Saturday, Nov 16th, Georgetown, Guyana

 

Greetings!

After an early nature walk which turned out to be not early enough to hear many birds or see any animals, we had breakfast at the Lodge and boarded a boat to travel upriver.  Stopping at several places, Eugene provided us with the history and character of each.  Most were supply and access points for the gold, lumber, diamond, and other natural resource prospectors.

One of the stops was Bartica, where 70 Guyanese still live today.  We photographed the bold "One Guyana" sign symbolizing their resistance to the effort by Venezuela to annex the area north of the Essequibo River.  We walked a short way up the town beachfront, and met a delightful group of young women cricketplayers on their way upriver to a match.

On our return, we had lunch at poolside, and were met by Claude, who lives on the island.  He took us on a walk through the swampy coastal forest south of the Resort.  As a member of the Machushi tribe, who grew up in the forest, he was able to share much of the tribal lore and stories concerning the resources around us.

After the walk, Claude surprised us with a sloth he brought into the resort grounds from a nearby tree.  A pregnant female, somewhat smaller than others we have seen on other trips, but nevertheless a beautiful creature we were able to observe up close.

Late in the afternoon, we said goodbye to the Resort and took a local boat back to the Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel in Georgetown. 

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Saturday, Nov 16th, Georgetown, Guyana.