"They" (does anybody really know them?) say that first impressions are lasting. And we subscribed to that theory. So when this little uninhabited dry, barren and blasted rock crept on the right side of the Transavia plane, we almost freaked. The island had a reddish color and not a single tree. Now, having just come from cold Holland, we surely would appreciate some warmth and sunshine but never did we envisage a place so hot that you could see the vapours ripple from above. The pilot landed just past the uninhabited island and the flight attendant (to be politicall [View Full Entry]

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Authors' note: This blog contains a few borderline images from Amsterdam. We have kept these to an absolute minimum and we have chosen the less in-your-face shots. However, if your sensitivities are easily upset, you are advised to read the story and either choose your pictures carefully or avoid them altogether.XXX. "Three Crosses", they say. YEAH RIGHT!! Crosses stand straight up, usually indicating some 'uprightness' and religious leaning. "Three 'Xs' is more like it", we surmise. Triple X and not in the way Vin Diesel meant it. And yet, emblazoned on public clocks, [View Full Entry]

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"I'm sorry ma'am but you can't get to Cardiff today. The roads are all flooded out". Shanna stared wide-eyed at the man behind the counter who had just punched up this information on his computer 'thingy'. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Walking back to Vibert, she related the bad news. Several parts of the UK were experiencing the worst flooding ever and apparently Cardiff was one of those places. British Airways had deposited us on time from Barbados and it took just about 30 minutes to clear immigration and customs and guide ourselves thru the city-sized Gatwick Intern [View Full Entry]

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Word spread fast. Somebody told somebody and somebody told Sharon (please pronounce as 'Shay ron') that the world travellers were in Guyana. Sharon was one of Vibert's high-school debating opponents. She told Andrea - her sister - who was now all grown up and the producer/editor/interviewer of her own tv talkshow program. Andrea invited us for an interview. Against a black background in the studio we sat answering questions about the who, what, when, where, why and hows. It was a taped program that would be edited and played later. Feeling pretty special (we had made it to nation [View Full Entry]

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Happy Birthday Greetings to: Opa - 93 years (August 23) Pops - 59 years (August 29) Panic - 1 year (August 29) The Parika Ferry Stelling was crowded with people and vehicles and fruits. Built with massive greenheart (one of the most durable hardwoods and a native of Guyana's forests) piles, logs and slabs, the dock was the major 'terminal' for transport up or down the Essequibo River. Big motor ferries, like the MV Barima, transported vehicles, produce and people to destinations accessible only by boat. The more adventurous or those with a need [View Full Entry]

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The immigration officer looked up from the Brazilian passport he was leafing thru. His eyes were still red but they registered surprise to see us back again so quickly. He had stamped us out to Brazil only three days before. Again, we got preferential treatment before the file of waiting Brazilians and while he stamped us back in into Guyana he complained about working non-stop since 7 am. It was 5 pm on a Wednesday and raining. The plan was to overnight in Lethem, explore the neighbourhood and nearby ranches all day the next day and then catch INTRASERV's 10 pm [View Full Entry]

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The big bus drove off the barge and thru knee-high water before rolling to a stop on the red brick road. We showed the tickets we had pre-purchased in Georgetown and got on after the other passengers. Through the big glass window we waved to Matthew, Verlene and Anthony (see Iwokrama blog). They had come to see us off. The objective was simple: to bus from Kurupukari to Lethem and then cross over the Takatu River to Bonfim in Brazil. If all went well, we could catch the last bus to Boa Vista - a bigger city. It would be a [View Full Entry]

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"Mr. Williams, Ms. van Eer, my name is Matthew and I am your guide. Please come this way". He, and another Amerindian male, grabbed our bags and placed them in a small-ish metal speedboat. The name 'Takatu' was emblazoned on the side of the boat although the paint had started to peel. The other 40 passengers on the bus watched in envy as the VIPs sped up river sending sprays flying in their direction. We had just been whisked away by Iwokrama's welcoming party from the Kurupukari landing. The other 'peons' were waiting on the slow, lumbering Mekdeci-owned, motorized barge. The [View Full Entry]

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Hey family, friends and fans, Missed us? We certainly missed you all. You must have been wondering why we have not posted any blogs for quite some time. It's a combination of reasons really. First, we've really been hitting the road (and air) and have had relatively little time to write stories, upload pictures and post blogs. We made it safely to Amsterdam in Holland after a week in England and Wales. But more about those in other blogs. The biggest problem was that the servers on the host site crashed and ALL of our previous 21 blogs have been lost [View Full Entry]

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WARNING: THIS IS GIANT BLOG WITH NUMEROUS PICTURES. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!! North of the equator but still in the tropics, Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil and to the west by Venezuela. Its vast 83,000 square-mile (214,000 km square) mass is dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and waterfalls. The main economic activities are agriculture (producing rice and Demerara sugar), bauxite mining, gold mining, timber, shrimp and minerals. Sugar is the largest export. Despite its massive and myriad resources, Guyana remains one of the poorest co [View Full Entry]

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