GUYANA FULL OF NATURAL ADVENTURE!
An Overland Journey Through Guyana
By Eleanor Hughes Dragoman, a U.K. based overlanding company, brings me to Guyana on a tour which wend its way through Brazil, starting in Rio de Janeiro, French Guiana and Suriname. Disembarking the ferry from Suriname at Moleson Creek I’m soon enjoying views of wooden homes on stilts interspersed with bright concrete plastered homes – lilac, orange, watermelon pink, chartreuse. Straight canals head into the distance. Blue signs welcome, seemingly every hundred metres, to towns named after sugar plantations that once occupied this road to Georgetown; Lovely Lass, Belle Vue, Manchester, Number 40, Zealand, Glaziers Lust, amongst them. Red and yellow flags wave in yard corners, wind blows palm tree fronds like long hair. Horns alert us cars are overtaking, we overtake cows, goats and chickens wandering the road. On a city tour I learn of Georgetown’s sugar history, visit wooden churches and discover picturesque buildings with Demerara shutters. Stabroek Market is chaotic, outside bright umbrellas shade equally colourful fruit for sale. In National Park a Manatee is enticed with grass to the lake edge. Georgetown is a patchwork of colour below on the flight to Kaieteur Falls. Then the world turns green, broken by snaking, brown rivers. Scarred red […]
Welcome To Banks Country
Since 1956, Banks Breweries Limited, in what was then known as British Guiana, has been producing a unique brew…Banks Beer. Created from malted barley, pure artesian well water, hops, rice and yeast under the most stringent quality control processes, this beverage produced locally remains “Brewery Fresh” and its quality is second to none. A 2018 Monde Selection Gold Medal Winner for Quality, Banks Beer is today a symbol of pride in Guyana and continues to captivate the taste of beer lovers at home and abroad. The recent modernization of the Brewery and Beer Bottling Plant has placed Banks DIH Limited among the best and most modern breweries in the Caribbean in terms of technological development. And when it comes to quality…Banks Beer continues to be rated internationally as one of the best in the world! Over the years Banks DIH Limited experienced a continuous increase in demand for its malted products and committed an investment of $4.5 Billion Guyana Dollars towards a new and expanded state of the art Brewery and Beer Bottling Plant. KRONES AG, a German company, was chosen as the main equipment supplier given their superb record for reliability, durability and technological innovations. The expanded Brewery and […]
The South Rupununi Safari
The Outdoors, Adventure and Fun The South Rupununi Safari now in its 6th year is an annual 4 x 4 convoy of vehicles which takes place annually in November. The convoy takes off from Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown through the mining town of Linden and ends at Achiwuib Village in Region Nine. Organised by Rainforest Tours, the Safari is normally a six-day trip, moving through Regions Four, Nine and Ten and in the process touching 10 Amerindian Villages where you get to spend some time and experience their way of life and culture. Safari participants will usually make donations to each of the villages that they pass through. The South Rupununi Safari offers an ideal opportunity for persons to experience the outdoors, have fun and adventure, while crossing rugged mountainous terrain, rivers and waterfalls and discover the picturesque beauty of miles of savannahs and explore little known places south of Guyana’s interior. Venturing into Guyana’s most remote terrain is not an easy task, whether you are crossing the Rupununi River, camping in the open or driving for miles in the flat savannah lands that is teeming with flora and fauna. The South Rupununi Region has some of the most […]
Community Tourism
Karasabai in Focus Across Guyana, there exists a number of sparsely populated settlements and Amerindian Communities over a massive area of land that encompasses rainforests, wetlands and savannahs in some of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. The Indigenous Communities are small villages of 250 to 1,500 people who rely mainly on subsistence farming and the overwhelming concern is unemployment. Many men migrate to earn an income in extractive industries like gold mining and timber harvesting. In some Communities, the migration rate is as high as 80%, and there is a desperate need for alternative income. Tourism has become the largest and fastest growing industry, in terms of the number of people it employs. Eco-tourism is also more importantly a sustainable and green industry, that helps to preserve not only the eco-systems, but also the indigenous culture as well. Community Tourism provides the unique opportunity for Indigenous Communities to own and operate their own business as a Community. Each Indigenous Community owns their own lands which they manage and administer through their elected Village Councils. The income made from Tourism goes directly into the Communities to assist with development and conservation. Community Based Tourism (CBT) is described as […]
