Category: Guyana

It is a wet drive to Surama. En route we could have stopped to see the nesting site of some cock-of-the-rocks. However, it was raining very hard and no-one felt inclined to brave it.

Surama
The Amerindian community of Surama lies at the very heart of Guyana, where eight square kilometres of savannah are surrounded by the forest-covered Pakaraima Mountains, at the edge of the Rupununi savannah. This isolated and idyllic location provides a fascinating insight into Guyana’s rainforests. Surama’s inhabitants are mainly from the Makushi tribe, who still observe many of the traditional practices of their forebears, and whose homeland is the now-protected Iwokrama Rainforest.

Wildlife worldwide

We are shown to ur room, which is a rustic cabana. It is clean but very basic. It does have a large power bank for charging phones and cameras, which is probably the best thing about it. It suffers from the same issue that Atta had, which is that no attempt has been made to screen the room from insects or wildlife. There is a large gap between the walls and roof. Birds happily fly to and fro across the room and make their nests in the thatch above our heads. They also like to deposit lots of droppings on the bed and our belongings.

The bathroom is very basic too. It is actually clean but does not look it. The floor slopes and so does the toilet, so you feel like you will fall off the back of it. None of our accommodation (apart from Georgetown) has hot water. Despite the air being warm the shower feels very cold and I am not getting used to it at all. Someone with a sense of humour has placed a Mercedes badge on the shower head.

After lunch we walk 5km through the rainforest to the Burro Burro River. This is the end of the dry season and the water levels are very low, which involves us walking probably 1 km further than we would need to when the river is at its height. Steep wooden steps lead to boulders, which we need to clamber over to reach the boat. We enjoy an hour long boat trip. It is a lovely change of pace after all the walking and wonderfully peaceful with just the gentle splashing of paddles.

It’s a long walk back and dark by the time we arrive at the lodge. We are hot and sweaty. A cold beer never tasted so good. After dinner some of us go on a night walk and we see some pretty cool and unusual creatures. Firstly a common potoo doing its best to look like the end of a dead branch. A master of disguise.

Two kinkajoos scramble above us in the forest canopy. I have never seen one before. They are related to raccoons.

There is a spiny rat and a large frog hiding in the leaf litter.

In the morning, there is a guided walk around Surama Village. Our guide stops and tells us about the history of the village and the way of life there. Close by is the church and health centre.

The school has a beautiful mural painted on the front wall depicting the rainforest.

We walk across the airstrip, which has a very infrequent service. The last plane landed here 6 weeks ago. Next to the airstrip there are vegetable beds and polytunnels, where the villagers grow their produce. Guyana produces pretty much all its own food. Scrawny cattle graze around the village.

Adjacent to the vegetables is a communal meeting place with benches. It has been planted with shrubs and flowers and humming birds love it. We also appreciated the shade and the ability to cool down a bit and rest our legs.

We say goodbye to Surama and I cannot say that I am sorry to be leaving. I enjoyed the experience of the area, but the lodge really does leave a lot to be desired. It was created by the local community, in the hope that it will create employment for the people of the village, so that they can remain there rather than seeking work elsewhere in Guyana. Interpretive guides have been trained to accompany visitors and ours was very good. He was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the bird life. The lodge would seem to be very much a work in progress and appeared to be only half built. The food was absolutely fine but honestly a tent would be so much better than that cabana.

Our next stop is Rock View Lodge at Annai, which is 420km south of Georgetown in the North Rupununi savannah at the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains.

The lodge is run by Colin (an Englishman who came here in the late 60s and never left) and his wife and family. The accommodation here is somewhat better with screened windows and a conventional, though rather dated, bathroom. Our room has a house guest.

Colin tells us that we have the room that King Charles stayed in when he visited there 26 years ago. I would say it has not changed at all, including the rather thin and flowery bed linen. Hanging on the wall in the bathroom is a faded photograph of Prince Charles (as he was then) taken on his visit there. Colin’s son shows us around the grounds. There are lots of cashew trees, which are the remnants of a failed commercial enterprise. A small swimming pool enticed some of the group in for a dip and a short climb to the top of a rocky outcrop revealed a super view across the savannah to the distant mountains. The family show us how cashew nuts are prepared. They contain a poisonous oil which needs to be burnt off at a high temperature. The nuts pop and huge flames suddenly engulf them. We stood well back! They are then cooled and the outer shell broken off. The nuts are ready to eat and taste good still warm from the fire.

Before dinner we have a beer at the Dakota Bar, so named from the once weekly flight that brought in supplies. A local tried to strike up a conversation with us but his English consists of two words, which are Britney and Spears, which he repeated frequently. We were very relieved when someone called us to supper. Colin hosted dinner and served aperitifs of rum and lime before our meal. We all sat around a large table. The food was good and plentiful.

In the morning we set off on the Panorama Trail Walk, which Colin and his business partner constructed with bare hands many moons ago. It is only a 300 ft ascent but it still left us hot and a bit breathless. The views were definitely worth it though.

We breakfast, have a demonstration of cotton spinning …

… and then depart for the Rupununi Savannahs in our distinctive vehicle. Colin sits and watches our departure.

The trip is meant to be half by road and then by boat. However, the river levels are very low, so the entire journey is made by road. I do not think that we are going to see nearly as much wildlife as we had hoped to, in these dry and barren conditions. We do stop at a small lake to photograph giant water lilies.

