gras or Carnival and it basically just a crazy celebration where everyone drinks and gets dressed up in masks and crazy outfits and puts tons of glitter all over their bodies and dances in the streets. Literally. There is a huge parade in Georgetown with awesome floats and myself and some other volunteers went all out this year, dressed up, doused ourselves in glitter and went to town to see the parade. It was an awesome time, we all had so much fun. The day started at 9am where we made breakfast together at a volunteer's house and then headed into town and basically walked the whole parade route, dancing and drinking and taking tons of pictures. It was a crazy day and I still am finding glitter random places, I don't think it will ever all wash off :) So here's the link to just some of the 200 pictures I took of the Mashramani celebration.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2713238551642.2115982.1277258438&type=3&l=399dec3d33
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2713238551642.2115982.1277258438&type=3&l=399dec3d33
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