Leveraging Our Strengths to RealiSe Tourism’s True Potential
By: Brian Mullis Like many of my peers I feel lucky to have come of age and “learned” how to travel in the pre-smartphone era. This was the era when locals were pretty much always happy to see you, it was easy and even expected to get lost even with the best of maps, nobody wasted time on selfies or insta-anything, and the delight of experiencing new destinations that were uniquely different from your home country was welcomed, celebrated, something special. Today, in the age of overtourism we’ve consumerised, homogenised and stretched tourism beyond its natural balance. Like most complex issues in travel and tourism, there is no easy solution here. The New Currency in Tourism is Authenticity An increasing number of travellers are seeking out authentic nature, cultural and adventure experiences. They are looking to immerse themselves in experiences beyond the surface level in order to reach a much deeper level of intimacy with the people they meet and the places they visit. Fortunately, this is not something that can easily be consumerised or homogenised. It is also something that’s not readily accessible except in unspoiled destinations like Guyana. The wealth of natural and cultural heritage in Guyana is […]
Winslow Craig – Guyana’s Sculptor Extraordinaire
By Lola Chan-a-Sue Winslow Craig is a Guyanese sculptor whose natural talent manifested at an early age and blossomed with formal training at the ER Burrowes School of Art in Georgetown. He works in many media, like metal, wood, and bronze, and is known for his invention of a new medium for sculpture: “sawdoue” an amalgam of sawdust and glue which is placed on steel. Today, Mr. Craig is a lecturer in art at the University of Guyana and his work can be found in private collections through the region, in Guyanese institutions and international collections from New Zealand (Retribution II), China (The Unseen Helper) and Belize (Cutting Edge and The Watcher). He was also commissioned by Cable and Wireless to create a trophy for its 2000 Cricket Series, which was titled Willow and Leather. Born in the Kappawarri Creek of the Essequibo River in 1967, Mr Craig began sculpting from an early age. Of part indigenous heritage, he was influenced by his father, who was a woodsman and woodworker, to begin whittling. He sold his first piece at age seven for the sum of $20. Nonetheless, his plans for the future focused on his becoming a gold-miner until a […]
Exploring Guyana
Where Nature and Wildlife Thrive By Kevin Hand I confess I knew nothing about Guyana until my friend PJ asked me what wildlife he might encounter on a visit. I looked into this and realised there was a lot to see, and that the percentage of rainforest here was larger than any other country I knew of. As I run wildlife holidays, for educational charity the ACE Foundation, I thought it could be a great destination – so I offered to join him! As it seemed difficult for us to book directly with the lodges and co-ordinate transport, I arranged to meet Tony Thorne from Wilderness Explorers at the British Bird Fair, along with Claire Antell and Wally Prince. They were very helpful, and together we came up with a plan. As we were spending quite some money on getting to Guyana, we decided to spend as long as possible, adding a few days in Georgetown at the start, to get acclimatised and to learn more about the country. This was great, there was so much to see and do. The Walter Roth Museum proved a great introduction to Amerindian culture, and outdoors there was a lot more ‘nature’ than […]
Dr Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Guyana and West Indies Cricket Icon – A Man of Outstanding Numbers If numbers had an owner it would be Shivnarine Chanderpaul. This Guyanese batting legend, born and raised in the rustic countryside village of Unity on the East Coast Demerara, has fashioned a cricketing career that is a statistician’s delight. When he started his international cricketing career as a frail 19-year-old in March 1994 against England at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground at Bourda, there was optimism that this humble son of a fisherman, who had dominated Guyana’s Youth Cricket and had captured the attention of an entire nation, was destined for greatness. He cracked a classy 62 runs from number six making his debut for the West Indies in front of his home crowd, batting in an almost inverted right-angle position to announce his arrival on the global cricketing stage. There would be a major transformation in his batting stance over the ensuing two decades. It became ridiculously side-on, but what remained constant was an insatiable appetite for batting, a deep desire to always score runs and a proclivity for thriving under pressure making him a linchpin in the West Indies middle order. Such admirable traits, typified by […]
Indeed The Biggest Party in Sport
