Hello!
So apparently I'm really not so good at updating lately. I'm sorry. I actually did intend to update on Friday but the office (and therefore the internet) got closed up earlier than usual so I never got a chance to... I am supposed to actually work after all.
Anyways, I'll begin by saying tourism is not the most accessible thing around here. Not only is it not all that common to have tourists around here, by far the most tourists that do come are based out of Georgetown, so getting around has proven rather difficult. But the Iwokrama Nature Reserve was SO close to us that we just had to see it. So we bit the bullet and paid for drivers to take us. All in all we could have flown to Georgetown for the weekend for the same price as all our drives cost us, but I'm not likely to be back in Guyana any time soon so we just had to do it. We got picked up early Saturday morning. So early, in fact, that we were able to catch the sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately none of my pictures of it are really in focus, but here's one anyways:
Our first stop was about an hour and a half away at the Canopy Walkway which is near the south entrance to Iwokrama but is run by CATS (the same organization that runs the eco-lodge we stayed in in Annai a few weeks ago). The Canopy walkway is about 200 meters of swinging bridge through the canopy of the rainforest with 4 platforms to stop and enjoy the sights.
Here I am on one of the walkways. I know it's pretty safe and everything but that doesn't stop me from being a little nervous that's for sure! We spent most of our time while at the Canopy walkway on the highest of the platforms (about 100m above the ground... or was it feet? I know... big difference, but I can't remember... it was high that's all I know) hanging out on lawn chairs watching for wildlife. It was pretty cool but no great pictures because most of our time was spent doing this:
Which doesn't lead to great pictures because everything we saw was too far away. But we did get to watch a family of red howler monkeys hanging out and scratching and apparently sleeping in later than we do. We also saw quite a few creepy crawlies in and around the platform.
Like this. Can you tell what it is? It's a tarantula, but for some reason it doesn't have 8 legs. Who knows why, our guide didn't know either. But he was hanging out about 6 inches behind my chair on the tree... creepy!
After a couple hours at the Canopy Walkway we were picked up and taken to our final destination: the Iwokrama Field Station which is at the very north edge of Iwokrama. If you do the math, that means we drove through the ENTIRE forest. Kinda cool, but not as fun as you might think since none of the roads are paved and it's nearing the end of the rainy season... the roads are BUMPY. Apparently driving through the forest is the most likely time to see a puma or a jaguar, but we weren't lucky this weekend... no big cats for us.
The forest is bordered at the North by the Essequibo river. Literally you're driving through the forest and all of a sudden the road goes into the river.
Like this. Anyone going anywhere north of here in Guyana (usually Georgetown) has to wait here to catch a ferry across to the other side. We on the other hand got our own boat (seen here) to take us to the Field Station which is about a 5 minute boat ride west of the road on the same side of the river. Also in this picture you can see Cassius standing between Stacey and the boat. He was our own personal guide who was pretty much there to do whatever we wanted with us for the entire length of our stay. I'm used to backpacking where I barely ever even spring for the guided tours with one guide to 10 or 15 people let alone my own personal guide! Fancy!
The field station was absolutely lovely. Not only did we enjoy the basic luxuries we've been missing here at Bina Hill like electricity, a comfortable bed and a bathroom that doesn't involve walking outside to get to, we also were served all our meals in the circular, open air building looking over the river and the forest.
It was a little strange being there because we were the only guests. This was our table, always nicely set with our own waitress to serve us every meal. A little bit away (close enough to see, but far enough that they were separate) was where the many staff ate meals that didn't look nearly as yummy as ours and had to serve themselves. It was a little bit isolating.. but nice to be pampered for a day.
Saturday afternoon was a day of relaxation where we hung out on our porch in the hammock and comfy chairs reading and lifting our feet for a bit. We decided to forgo the available night-time activities because they mostly involved going out looking for animals we didn't really care to see like snakes and spiders and stuff (although I would have liked to see a black caiman). However, we were up early again the next morning to go on a boat tour to look for animals. We spent about an hour boating around Indian House Island mostly spotting birds. Lots and lots of birds. Highlight for me though: the red and green macaw! Macaws were the one animal I really regretted not seeing while I was in Costa Rica so that pretty much made my day.
This is the best picture I could get of them, but I promise they were cool. In fact, they pretty much looked exactly like this:
But unfortunately I had to get this picture from the internet.
