Nov 12, 2011 - The Guianas - Interior Guyana

If you're like me and know next to nothing about Guyana, especially about the "interior" region of Guyana, well this is your lucky day my friends as I'm about to enlighten you! Firstly, for some dull old stats, the population of Guyana is about 760,000. Most people live in boring old Georgetown or along the Atlantic coast, an area that covers only around 5% of the country. Except for the Amerindians that is, of which there are still 9 different tribes in Guyana. They live mostly within the Interior. The "interior" of Guyana makes up around...

Oct 15, 2011 - The Guianas - Georgetown, Guyana

Not that living on a sailboat in the Caribbean isn't adventure enough, but I decided to have a little land adventure in South America again. But I'm not traveling alone. No, I flew to Guyana just over a week ago, and have hooked up with my friends from Finland, Aira & Olaf. Our plan is to explore The Guianas region of South America, and the Amazon region of Brazil together for the next two months. I met Aira & Olaf in 2004 in the Colombian Amazon where the borders of Peru, Colombia & Brazil meet. They were traveling down the Amazon River...

Sep 19, 2010 - Georgetown, Guyana

Breakfast at Wayka Bus Service & Restaurant (Bernie's place)...it is so amazing how pleasant a breeze can be! I never really appreciated breezes until now when it is so hot/humid! Even the slightest air mvmt is like a kiss, a gentle pat on the back, an unexpected kindness! Every breeze is a blessing. I love breezes, here, now...sitting in Bernie's place, smelling eggs frying, hearing chickens outside the window clucking. Like a moment Of meditation, except I'm writing, ha...enuf! Later on the bus...soil here is Africa red, termite mounds on...

Sep 17, 2010 - Lethem, Guyana

We get up early (7), since we don't know what time bus leaves for border town, BonFin! The front desk says maybe lvg at 8, we ask if we can return for brkfst - no problem! Head across with our bags and buy next bus tickets to border, 10 am, YES! Storing our bags we are in bus station for the duration of a rain downpour, and head back across to a breakfast of 6 diff kinds of fruit, bread, chez, meat, hot milk (no tea)...we load up! Beyond Boa Vista countryside changes from Amazonian-cleared jungle to Kansas/Nebraska-like with grassland,...

Mar 10, 2010 - Former Indonesian President Wahid dies

"Former Indonesian President, Abdurrahman Wahid, died on Wednesday afternoon at the age of 69. He served as the country's fourth president between 1999 and 2001. Confirmation of Wahid's death was issued by a relative who received the news from a short text message sent by one of the former president's aides. Wahid was receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Jakarta. He suffered from blood sugar problems, and had undergone a gum operation. Wahid replaced B.J. Habibie after the country's first democratically-held election in 1999. He was...

Mar 10, 2010 - Indonesian former president Wahid's body to be buried in East Java

"JAKARTA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The body of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid known as Gusdur is planned to be buried at Jombang of East Java, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said here on Wednesday. A preparation for the funeral in military way had been conducted, the spokesman said. ""The family has conducted a coordination (for the funeral), but the final decision has not been made. Right now, the family said that the funeral would take place in Jombang of East Java,"" Pasha was quoted by Elshinta Radio as saying....

Feb 27, 2007 - The "road" from Georgetown to Lethem, Guyana.

It's a long way to Venezuela, it's a long way to go...♫! Our next destination after Guyana was neighbouring Venezuela, so ideally we would have liked to have crossed from one country directly to the other. However, that was not an option as direct flights between the two countries do not exist and there are no official overland crossings anywhere along the 743km border between the two countries. This is as a result of a long running dispute in which Venezuela claims a huge chunk of Guyana comprising the entire area west of the Essequibo...

Feb 21, 2007 - Georgetown, Guyana.

We arrived at Heather and Deen's house in Georgetown thoroughly shook up and covered in dust from our rough 7 hour overland ride! The "Murray Safari" as it had become known, was an unforgettable experience that took us across the length of Guyana ... but now it was time for some much needed R&R and a good wash! We spent the week being spoiled by Heather's delicious home cooking, Deen's famous organic coco, El Dorado's renowned Guyanese rum, a never ending supply of fresh fruit from the garden and the entertainment factor provided by Zac...

Feb 19, 2007 - Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, Guyana.

The Iwokrama Canopy Walkway consists of a series of suspension bridges and platforms up to 30 metres in height and 154 metres in length offering a scenic vantage point over the tree tops of the Iwokrama Rainforest. It certainly provided us with a different perspective of a rainforest - from the top down! The Walkway was built by Canadian conservation groups in association with the local Amerindian community. The project has been well thought out with no harm caused to wildlife or the forest. The unique construction allows trees to grow...

Feb 18, 2007 - Annai, Guyana.

Rockview Lodge is located near the Amerindian village of Annai in the North Rupununi on the main road between Georgetown and Lethem. Run by Colin Edwards and a large number of staff from the local community, Rockview provides a comfortable retreat in the middle of Guyana's interior. On arrival, we were given a very thorough tour of Rockview and its facilities. The Lodge has immaculately kept gardens and orchards which are a credit to the workers. The staff took great pride in naming and explaining all the various plants and trees. The...

Feb 15, 2007 - Lethem, Guyana

Crossing the border into Guyana turned out to be a lot more straightforward than we were expecting. The Amatur bus dropped us at the Brazilian border control office saving us a long hot 2km walk from the bus terminal in Bonfim! Crossing the border, we felt a real sense of adventure as the paved roads abruptly turned to sandy red earth! The river Tacutu marks the border between Brazil and Guyana. There are big concrete columns on either side of the river where a bridge was started in 2001 by the Brazilian army but has not seen any action...

Feb 15, 2007 - Karanambu, Guyana.

Karanambu Ranch is working cattle ranch but it is also an important nature and conservation centre. The Ranch is located on the Rupununi River and is home to the McTurk family. It is run by the charismatic Diane McTurk who is well known internationally for her work in rehabilitating giant river otters into the wild. Eddie is Diane's nephew and along with Melanie, they now run the tourism side of the centre. Diane has been featured in National Geographic as well as in many television shows. Her father Tiny McTurk welcomed David Attenborough...