By: Avenash Ramzan “CPL T20 Cricket has been exceptionally well received in Guyana with fantastic crowd support where the local fans demonstrate their passion for cricket and show their national colours and unending vocal support for the local home based franchise – the Guyana Amazon Warriors. The CPL T20 League has been promoted across the Caribbean as the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ with fierce competition between the various Teams to win the coveted Finals and put their hands on the CPL Trophy and Prize Money. For the 2018 CPL Tournament, Guyana – on the cusp of major oil wealth, was chosen as the destination for the Playoff Games to the Finals for the first time in the six-year history of the CPL. Guyana is a Cricket mad country and this was just reward for its people, who from time immemorial, have embraced the game of Cricket like no other. Cricket is fully imbedded in their psyche as the national sport, a favourite pastime and most important a unifying force. The utterances of Chief Operations Officer of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Pete Russell, could not have been more apt, precise and truthful. “We are delighted to be able to […]
The Undiscovered Jewel – Guyana
I have lived in Ecuador, South America for 32 years and have travelled the continent extensively. One destination that retains an inexplicable calling is Guyana. Having published arguably the two most important coffee-table books on the country, I have been privileged to have travelled its length and breadth by road, boat and helicopter. The continent’s only English-speaking country, Guyana is virtually pristine and rich in biodiversity including a ‘full house’ of the South American giants. An undiscovered jewel it is, with good reason, a firm favourite in our suite of expeditions. Pete Oxford Expeditions is proud to jointly lead many trips with the Oceanic Society, a USA based conservation NGO, the first in the states to be dedicated to ocean conservation. This was no exception and after assembling the group at Georgetown’s colonial Cara Lodge, we headed out the following morning in our privately charted Cessna caravan aircraft to land at Guyana’s most iconic destination – Kaieteur Falls. This stunning Waterfall, set in the wilds of a pristine forest is the world’s highest single-drop Waterfall, several times higher than Niagara at 741 feet. With a choice of spectacular lookout points and no barriers whatsoever the experience transports the visitor back […]
Iwokrama the Green Heart of Guyana
Where Images and Stories are Waiting to be Told The old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, holds true – the best photographs are often the ones that tell a story. With so many famous places featured quite often, it can feel like there’s nowhere new to discover, and no new stories to be told. That’s one reason Guyana is special. There are few places that have the combination of so much understated beauty as Guyana, and few as captivating and beautiful as Iwokrama. Indeed, Iwokrama is much more than just a rain forest. It is a sustainably utilised forest poised in the centre of the country, earning it the title: “The Green Heart of Guyana.” The rain forest has many ‘moods’ that can be observed throughout the day. Personally I have always found dawn to be the most pleasant time. In the early morning, the soft, yellow light plays with the greens of the trees, while the air is cool and crisp. As the sun rises, the diverse and intricate melodies of birdsongs blend with the eerie calls of Howler Monkeys and soft rustling as the forest life stirs. Planning to take photos in the forest? The […]
A Rich Dutch Heritage and the Essequibo River
The Essequibo River region is a treasure trove of Guyana’s Dutch heritage. This area was a major trading region over two hundred years ago when Guyana was a Dutch colony. With the unyielding search for the lost city of El Dorado with all its promise of gold and riches, the Dutch were heavily challenged by the other colonial powers in their fight to conquer and claim Guyana. The heritage of this colourful past is very evident today and there are many citadels of the Dutch legacy still very evident and woven into the fabric of today’s Guyana. All across the coastline, the mighty Sea Wall stands tall as a bastion of our security as it struggles after decades to keep out the raging Atlantic Ocean and its ferocious waves especially at high tide from flooding our coastal zones. There are a number of Dutch Forts and Chimneys which are very evident as you move around the country. In addition, there are hundreds of Dutch names among our populace over generations through their descendants and attached to iconic structures such as Stabroek Market and names of villages such as Schoonord, Uitvlugt, Vergenoegen and Beterverwagting and streets like Vlissengen Road which perpetuate […]
Newly Discovered Blue Tarantula