When we got back from our boat tour, we had enough time to eat breakfast and get ready for our next adventure: a hike up Turtle mountain. To get to turtle mountain, we were back in the boat and had to go about 30 minutes east (ish... i think). The coolest part of the boat ride was this:
Because the water is so high right now, there are parts of the forest that are literally under water! So for about, oh I don't know, maybe 200 meters we were literally boating through the middle of the forest! Not only was that super cool, but it also shortened the hike :-)
Cassius is an awesome guide and was very good at spotting animals and the likes. PLUS he had a machete! Like in the movies or something, hacking our way through the forest :-P Not quite like that because the path was actually pretty well clear, but he was leading the way so we didn't get lost and so that when there was a vine or something in the path he could clear it for us. Like this:
Turtle Mountain is 940 vertical feet high. For some frame of reference, I think Wentworth is about 800 vertical feet. So probably not the highest I've ever hiked, but a decent hike for sure... especially after having gotten so little exercise the last few weeks. But boy was it worth it. When we got to the top we had the most spectacular view.
Sort of like this. The river you can see there is the Essequibo so we're looking North here. We spent about a half an hour just hanging out at the lookoff. Listening to the howler monkeys in the distance, watching the macaws fly over the canopy and just breathing it all in. It was unbelievable.
The way down was very much like the way up, but easier. At one point Cassius thought he heard a jaguar or puma and we literally almost went on a wild puma chase, but when we were about 20m off the trail we stopped to listen again and he decided it was just a bird so back to the trail we went.
Finally, one for my dad. Called the rose of the mountain I think it was a big tall plant with these flowers every few inches all the way up. Kind of cool.
We got back from our hike exhausted and satisfied. We had time for a shower, one last meal and a bit of relaxation before we had to retrace our steps from the day before (minus the stop at the Canopy Walkway) and head back to Bina Hill. It was a short trip, but pretty phenomenal.
Now we're starting our second last week here at Bina Hill. We found out today that most of the people here are leaving next Monday to head to Georgetown for Carifesta so it's almost like our last week. I'm working hard to finish up my project in the next couple of days so it can be looked at by them before they head out.
We're still trying to figure out a way to get to Boa Vista in Brazil this weekend, but we haven't quite figured out the logistics. Hopefully it'll work out and I'll have another adventure to write about before the summer's over.
That's it for today! Talk to you later!
Kaila
We're heading out for a nice last meal in Georgetown then up early early (or maybe late? can you call 2:30am early?) to head home. I'll try to update with some more pictures and stories sometimes in the next few days because the story about wanting to puke is no way to end my blog.
Our first stop was about an hour and a half away at the Canopy Walkway which is near the south entrance to Iwokrama but is run by CATS (the same organization that runs the eco-lodge we stayed in in Annai a few weeks ago). The Canopy walkway is about 200 meters of swinging bridge through the canopy of the rainforest with 4 platforms to stop and enjoy the sights.
Here I am on one of the walkways. I know it's pretty safe and everything but that doesn't stop me from being a little nervous that's for sure! We spent most of our time while at the Canopy walkway on the highest of the platforms (about 100m above the ground... or was it feet? I know... big difference, but I can't remember... it was high that's all I know) hanging out on lawn chairs watching for wildlife. It was pretty cool but no great pictures because most of our time was spent doing this:
Which doesn't lead to great pictures because everything we saw was too far away. But we did get to watch a family of red howler monkeys hanging out and scratching and apparently sleeping in later than we do. We also saw quite a few creepy crawlies in and around the platform.
Like this. Can you tell what it is? It's a tarantula, but for some reason it doesn't have 8 legs. Who knows why, our guide didn't know either. But he was hanging out about 6 inches behind my chair on the tree... creepy!
Like this. Anyone going anywhere north of here in Guyana (usually Georgetown) has to wait here to catch a ferry across to the other side. We on the other hand got our own boat (seen here) to take us to the Field Station which is about a 5 minute boat ride west of the road on the same side of the river. Also in this picture you can see Cassius standing between Stacey and the boat. He was our own personal guide who was pretty much there to do whatever we wanted with us for the entire length of our stay. I'm used to backpacking where I barely ever even spring for the guided tours with one guide to 10 or 15 people let alone my own personal guide! Fancy!
It was a little strange being there because we were the only guests. This was our table, always nicely set with our own waitress to serve us every meal. A little bit away (close enough to see, but far enough that they were separate) was where the many staff ate meals that didn't look nearly as yummy as ours and had to serve themselves. It was a little bit isolating.. but nice to be pampered for a day.
This is the best picture I could get of them, but I promise they were cool. In fact, they pretty much looked exactly like this:
But unfortunately I had to get this picture from the internet.
Because the water is so high right now, there are parts of the forest that are literally under water! So for about, oh I don't know, maybe 200 meters we were literally boating through the middle of the forest! Not only was that super cool, but it also shortened the hike :-)
Turtle Mountain is 940 vertical feet high. For some frame of reference, I think Wentworth is about 800 vertical feet. So probably not the highest I've ever hiked, but a decent hike for sure... especially after having gotten so little exercise the last few weeks. But boy was it worth it. When we got to the top we had the most spectacular view.
