Flavia & Gregory go LA

We have been in Guyana for almost two weeks.
Guyana is a bit of a strange place, certainly more unique than most of the other countries we have visited so far. For a start, there are no Mc Donalds in Guyana!! Secondly, most of the country is rainforest, with the exception of the coast. When you fly over it, it is an expanse of green and no towns, like an unlimited broccoli field.
Culturally, it does not belong to South America at all. The Spanish-speaking countries and Guyana are two worlds entirely apart, and not just because of the language. Georgetown strikes you straight away with its British colonial wooden architecture, while there is no salsa or reggaeton beat to be heard anywhere on the streets - it is all reggae or pop or black hip hop. The country is also scattered with Indu and Chinese-looking temples, mosques, and the churches are either Catholic or Anglican. Guyana is still very under-developed and Georgetown is to me a big messy place. I hated it for the first few days, but later started to get used to it. Another two weeks and I might end up not wanting to leave!! Mmm, maybe not that much, but one certainly gets to like it a lot better after a few days. We met an Irish guy who was sent here 22 years ago and for the first 6 months he kept ringing his managers to be transferred back, only to end up living here for all this time now.

Guyana is a VERY HOT country and my stay here has been considerably affected by the HEAT. While auntie Bridget’s thermometer only indicated 30 something degrees at any given time, to me it has felt more like 40 C and over. As a result, I have spent most of my time and thoughts on one thing: trying to stay cool. Somehow, Gregory has not been affected to the same extent – perhaps too excited for being back in his homeland to notice the scorching sun? It was good and interesting to see the country and where he is from, and even see his grand parents house in the countryside.
We spent most of our days in Georgetown, staying with auntie Bridget and being driven around by Wayne, her grandson. Her house is in the outskirts of GT and quite a good one for the local standards, so we have been lucky to be able to live in a comfortable place with all facilities and eating delicious Guyanese food (though she says she does not like cooking).

Last week we went to see the local zoo and botanical gardens. While the latter were destroyed by some floods years back and there is very little of it left to see, the zoo was a lot more interesting than expected. The huge puma in the tiny cage there is still haunting me, but apart from this, the collection of local animals there is quite striking. Animals I never knew existed!! The manatee, a huge vegetarian water mammal between an elephant and a walrus. The harpy eagle, a huge raptor bird measuring almost a metre in height with dinosaur feet, probably able to lift an 8-year-old child. The giant otter, a beautiful huge otter that apparently can be domesticated and will defend you better than a dog. The jaguarundi and the tayra, beautiful feline-looking mammals with a long body and tail.
Last Friday we went to see one of the country top attractions, the Kaieteur waterfalls. To get there you have to take one of those tiny planes and fly over the jungle for over an hour. We did the tour and the falls were indeed quite impressive. And very hot, of course. Only 10 people in the plane including the pilot!!
Friday night we took the bus to Iwokrama, a centre for rain forest conservation and development where tourists can stay and do excursions into the rain forest. Expensive place to stay but the money all goes to conservation as it is a non-profit place, so go there!! It lies between Georgetown and Lethem (Lethem is the gateway to the Brazilian border) almost 400 km inland. There is one big unpaved red earth road crossing the country north to south, and this is the road we took to get to Iwokrama (www.iwokrama.org). The bus was quite remarkable: tough, more like a four-wheel camion camouflaged like a bus. It was 9 hours each way and it was a long bumpy journey, but nevertheless very interesting. Iwokrama was a good place, though we saw only a few animals. You know the animals are there, all around you, but they are real wild animals and not really keen to make themselves be seen. We were disappointed but had to remind ourselves that we were not in the Galapagos any longer...no more 5 animals per square meter. In fact, they say that a jaguar needs 100 square km of territory to roam comfortably in, so what chances does one have??? The only semi-tame animal there was at the centre was a fairly big black caiman in the river, maybe 3 meters in length or so. The caiman has been living in that part of the river for the past 10 years and has gotten used to the people, so the workers there – and some tourists, though not us!!! – bathe in the water alongside it without too much concern. Other than that, we saw a good few birds, including toucans and scarlet macaws, but not the harpy eagle... We also came across a few monkeys, mostly capuchin and red howlers, and saw a sleeping sloth at the top of a tree. And that was it!! On the second day we got caught in the rain, and what a rain it was! We got absolutely soaked, in a matter of half hour the sky was black and we were on this little motor boat and the rain was coming down so hard that we could not keep our eyes open and were praying that the boatman could see where he was going... to the point that I lent him my sunglasses to enhance our chances of survival and avoid hitting land at high speed. We only just about saved my camera by putting it in a semi-dry cavity in the boat, which should remind anybody going out there walking in the rainforest that the RAINforest is called like that because of a reason...so always take a plastic bag with you for your camera!!