A Beacon for Invertebrate Conservation By Dr. Andrew Snyder Walking through the jungle in the dark of the night, my visual stimuli were limited to the area illuminted by the small, bright beam of light from my flashlight. On nights like these, I am out scanning for nocturnal biodiversity. Specifically, as the herpetologist for the Biodiversity Assessment Team, a joint conservation research team through Global Wildlife Conservation and World Wildlife Fund-Guianas, I am tasked with surveying for amphibians and reptiles during our rapid inventories. Many years of nocturnal survey experience causes one to develop certain visual cues and search images to quickly process what falls within the confines of your light beam. For some organisms, like snakes, it is a certain body shape, and for others, it can be a glint of eye shine. Many jungle organisms give off eye shine, caused by the reflection of your beam of light off of a membrane in the eye, and typically with a characteristic color depending on the organism. Certain species of tree boa, for example, give off an orange reflection, which is purplish-orange in moths, and green-blue in spiders. During this particular night, my light beam reflected back with a small […]
HOSTING AN EVENT OR CONFERENCE? GUYANA IS THE PLACE
Guyana has been the recent host to an ever increasing number of international, regional and local business events, resulting in the major investments by both Government and the private sector catering to this growing conference and banqueting market. Government and the local private sector have since invested in arrange of conference and banqueting facilities rooms, and in 2006, the People’s Republic of China handed over to Guyana a gift of a large-scale conference facility located in the Liliendaal community adjacent to CARICOM’s Secretariat. It was named the Guyana International Conference Centre. Guyana has since welcomed international hotel brands such as Marriott and Ramada and, together with the long existing Guyana Pegasus Hotel, offer modern accommodation, large conference and banquet space with support services. These hospitality services providers have been the catalyst to attract these high value events and conferences, propelling Guyana onto the world stage as a choice business and events destination. In addition, Government has partnered with the Government of China and commissioned a US$7M project to refurbish and modernise the Guyana International Conference Centre which has since been renamed the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in honour of Guyana’s first President who had served from 1970 to 1980. It […]
The Return of the Scarlet Ibis
By Soffia Mangal & Frederikke Just The shake and roar of the Demerara Harbour Bridge traffic, with its booming Caribbean tunes will dull any commuter’s senses. Increasingly, they are jolted from that trance when a cluster of vibrant Scarlet Ibis glide overhead. Their striking scarlet coloration is remarkably eye-catching and they are now more widely seen in Guyana. A pair, becomes four, and more as the sun sets, providing a magical deep blue backdrop to the striking points of scarlet light. The Scarlet Ibis float towards their river-front mangrove nests to settle for the night. This Guyanese experience is an ornithologist’s dream. A bird watcher, head turned skyward, finds it difficult to believe how fortunate they are to be watching this nightly show. Guyana, whose name comes from an indigenous Amerindian word meaning ‘the land of many waters’, is the only English speaking South American nation, about the size of the United Kingdom. It is crossed by the Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice Rivers, which source from the Pakaraima Mountain Range. A huge volume of silt flows into the sea, creating a mud flat of up to 20km. “This provides a lot of mud with an abundance of food to entertain […]
Yachting on the Essequibo River
Article and Photos by: Kit Nascimento Guyana’s Essequibo River is the third largest in South America next to Brazil’s Amazon and Venezuela’s Orinoco. Its expansive waters provide a truly magnificent cruising destination and Guyana, located outside of the hurricane belt, is proving to be a safe haven for Cruisers to hang out during the hurricane season. The waters surrounding the small mining town of Bartica, Baganara Island Resort and Hurakabra River Resort provide some of the most exciting, virtually untouched, and beautiful river anchorages anywhere in the world. The Town of Bartica is now an Official Port-of-Entry and cruisers making the Essequibo River their destination can sail the 30 miles upriver from the ocean to Bartica to clear customs and Immigration with a simplified 2-page form. Clearance takes less than an hour. Guyana was first featured in the Doyle Cruising Guide for the Caribbean, (the Bible for yachts cruising the Caribbean) published the 3rd Edition (2006) as a potential destination for cruising yachts. In 2011, an Italian sailor, David Matelicani, retired from business in Australia who had established a small marina in Saint Laurent du Maroni, French Guiana, sailed to the Essequibo and decided that there was huge potential for […]
From Exploration to Discovery – Researching Nature in Guyana
