The only English speaking country in South America is also the least visited, but has one of the most awe inspiring waterfalls in the world
Guyana which is bordered by Suriname to the east, Venezuela to the west, and Brazil to the south is the only predominantly speaking English country in South America. The country also has the least amount of tourists based on certain statistics in South America.
In 2015, one of the biggest offshore oil reserves in the world was discovered off the coast of Guyana which has led to prices of goods going up and new buildings popping up all over (mostly in the outskirt of Georgetown). Prices were extremely high for food here and a lot of the stuff at the supermarket was imported from the United States or Europe.
As we entered Guyana by ferry from Suriname, our first stop overnight would be the tiny town on the border of Skeldon. The city is not big at all and has one major street, but was always very busy with markets and people selling stuff.
From Skeldon, it was a few hour journey to the capital of Georgetown, situated on the ocean. Along the way it was of interest to see some of the small towns with the houses built on the stilts
I cant say that Georgetown is the nicest city I have ever been to, with constant traffic and heat, the city was very difficult to navigate through. The market was a highlight, however people were not friendly like they are in most markets and it was very difficult to move through it for photography. The houses were old but with the influx of money, they are building new buildings in different areas…
The highlight of Guyana is of course Kaieteur Falls. Kaieteur Falls is about four and a half times the height of Niagara Falls, on the border between Canada and the United States, and about twice the height of Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa.
Pretty much the only way to get there is take an hour plane flight from Georgetown and it is dependent on weather. We were three hours late taking off so we had our trip there cut short but it was still a magnificent sight. We were able to see it from the plane as well as go to different viewing points.
The roads leaving Georgetown headed south were not as bad as I was anticipating but a lot of the road was not tarmac. It was interesting to see the little villages outside of the city with how people live. As we drove down, the land was almost desert like with forests, but soon gave way to a rain forest.
As the road became bleak with any signs of vehicles and we took another early morning ferry crossing, we ended up in Iwokrama National Park and did a canopy walk. I would not say it was one of the better canopy walks I have done, but we were still able to see the rain forest and a few birds that live in it…
A few hours after the rain forest, we came out to what seemed to be a savanna grassland. It looked something out of the Serengeti or Masai Mara, but without the animals. It looked like it had not rained there forever and some of the grassland was turning into dried up grass and bushes, this lasted all the way to the border with Brazil…
Guyana had its charm to it (outside of Georgetown) and with all of its varying landscapes, made for some very good photography. There is not much else to do here and they really have not built up their tourism sector. I would hope in the next few years with the oil they have discovered, that they are able to build up the country better, especially for the people who are less fortunate.
3 responses to “Guyana”
Quite interesting. So Guyana has the longest waterfall, twice Victoria falls!! And they’ve also discovered oil. But it might not bring peace. All countries with oil don’t know peace. Keep up man!
In the food markets of all 3 countries you have recently visited (Fr. Goiana, Surinam, Guyana) I notice certain veg staples over snd over: eggplant, large hunks of orange squash, okra, cassava root. Eggplant aside, the other items are huge in Afro-Brazilian cuisine. Eggplant features largely in Indian dishes.
Your pictures make me want to grab a huge hunk of squash, cut it up, cook it with hot peppers and garlic and serve over a plate of rice and beans!
Yea I have been eating all of the above, although I am not a big fan of cassava and never will be. The food is changing a little bit as we get into the amazon but the staples are still there. I was a big fan of the beans with sausage over rice. It was about a buck and a half for a big plate.