Today we passed by the market and my high spirits were hit real hard: next to the chickens and rabbits, they had cages with capuchin and squirrel monkeys and they all looked really worried and frightened. Not sure if this is legal, I hope it is not. Will have to think about what to do about it.

We are leaving tomorrow for Barbados

Here are some pics.

GEORGETOWN
-----------------------

Georgetown's cathedral

Magistrar Court

Delicious pepperpot

Local crowd selling local crafts

The neighbour's goats

Patrick the manatee

Cuffy monument - first slave to try revolt in 1763, attempt failed

IWOKRAMA
--------------------

The mighty road to Lethem and Iwokrama

Jungle from within...

And jungle from above...

Sankar the black caiman

Rhino friendly beetle...

KAIETEUR WATERFALLS
-----------------------------

Mosquito plane to Kaieteur

We have made it!!

We have finally made it to Guyana, URRAH!! The bus trip from Quito to Caracas was quite in order, actually. It took 63 hours, and they went pretty quickly. The bus was excellent, it was clean and comfortable and we actually managed to sleep quite a few hours. What got us by surprise was the type of people that were on the bus: all strictly Ecuadorians and Venezuelans, and not a single Western tourist. Maybe because no westener in their right mind would do take such a long journey to save a few hundred dollars?? Well. We wanted to save the money, but we also wanted to see the country and try the experience, and we are really glad we have done it.

So we were the only gringos on board and this is how we got called for the duration of the journey. It actually didn't start off very well: the bus was coming from another town in Ecuador and was already almost full. So the driver got up into the bus and showed us our seats. While I went back down to ensure our luggage was loaded on with us etc, the original resident of our just acquired seats came back and approached Gregory and started abusing him that 'this was his seat', and trying to get his bag off him etc. Gregory keeping hold of the bag shouting in Spanish that it was his own bag...ah ah ah! Cannot believe I missed tehe scene. By the time I got back up it was like nothing had happened, the guy perfectly peaceful. I went off again, and the guy had another go at Gregory. I came back up, all fine and the man is smiling... ??? So I went and asked the driver if there was a problem, and the driver said not to worry. Eventually, it emerged that the guy was indeed sitting where we were, but was moved so that the two of us could sit together. After a while, after seeing how comfortable we were being a couple and sharing the 2 adjacent seats, he must have realised that there were plausible reasons behind moving him elsewhere and he calmed down. By the time Gregory started talking and opening his big smiling mouth, they became quite 'good friends'. Throughout the journey everybody was making jokes on the gringo (Gregory) and we were all laughing about it, so it was ok. The toilet bit was particularly funny. The toilet was actually pretty clean, even after someone crapped in it, which is not allowed. The driver came out and had a right moan about it. Later, Gregory took a picture of him and showed it around saying he was 'quien caca' en baño'....

We left Quito at 11pm on Sunday night and got to Caracas at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Caracas is a dangerous, chaotic and quite ugly city. The city hasn't retained much colonial architecture due to a few earthquakes and a strong trend to modernise its infrastructure started in the 50's by dictator Jimenez. There is a big contrast between some of the very modern commercial areas and the shanty towns on the hill sides, some of which are beautifully colourful but many of which are pure brick and cement boxes hangling off the side of the mountain. Big contrast also between the many Chavez's and the McDonalds and westener companies ads.