Introduction ExxonMobil Guyana as part of its commitment to environmental stewardship initiated a series of studies in 2017 and 2018 to research important avian and marine life in Guyana. ExxonMobil Guyana commissioned the global sustainability firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and Guyanese biodiversity experts from Environmental Management Consultants (EMC), Ground Structures Engineering Consultants (GSEC) and Leon Moore Consulting to conduct bird, marine and sea turtle studies offshore and along the coast. The team also conducted an ecosystem services study, which documented the many ways in which coastal ecosystems support local human populations – the first study of its kind to be conducted coast-wide in Guyana. Birds Three marine bird surveys were conducted by teams of international and Guyanese bird specialists aboard offshore vessels. Historical data on marine birds in the region documented a total of 29 marine bird species in Guyana. The surveys yielded six new records for Guyana (species not documented as having been observed in the country previously, based on available data), increasing the number of marine bird species known to occur in Guyana by 21% – from 29 to 35 species. The new records registered for Guyana include Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus), Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys), Red-billed […]
Skipping Restaurant Week is a Huge Mis-steak!
by Kevin Daby Do you consider yourself a foodie? If so, can you define what it really means in Guyana? For some, it’s ensuring your cheeks are packed with enough cook-up from Stabroek Market at 2 a.m. for that after-party selfie. For others, it’s about an experience with their food: the sights, the smells, and the “je ne sais quinoa.” But regardless of your enthusiasm, most of you who know have already marked your calendars for Guyana Restaurant Week (GRW) from June 21 to July 1, 2019, and if possible again from November 22 to December 1, 2019. For those that didn’t (tsk, tsk), here is why you should: GRW is an event occurring twice a year where locals and travelers can look forward some 15 plus restaurants offering new, off-the menu dishes at wildly discounted prices for either lunch and/or dinner. Two-course lunches are price-fixed at G$2,000 (~$10US), while three-course dinners are offered at G$5,000(~$25US). Ready for the kicker? VAT included. The idea came about in 1982 when New York City decided to treat the attendees to a Democratic National Convention. 29 restaurants offered their best selection at fixed prices to manage the high volumes of people (it didn’t […]
In Pursuit Of The Pale-Throated Sloth!
Article by Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, Director of the Sloth Conservation Foundationv Hiding deep within the remote jungles of South America, there is an elusive and commonly overlooked species of sloth clinging onto survival. The pale-throated sloths are perhaps the most striking of all the sloth species, with a large bright yellow face, white throat and mottled fur, and yet they also receive the least attention. While the maned sloths and pygmy sloths are famous for their critically endangered conservation status, and the brown-throated sloths are the most commonly seen species, the pale-throated sloths have slipped under the radar for decades. They have also bypassed the attention of the scientific community, with not a single scientist currently researching any aspect of their ecology or behaviour. With this in mind, SloCo Founder and Executive Director Dr Rebecca Cliffe and award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas embarked on a mission to locate and photograph the pale-throated sloths in order to shine a spotlight on the plight of this mysterious species. The first big challenge when planning this adventure was deciding where to go to find the sloths. This species can only be found on the east coast of South America, ranging from Venezuela through […]
Kaieteur Falls – A Sight to Behold
By Kirstie Dukev While working for Hero CPL it’s very difficult to find the time to get away and see some of the beautiful countries that we are lucky enough to call home while the tournament is running. I was hugely fortunate to get invited along as part of a press trip to the Kaieteur Falls, and despite having read a little background information nothing could have prepared me for the majesty that awaited! We had a wonderfully straightforward check in and a short wait before boarding the light aircraft that was to take us to Kaieteur. Having never had the privilege of seeing the rainforest up close, I was in compete awe of the vast and seemingly never-ending swathes of lush, dense rainforest as we flew towards the falls. After a captivating 45-minute flight, mountains were beginning to rise up from the rainforest floor and on circling around we were met with the mighty spectacle of the falls. The world’s biggest single drop waterfall was quite a sight to behold! We landed on the far side of the gully on a very neat landing strip flanked by rainforest and were ushered in to the visitor centre, where we were […]
Let’s Go Fishing for Fun and Adventure!!
