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Guyana Travel Blogs

Background: Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001.

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By two4deroad
June 19th 2007

Guyana: The Arrival and Linden's Lure

South America » Guyana » Linden

Blue Lake
A former bauxite mine

We must have been flying over Guyana's massive land mass for quite some time but we didn't know a thing. You see, it was about 7pm and almost dark and, to make matters worse, we were sandwiched between two layers of clouds. When the doors of LIAT opened we gladly accepted our 'Welcome to Guyana' from an ancient lightbox just in front of the entrance to immigration. Customs allowed us to pass check-free with nine pieces of overweight luggage and Vibert Sr. (Pops) was patiently waiting for us. After hugs and greetings and in an overloaded car with an open-and-tied-down trunk, [View Full Entry]

By hauteboy
May 24th 2007

Kaieteur Falls

South America » Guyana » Georgetown

Up close and personal
Makes you feel so small

5-24 Hotel: Sleep Inn International, Georgetown, Guyana, $65 The next morning Dean and I were going on the Kaieteur trip, Scott would wait around the hotel with nothing to do! They were supposed to pick us up between 9 and 9:30, but it was after 10 before they showed up. Caribbean time! We drove to the local airport (Ogle), and had to get weighed in. The other tourists were already there, all of them were Guyanese living in Canada. The plane was 100lbs overweight, so we had to eat/drink our snacks right then (how that helped the weight? it's still inside [View Full Entry]

By hauteboy
May 23rd 2007

The most dangerous city

South America » Guyana » Georgetown

Stabroek Market
Unintentional vignetting; my camera lens fogged up!

5-22 Hotel: Sleep Inn International, Georgetown, Guyana, $65 Flight: Trinidad (POS) to Georgetown (GEO), Caribbean Airlines Woke up at 5 am, our flight wasn't until 7:45 but we wanted to be there a bit before (Our other Caribbean flights had actually been leaving early). There was noone in checkin line, and we went to have a breakfast of a muffin and juice. They started calling our flight, with nearly 2 hrs before departure! We went upstairs where there was a long line to pay departure tax. My passport had been stamped 'transit', so I didn't need to pay it! Still [View Full Entry]

By Toolman
April 7th 2007

Guyana - April 2007

South America » Guyana » Lethem

Barmy Army

As I'm cruising at 28,000 ft, I thought I'd indulge in some light reading on Georgetown (the capital of Guyana) before I landed. The first paragraph of the Lonely Planet reads: "Georgetown is dangerous. Period. Street crime, often violent, is common. Never go anywhere alone..... Never go out after dark...". Marvellous. These things tend to be overblown, just to cover their own backs, but its a bit unfair of Lonely Planet to be so extreme. Georgetown is no Greendale, but neither it is any worse than any other city in this area. When I arrived it was too late at night, [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 21st 2007

Reflections

South America » Guyana

Dr. Bill Riding 4 Runner

My trip to Guyana was an incredible experience that I will not soon forget. I experienced a way of life that before, I had only seen on the TV or in movies. It was like getting in a time machine on the 1st, setting it to the early 1900s, and then setting the return date as the 17th. I went back in time but everything in the present just kept on going. My physics professor described the feeling as surreal. That seems to sum it up pretty well. The first day back in class had me wanting to drop out [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 17th 2007

USA Bound

South America » Guyana » Georgetown

How Things Look At 3:00 AM

Our taxi arrived at 2:30 a.m. and we made it to the airport by 3:20 after our driver made several stops. We made it through customs, paid our exit fees, and slowly made our way the gate. I uploaded everyone’s’ photos onto my laptop so Dad could make CDs and send them out to everyone. The plane left a little before 6 and I think we all took a nap. Our first stop was in Trinidad like last time, except they made us get off the plane. Getting back on the plane was a complete mess. They herded us around [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 16th 2007

Last Day in Guyana

South America » Guyana » Lethem

Internet Cafe

Mrs. Foo cooked us a good breakfast and we walked around town doing a little souvenir shopping. I bought some guava jam and a couple little handmade things. We went back to the guesthouse, packed up, said goodbye to Mrs. Foo, and walked to the airport. We checked in at the airport and had some time to kill before the flight. The Internet café was open so we checked some email and sent a few and then did some more souvenir shopping. We went to the airport to sit for a while and met two American guys who were in [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 15th 2007

Goodbye Annai

South America » Guyana » Annai

Annai Runway

Today is our last day in Annai so we ate and headed to the clinic early as possible. Patients kept showing up as we were trying to close down. Bill and Christine had to catch a flight back to Georgetown so that they could finish the surgeries that didn’t get done last week. We were getting worried that we would have to turn patients away but they finished just in the nick of time and headed to the “airport.” The airport in Annai is actually the bar a Rock View and a dirt runway. David, Dad, and I got everything [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 14th 2007

The Reunion

South America » Guyana » Annai

My Little Annai Friend

Every morning in Guyana seems to be basically the same. Get up early, eat breakfast, and head to the clinic. We saw around 30 patients today with nothing too exciting happening. There were busy times, when David brought in patients from distant villages, and slow times when he was out picking up more patients. During one of the breaks Dad and I roamed around town for a bit looking at a store and searching for a telephone. Along the way I made a friend and he followed us back to the hospital. I saw him roaming the halls so I [View Full Entry]

By blmoffit
March 13th 2007

A New View

South America » Guyana » Annai

David

Lethem To Annai Becky We are leaving for Annai today, but not until we see more patients in Lethem. After our French toast breakfast, we arrived at the hospital around 8:30 a.m. I got started checking in patients again and dropped off several stacks of results with Terrence. When all the patients had been seen we headed to Mrs. Foo’s to pack up our stuff and load it on the truck. We met our driver, David, and hit the road with some box lunches. There are no paved roads in the interior so for the entire 2 hour trip we [View Full Entry]

Links: Guyana Travel Blogs (all) | Guyana Travel Photos | Guyana Travel Forum | Guyana Facts | Map of Guyana

Travel Blog » South America » Guyana