We felt quite vulnerable there, not sure if once again because of the reputation of if the feeling was real. It has happened in lots of other places that you are told how bad it is and so you are paranoid about everything, and then the place turns out to be absolutely fine. Maybe in Caracas we did not stay enough time to lose the paranoia, or maybe it is really as bad as it looks. Certainly the hotel metal bars and the clientele coming to buy cigarettes and phone cards from it did not help to correct our perception, neither did the two crack addicts that started to fight right opposite the hostel, or the recommendations of our Venezuelan friend, Daniela's cousin, not to do this and that. Nor the two policemen on a motorbike who stopped us as soon as we got off the taxi in front of the hostel to search us, with a really threatening look on their faces. We thought the taxi driver was in trouble, not being an official cab, but it was us they were after!! The taxis are a crazy thing in Caracas. They are not regulated at all, anybody can put up a stick on their car and drive around like a taxi. They don't even have to pay taxes or anything. In fact, we actually should have not got into this unmarked taxi that we took, it's like getting into a car with an absolute unmarked stranger. I am not quite sure why we did. I think the guy was older and looked honest, somehow. Or maybe it was because his car looked a lot better than the wrecks that were circulating on the street. Don't know, but we took a chance and thankfully it went all fine. We started chatting and then we asked him how much he wanted for the airport and seen that he did not seem too greedy, we contracted him to come and get us the next day. he did and was early and really nice. In fact, if anybody is out there looking for a reliable honest taxi driver, Pedro's number is 0414 1109032. An official taxi ride from the airport costs $60, we paid less than half. Dollars... this is the reall crazy thing in Venezuela. If you buy dollars at an official establishment, the exchange rate is 2.200. If you buy them on the street, it can be as high as 4.300!!!!! So you cannot really talk about how much things cost in dollars, because it all depends on how well you managed to change your American dollars. We spent quite a lot of our short time there organising the acquisition of local currency away from the bank, and that saved us a fortune. Like departure tax. Departure tax is an astounding 132.000 bolivares. If you pay with money out of a cash machine, that means $65. If you pay with the money you buy with American dollars from someone, it can be half that! I think our departure tax cost us something like $37, not bad hey!!

The hostel we checked into was probably one of the cheapest ones around - Nuestro Hotel in Sabana Grande - and it was both very secure and very basic. We went to check out the terminal and connections to Cartagena for when we are back there, and were lucky enough to bump into the manager of Bus Ven, one of the companies that connects Caracas to Cartagena in Colombia directly. He gave us his number and told us we could phone him to reserve the seats a couple of days before we get to Caracas, so that we can leave the same day. Could not believe our luck!! So we went back to Sabana Grande for dinner but, while crossing Plaza Venezuela, we bumped into the biggest open place we have ever seen for chess street players. So of course Gregory took the opportunity and even managed to win a few games!! In the meantime I went to make some phone calls and contacted Daniela's cousin to see if we could meet him. We made an appointment and he came to see us and then we ended up having a few beers with him and another hotel resident - Italian - so we had an interesting night talking about South American and Venezuelan politics and at the end of it all we finally made it to bed at 1 o'clock in the morning!! At 5:30 we were up ready for the airport, so that by yesterday we started to feel pretty exhausted. We got the flight to Trinidad ok, spent 5 hours there waiting for our connection, and by 7 pm we were at auntie Bridget's house in Guyana.

So everything is fine and today we are already roaming the streets of Georgetown.

No pics, sorry...

Today we are leaving Ecuador. We really liked Quito, it is the most beautiful Latin American capital we have seen, apart from Rio, which is beautiful in a different way. Old Quito is really stunning, although our photos this time do not really do it any justice. It`s all Gregory`s fault of course, yesterday he did not really want to wander around and so we only visited a small part of the colonial centre. We went back there for dinner and by night it is even nicer - only problem is that the streets are absolutely deserted. Never seen anything like it.

We bumped into this Tianguez Cafe`and craft museum-shop in the S Francisco square - the art that they were selling!! I wanted to cry for having already bought and sent a package last week and not being able to buy anything else. Just amazing. Ecuador is the most amazing place we have ever seen for arts and crafts, these people are so creative. It is worth coming here only just to buy stuff, even if the place wasn`t also super diverse, super friendly and offering really good and really cheap food throughout like it is.

So today, sadly, we are leaving to continue our journey. We are taking a bus tonight for Caracas, a long 58 hours which we hope to survive somehow. Then, from Caracas we will be flying to Guyana on Thursday 13th, where auntie Bridget is waiting for us.