“Every year a group of us including my friends and my father’s friends head out for a week or two on an adventure and fishing trip to different parts of Guyana where we go fishing and camping and we try to turn it into a holiday. It takes a lot more trappings [things to carry] than normal on these trips because we carry along a cook with us because it’s usually a large group.” Says Paul Fraser who coordinates the annual expeditions. In 2018, the group agreed to head to the Amerindian village of Rewa in the Rupununi as it has gained a reputation as one of the best areas for fishing and Paul agreed to share their experience. “It is a beautiful camp with a pristine environment” were the exact words from Paul Fraser when asked about the one week trip with a diverse group of friends from overseas and Guyana which featured lengthy drives and interesting boat rides. “We would have left Georgetown at about 8-9 o clock in the night going overland and arrived at the Kurupukari Crossing at dawn. We then travelled to the village of Annai arriving at about 10 o clock that morning before […]
10 Things That Make Guyana A Unique Place To Visit
By: Maryam Saeed Khan Guyana is a beautiful tropical paradise. It has stunning waterfalls, virgin rainforest and vast river systems that combine to create a very exciting destination for adventures, travel and exploration. The majestic Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall in the Potaro River. Kaieteur Falls at over seven hundred feet, is five times taller than Niagara Falls in North America and is the tallest single drop waterfall in the world. Then comes the famous Blue Lakes in the Linden area which were created from bauxite mining activities. In mining bauxite there is a layer of sand which has to be removed in order to get to the minerals. Deep holes were created in the ground which became filled with rainwater. The colour of the water appeared blue due to the vegetation at the bottom of the white sand and the reflection of the sun. The Blue Lake is a fascinating area for families to picnic and relax. Guyana also has lots of black water creeks and many are found along the Soesdyke and Linden highway. Many people flock to the creeks on holidays and weekends to swim, picnic and spend time with families and friends. St. George’s Cathedral in […]
Why Guyana? Ten Unique Reasons You Should Visit
By: Rawletta Barrow What does it mean to be a tourist? For some, this term summons images of casual relaxation and adventure combined with earnest exploration of unknown wonders and unseen cultures. However, many others see a much more generic picture — heavily standardized destinations, exorbitant prices, crowded beaches, clamorous central hubs, and gross environmental and cultural degradation. The previous image seems infinitely more desirable! Yet, it is said to be impossible for one to attain the benefits of tourism without these countless costs. This is, fortunately, simply not true… especially not if you are planning to journey to the pristine, untouched jewel of South America…wait no…I don’t mean Brazil…nor Suriname…no, not Venezuela either. I speak of the ruby nestled between these diamonds, with a beauty just as valuable, but much rarer. I speak of Guyana. Haven’t heard of her? That’s okay. Many have not, but that is the point! Guyana is one of the few places on earth that is sincerely exotic, shrouded in mysterious wonder and myth, forgotten, a sleeping beauty, humbly longing to be rediscovered…reexplored…revived. This is the number one reason why everyone, from all paths of life and continents of the globe, should visit her — […]
Tourism Poised to be the New Frontier Industry
By: Mitra Ramkumar – President, Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana As we embrace the start of the New Year, Guyana is enthused with the prospects of becoming a Globally Recognised Nation, not only as an Economic Powerhouse but to create a perfect balance between National Development and preserving/protecting our live ecosystems with pristine rainforest and healthy fauna & marine life. THAG perceives that these developments could augur well and promote Tourism as the New Frontier industry for Guyana since it bolsters Environmental protection, champions diverse Cultural Heritage while empowering communities by creating employment for a wide cross section of Guyanese. Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) stated in his World Tourism Day 2017 message “Tourism is today the 3rd largest export industry in the world after chemicals and fuels. It brings hope, prosperity and understanding to so many lives and livelihoods all over the world”. Developing Guyana’s Tourism Industry is an ideal strategy to diversify our economy and make it robust to shocks from decline in commodity pricing. A thriving Tourism Industry creates an in-transit population that drives all other sectors such as Agriculture, Transport, Manufacturing (Value-Added products) and the Creative Arts Industries. Tourism should be used […]