Sort of like this. The river you can see there is the Essequibo so we're looking North here. We spent about a half an hour just hanging out at the lookoff. Listening to the howler monkeys in the distance, watching the macaws fly over the canopy and just breathing it all in. It was unbelievable.
Finally, one for my dad. Called the rose of the mountain I think it was a big tall plant with these flowers every few inches all the way up. Kind of cool.
North Rupununi includes 16 villages, 6 of which you can see here. This is definitely the most densely populated area. The other villages all lie either somewhere on the road (in orange.. the only road around goes all the way from Brazil to Georgetown) or somewhere along the river (in blue... of course). I have in fact been to Kwatamang, Rupertee and near Annai, although not right in it. Most of the people here at Bina Hill live here. There are a couple however that either live in the nearby communities and walk to work (like the cleaner who is from Kwatamang) or from further away and drive in. Some, like the Medex drive in every day on his motorcycle. Others live further away and don't own vehicles so stay here most nights during the week and only head home on the weekends. The boys I refer to regularly consist of a couple that work here (either in the gardens or on the grounds or whatever), but mostly are a group of maybe 10 students here (boys and girls) preparing for their performance in Carifesta in Georgetown at the end of August.
So lets start from the front
On the left you can see 3 buildings. From closest to furthest they are the little store, the kitchen and the bathroom. On the right, you see the main building. The top floor of the main building has a couple rooms where people live, a community radio station and a big open area where they have meetings and workshops and stuff. The bottom floor has a couple of rooms that they put short-term guests in and the offices. Here is the main office where I spend most of my time.
The chair behind Stacey in the middle of the room is where I'm sitting right now (my laptop is behind the one you see facing you). The office has about 6 of its own computers (all laptops except the main one that has the printer and stuff) and can probably fit 6 or 7 people working simultaneously comfortably. I'm sure there has been more though.
This is the school. It's pretty dead right now except the Carifesta rehersals several times a day because they pretty much have the same school year as us. During the year it is an institute that apparently provides training in different trades. Kids come here either after or instead of going to secondary school. I don't completely understand how it works, but I talked to one girl who took Information Technology last year and wants to take Natural Resources next year. She is 15 years old and went straight from primary school to this place. I also heard that the Institute is working on getting itself recognized as a college or something like that.
These are the huts to the left of the road. I was relatively unfamiliar with this part of Bina Hill until recently, but the guy from the Peace Corps who arrived last week moved into the very last hut you can see here. He has a water filter, and we were going to be running out of bottled water in the store very very soon so I've started getting filtered water from him every morning. Very nice of him indeed :-)
The roofed area on the left is just a table with benches where you can eat, play checkers or just generally hang out. On the right you can see first a very little bit of the office, then the house that people I don't know very well live in (they specialize in Makushi culture and language though). Then there is another roofed little area that isn't really used at all except by the donkeys. Then finally you see the zinc roof that is our building. The front half of it is just open and has a hammock. The back half is our room, which I showed you yesterday.
This is where we do laundry. And on the right you can see some outdoor showers. I haven't used these ones though because I feel the walls were made for makushi people who tend to be quite a bit shorter than me and I don't particularly feel like flashing everyone here. Behind the laundry you can see some more huts where other people live. And if you keep walking about 200 meters further you get to the fish pond that I showed you the other day also.
This is my bedroom. On the walls you can't see are a couple of sets of shelves with all of our stuff, but this is basically it: 2 beds and a make-shift clothesline for our towels.
I don't know these kids names, but I've gotten to know them a little. The baby is the cleaner's son, so whenever she's working she brings one of the girls from her town with her to take care of him while she works. The older girls seems really good with him, and I'm very thankful because last week it was his 7 year old sister that was taking care of him and he is crying much less often this week. Plus it's hard for me to watch a 7 year old take care of a baby and not want to take care of both of them.
A donkey. They just roam around randomly. Sometimes they run, but usually only when the boys around here or the dogs start chasing them. We also get random roaming cows and horses.
This is the fish pond. On Sunday one of the boys (Bian) offered to take us to the fish pond. Not only was I not expecting only about a 100m walk, I also was not expecting a man-made fish pond. Apparently it was just dug a few months ago and they are going to be putting fish in. Nick (from the Peace Corps) was trying to tell him that it needs plants so that there can be oxygen in the water, but he seemed to think they could just throw fish in and they would be great. Or maybe I just wasn't understanding his english well, that's always a possibility around here.
And last, but not least, the puppies. I went out to try to get some pictures of them today, but don't know where they are at the moment. This is a picture of them nursing the first day the boys found them when they were (according to them) about a week old. Eyes closed, couldn't walk, it was quite the sight! Sorry I don't have a better picture of them, but believe me when I say they are cute :-)