We`ll be back online in a few days - fingers crossed!

Quito view from super-expensive Cafe Mosaico

Cafe Tianguez in the background

Tianguez inside

Still crying over this one...

We changed our plans to visit the Cuyabeno reserve in the Ecuadorian jungle and decided to head for Ecuador`s coast for some sea breeze and seafood. So we went to Canoa, a tiny seaside village about 9 hours from Quito. We stopped in Bahia de Caraquez on the way, which was ok for a stay of 12 hours or so.... Pretty run-down, friendly, hot. We went to visit this place called Saiananda , which is meant to be an animal refuge and spiritual centre, but frankly we were not impressed. The place is pretty big and run down, the owner is rearing lots of tank fish and keeps all other animals in pretty cramped cages, included a cow!!! The main reason for going there was to see a sloth, and when we got there we were told that we would not see it because it usually hides behind the refrigerator!!! the only free animal in the place and hiding. Grunt! then fortunately we stayed for a fruit juice and just by chance, while I was lying down in a hammoc, I spotted the sloth under the table!!! it was sleeping hugging another smaller sloth. very nice.

From Bahia we moved to Canoa, our selected destination. we were really lucky and picked the best possible place we could pick - Hostal Bambu. This is a paradise of a hostal right on the beach right in town, with ample spaces, nice cabins, a great restaurant and a fantastic cocktail bar. They had a pool and a ping-pong table on the premises, which we enjoyed throughout our stay. The weather was terrible and we never even entered the water, but it was really nice all the same. We had lots of gorgeous seafood and got semi-drunk every evening, with cocktails at a dollar each during happy hour and 2 dollars afterwards.... Excellent place, highly recommended.

The main reason for going to Canoa...

In Canoa a very good artisan copied Gregory`s tagua necklace for us, so that we are now officially both Nazcan monkeys

This unlucky turtle was dying on the beach after probably having been hit by a boat. We tried putting it back in the sea but it kept floating back.

Hello all it's me again Gregory. Due to popular demand and Flavia’s writers cramp. I will update the blogger for us.

Otavalo - a wonderful town with nice people where the partying / celebrating does not seem to stop. The first night the bus drivers formed a convoy and were driving through town honking their horns till the early morn. Then there was the yamor festival, which was a real big deal, a kind of small scale carnival procession with all the local pretty girls from all the villages on floats, indigenous dancers and dances, military bands and of course the local dignitaries parading to the crowd. The street cleaners then had a couple of minutes to clean all the streets before the
Otavalo market starts.

Otavalo market is the biggest market in South America which is actually 4 markets spaced out in the town. The market consists of: the big animal market (cattle), the little animal market(guinea pigs, cats, chickens etc), the artesian market & the fruit market. Flavia and I decided to miss the animals this time because we went to another big animal market in Saquisilli earlier. So we headed for fruit and art.
Flavia being in her element visited every stall with great interest and surprisingly after 4 hours we managed to spend very little money. I did manage to get us to a restaurant, since I was as hungry as a wild animal and we had a complete 3 course meal for $3. I then managed to slip away to the Runa Tupari agency , who happened to be sporting a wireless router that I could get a free signal off to get onto the internet with my palm, while Flavia managed to buy a few more chains and hats she does not need to post back to the UK.

After the market Flavia had arranged with the agency for us to visit another indigenous family. I was not really looking forward to it. I expected it to be high altitude, freezing cold, no real facilities for housing guests and if the weather was particularly unfriendly then a pretty miserable time to be had. (We had done this thrice before) and I was happy I filled my belly since I did not know when I would get adequate nutrition again. To my surprise this family we spent the time with was the complete opposite and it was the best and most up to date we visited.
Enough of me………………Here are the photos minus the pretty girls on floats, flavia said.

the hat masks

men with long hair discussing how much to charge Flavia for hats

aaaH!!!!! aren't they cute

Corny in the maize

Flavia taking a sneaky Pic

Nice!!! but luckily these break in transit to the UK

These do not break so bought some

The guy in the mask formely known as G**G**Y

Otavalo family house

Volcan Imbabura in the background. Foreground corn drying before the dog ate it all

Mercedes feeding her pig who saved her own bacon in the nick of time by becoming pregnant