The Guyana Cup
Horse Racing’s Holy Grail By Avenash Ramzan When ‘The Guyana Cup’ Horse Race Meet was originally conceived in 2007, the idea was clear. Nasrudeen Mohamed Snr., the popular owner of Jumbo Jet Stables and a seasoned entrepreneur, wanted to see more happening for the ‘Sport of Kings’ in Guyana. Given that he had the resources – financial and otherwise, implementing that vision was almost like the twitch of the thumb. Or, maybe not that easy, but you get the point. There were regular Horse Racing events hosted by various Turf Clubs across the country, no doubt, but Mohamed Snr., commonly known as ‘Jumbo Jet’, knew something was missing to move the sport to the next level. There was nothing for horse owners to aim for really – the big incentive was lacking and hence ‘The Guyana Cup’ was conceptualized. Figuratively speaking, Horse Racing was basically assembling at the starting paddock; Mohamed Snr. preferred to see this budding sport of thoroughbreds sprinting down the homestretch with the finish line in sight and turfites bursting the bleachers at the seam and rooting for their favourite horses to win. Jumbo Jet Truck and Auto Sales initially partnered with the various Turf Clubs to […]
Cassava – the root that binds all Guyanese
By Donald Sinclair & Michelle Seepaul The cassava holds a special place in the hearts and, of course, in the kitchens of all Guyanese. It is truly a root that courses through the gastronomies of all Guyana’s peoples, appearing as a staple here, a snack there or a main meal in another place. Like the spice curry, the cassava has now become national property and the source for a tasty variety of culinary preparations. In clear acknowledgement of the status of the cassava visitors to one Nature Resort – Arrowpoint Resort – are offered demonstrations in the making of cassava bread, followed by tasting. Cassava is a shrubby, tropical, perennial plant that is not well known in the temperate zone. For most people, cassava is most commonly associated with tapioca. The plant grows tall, sometimes reaching 15 feet, with leaves varying in shape and size. The edible parts are the tuberous root and leaves. The tuber (root) is somewhat dark brown in colour and grows up to 2 feet long. Cassava thrives better in poor soils than any other major food plant. As a result, fertilization is rarely necessary. However, yields can be increased by planting cuttings on well drained […]
On the Prowl
Guyana is in South America but has more in common with the Caribbean, and is the CTOs poster-child for sustainable tourism. Pippa Jacks goes in search of jaguars in this little-visited country. As the sun begins to peep over the forest canopy, the rainforest orchestra strikes up for its morning concert. Cicadas supply the strings with their synthesized buzz, while a woodpecker plays percussion on a tree trunk. Distant birdsong sounds like a recorder; a caracara bird shrieks like a firework before it explodes and there’s the constant, penny-whistle call of the screaming piha bird. I’m sharing this viewing platform 33 metres above the rainforest floor with just two other people, so I feel like the birds are giving me a private performance. Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve is described as the “green heart of Guyana”, and covers a million acres of pristine rainforest. The raised canopy walkway on which I’m sitting allows me a better view of some of the country’s 800 bird species and 7,000 plants and – if I’m lucky – I may catch a glimpse of an elusive jaguar. The reserve was created in 1996 as a “gift” to the international community, so research could be carried out […]
Fishing in the Jungle Rivers
