Guyana: donkeys, 2G, churches & history

November 29, 2013

This month I had the great opportunity to visit our neighboring country Guyana. I went there with a good friend who knows the place so I had the perfect guide.

Flood
You see the thing is, the last time I went it was in 2005. Just a few days before my visit there was a flood on the east coast that was devastating to thousands of households. So when I was driving around the smell was very bad -to not use other words- and the water had done some extreme damage to houses, buildings, and graveyards. That's the picture and experience that got stuck in my head. I decided to try to remove this first impression because back then I said that returning to Guyana wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

It's a 3-hour drive from Nw. Nickerie to Georgetown

We were on the road for 12 hours heading from Paramaribo to Georgetown. And yes, that's way too long, but we had quite some stops along the way. And since we are both drivers we divided the 'job'.

Donkey all over
The very first thing I saw was a donkey. No biggie, because here you can find a donkey or two as well. But I was in for a big surprise. I couldn't stop counting donkeys that were being used as the main transportation by locals. "It's like Guyana is stuck in time", I ventilate at one point. Five minutes later I burst into a laugh. I see a man passing by on his donkey and do you know what he has in his hands? A cell phone! Talking bisnis on his phone. I had to take my words back. That's the best example of 'Back to the future'.

2G
We both needed a sim card for our phones so we stopped at this store of a big Caribbean Telecommunications Company. Within five minutes I decided not to complain too much anymore about my provider back home. This dude (it was a girl in the store, but I'm referring to the company) offers us 2G and 50MB of data per day. Are you kidding me? 3 hours later 40MB was gone. How is that possible in 2013? 50MB? So I had to change my data behavior for the days that follow. SMH!

Local food
People do tell you not to eat on the street when in GT. Well, I did. But I could. My friend knew the exact places where to get good local food. Soup, dhal puri, vegetable & fish. Having local food when visiting a country for the first time is the best way to experience the country. My 2005 picture was starting to fade away slowly.

St. Andrews Church that has its
first service in 1812

History
Churches, churches, and some more churches. Guyana has a lot of churches. I wondered why and found my answer. 57% of the population is Christian: most of them Protestants and Roman Catholics. And I can tell you, if you love history (like I do) you will love hearing about these cornerstones in Georgetown.

Some more history you find in the parliament building near Stabroek Market that was built in 1834. As a tourist, you get the opportunity to see the impressive meeting room of the congressmen. You can even sit in the chair of the chairman. How cool is that! Just awesome.

No speeding ticket
And you know what I love the most? If you get a speeding ticket from the police, you got too much money. For real. In Guyana whenever there is police on the road, you are being signed to drop your speed by drivers coming from the opposite direction. How cool is that! And of course, you need to return the favor. Maybe we should try that here in Suriname as well. #evillaugh

Nasty environment
There is just one great downside to this all. Guyana really doesn't take good care of its environment. It's simply gross. The last two days of our visit we had some heavy rains. And on the last day during a city tour, I saw the disgusting way locals don't bother at all of the environment. Plastic everywhere. Some spots were so disgusting that I didn't even want those pics on my camera. And the sad thing is: I just told you about the beautiful historical buildings... well, not even their surroundings are being spared...and so taking away the beauty for a moment. I would really like to talk to the minister of Environment...sigh.

So much environmental damage...

....is being done ...

...even the beautiful historical
buildings aren't being spared!

Best party ever
I could go on talking about my trip. I could tell you that I had the best Caribbean party ever. I danced the whole night long on a lot of soca music, bubbling, reggae, and disco. Jermain, you had the best party ever!
I could also share with you how it was living a week without internet (on my laptop). I survived. Don't ask me how, but I did.
And I could tell you that I met some nice people and had a chance to hang out with them.

Guyana is not that bad (as long as you don't go when it's raining). You can find your way around, you need to have excellent driving skills and you MUST NOT drink water from the tap.

Will I be going back? Oh...for sure!! If you knew John Legend was performing, wouldn't you?
So GT, wait for this girl. SHE WILL BE BACK -on occasion.

Odi,
Roseternal