For myself, old friends Nick Houlgate and John Petchey and, more recently, my brother Ian, February 2013 was not our first trip to the beautiful Country of Guyana. In fact this was our third visit in as many years and the reason can be found in Guyana’s other title, “The Land of Many Waters “. For we are four men from the UK who share a passion for sport fishing and we have travelled all over the World over many years in order to catch and photograph exotic fish species. This may seem a strange past- time to most people whose usual experience of fish is something which turns up on a plate at meal times but to us the challenge of hunting and catching fish and to record and photograph them before returning them unharmed to the water, holds far more appeal. In fact, in some of the Countries we have visited in the past there is almost no understanding of the concept of sport fishing and letting fish go to live another day is not only bewildering to the local people but has even caused friction at times. This is an attitude that we can understand from a […]
Have a Wild Life
Wildlife Clubs of the North Rupununi By: Samantha James Since 2001 the wildlife festival has been held in Annai, North Rupununi, for three days. And in keeping with the spirit of sharing, clubs from all over Guyana are invited to attend and take part in the celebrations. A long time ago, in a forest far, far away, researchers worked day and night peering under rocks, water and the earth. They searched high in the canopy and between the leaves, learning about the plants and animals that live in the Iwokrama Rain Forest. This work was so interesting and informative, that neighbouring community members decided to get involved in environmental research in their own backyards, and, 10 years ago, the Wildlife Clubs of the North Rupununi were born. Wildlife or environmental clubs are community initiatives and provide an opportunity to gain firsthand experience of the natural resource management and to develop a strong sense of caring for the environment. Club activities marry traditional or local knowledge with scientific techniques and create a powerful tool for local management of natural resources in a fun and interactive manner. For example, in the North Rupununi, Iwokrama has been supporting wildlife club activities such as […]
Journey of a Lifetime
Every two years a group of women from the UK seek out an unusual destination for a holiday. Not just any holiday, but one that will challenge them on a number of different levels. The reason is to raise funds for a small UK charity called JOLT (Journey of a Lifetime), which takes disadvantaged and disabled children on month-long journeys abroad. These women travel to somewhere unusual and undertake something never attempted before in order to raise sponsorship money that goes directly to making the teenagers’ journeys possible. In October 2011 the destination was Guyana, and our aim was to trek 150 miles through savannah, mountains and forest in 10 days. We knew that this was a first for a group of tourists. Our team of six comprised Dorothy Dalton (leader), Olivia Hussey (doctor), Pat Skacel, Lindsay Driscoll, Nina Stubbs and Lesley Raymond. Three of us were in our 60s while a fourth celebrated her 60th birthday in Guyana, so we were not your usual trekkers. Once in Guyana, we quickly learned that our training in the UK was not particularly helpful in preparing us for the challenge we had set ourselves. Fortunately we had the most wonderful support team […]
An Adventure to Remember: Channing Tatum & Friends Explore Guyana
Guyana is rapidly emerging as the new jewel in the crown of rainforest destinations around the World. Because of its size, relatively few tourists and the remoteness of the interior locations, many trips are planned by local operators who know the place well and can best work the infrastructure and attractions of Guyana into a great tour. But if you want to do something a little different, your dates don’t match a scheduled trip or you need more of a bespoke package then that is no problem! One such person was movie star Channing Tatum and a group of friends who travelled to Guyana in 2012. They reached out to the UK and Guyana registered tour operator Bushmasters (who specialize in adventure and survival experiences in the jungle) to develop a trip which would push these guys to the limits, to see if they can handle life without all the luxuries of home, but also to have some serious fun and memories to last a life time. Channing and his friends flew to Surama, but of course en route they stopped off at the amazing Kaieteur Falls. The fact that it is in the middle of nowhere, has no cheesy […]