We arrive at Karanambu Lodge in time for lunch which is served on a long table beneath the spreading mango and avocado trees. The lodge comprises five cabins built from clay bricks. David Attenborough stayed here in the 1950’s when he was on his Zoo Quest adventures. From his description, I would say the lodge has changed very little over the years. Our cabana is spacious and has a huge bathroom. However, there is still no hot water and no mesh to deter any wildlife that wants to share our living quarters. A huge wooden platform is hung above the bed to catch any bat droppings from the rafters and we have a solar powered fan. Honestly, I really think it would be better to invest in a few yards of insect screening and chicken wire beneath the roof. Other countries manage it…. Below is our cabana.

There is a warm welcome and we are very much made to feel part of the family. In the afternoon we walk down to the lake. The walk is probably at least 1 km further than it would be in the wet season. We are shown where we would have boarded the boat then. The difference in water levels is immense. It is hard to imagine the area that we have just walked through all being under water. We continue through the tinder dry forest. There is a tiny snake on the path – little bigger than a sturdy bootlace. A tayra (type of weasel) scrambled through the canopy above us and a jaguarundi (small cat) scurried through the undergrowth. Both were too fast to photograph.

We are paddled across the lake. It is calm and beautiful. Jacanas and herons stalk across the lily pads looking for prey and a black hawk perches on a branch doing likewise.

The lily flowers open at dusk. We sit in the boat and drink delicious homemade rum punch and wait for the buds to slowly open. Not a bad way to spend an hour or too. Very glad I brought the bug spray though. There are a lot of small black flies.

The lodge has rescued an orphaned jaguarundi and we are lucky as it puts in an appearance during dinner. It plays with the lodge’s cat and is not much bigger. The main distinguishing thing is that it has an incredibly long tail.

Next morning we set out to look for giant anteaters at 05.30. This is a real adventure. Bench seats have been built across the back of two pickup trucks, where we perch and have a great view as we drive out over the savannah. The sun is just rising. The air is clean and fresh. Birds are just starting to wake up and go about their business.

Vaqueros have been sent out on horse-back to try to locate an anteater. It does not take them long. We leave the vehicles and set out on foot. We stand on a slight rise amongst the tussocks of grass and wait. In the distance we can see men on horseback and on foot. They appear to have adopted a pincer movement and are funnelling the anteater towards us. We have been told to be quiet and stand motionless. The anteater appears and it is heading straight towards us. It just seems to be ambling along slowly, but it is surprisingly fast. In no time at all, its image fills my viewfinder. The ground is thudding as it lollops towards us. All I can see is its snout in my lens. I feel as though it is going to crash into me. I raise my camera slightly to peep. It is enough to make it falter and turn away from us. Our guide was furious. “If someone hadn’t moved” he said “That would have come very close.” Well actually I don’t know how much closer you would want it to be. It was all of four foot away. Close enough I say with those 8” claws!

Anteaters have poor eye-sight and I actually believe that being so close it suddenly noticed us and changed course. We shall never know but just in case it was me, I apologised to him and the group. In my defence it was pretty flipping big in my viewfinder and I have a strong sense of self-preservation!

We spent the next few hours driving across the savannah to see what else we could find. The reality is that there is not a lot here. This land was grazed for years and although being returned to the wild, I think much of the indigenous fauna has long since gone. The land is regularly burnt back so insects and lizards are scarce too. David Attenborough talks about the landscape being covered in termite mounds. I am not sure that I have seen even one. There were some birds – burrowing owls and a few raptors but not a whole heap of anything else.

The water-hole below had a small amount of bird life but not nearly as much as I would have expected.

The only other mammals we saw were the vaqueros and their horses.

Paul chose to go fishing, rather than hunt for the giant anteater. The camp has an orphaned giant otter pup that is too young to hunt for itself. Staff go out regularly to catch fish for it. Paul asked to join them and see if he could catch some peacock bass. He had a hugely successful morning and caught quite a few. The lodge cooked them for our lunch. They made us breaded fish goujons with chips. They were delicious. In fact the food here is definitely the best we have had on the entire trip. That being said, I have found the meals at all the lodges to be wholesome and tasty with excellent food hygiene. No-one has had the slightest hint of a stomach upset.

In the afternoon we have a boat trip on the Rupununi River. On our walk there we see an owl peeking out of a tree hollow and a good number of roseate spoonbills.

We climb aboard our boat and motor slowly down the river. There are lots of birds and we have a very brief encounter with a giant river otter and a capybara. Both were skittish and sadly did not hang around long enough for even the slightest chance of a photo.

We had sundowners on the riverbank…

… and a BBQ under the stars back at camp. Paul lost his phone. We looked everywhere and could not locate it. In the end I made a call to it. A nearby plastic chair vibrated. The phone had managed to slip down inside the hollow leg. We would never have found it just by looking!

We set out early the next morning to see if we can find another anteater but no luck today. We do see more burrowing owls and a white-tailed hawk.

After breakfast we say goodbye to Karanambu and drive the short distance across the savannah to our final lodge – Caiman House. This is a black caiman research station with rooms. It is still morning but very hot at 34C and the rooms are definitely on the very basic side. A plus is that the bathroom is large and because it is so hot the water has some warmth to it when I take a shower.

We are told about the research program and at 16.30 walk through the village and down the sloping, gravelly and rather slippery track to the Rupununi River. I love being out on the water and enjoy the relaxing pace, whilst admiring the scenery and trying to spot birdlife.

We are shown a young black caiman. It has beautiful markings and is much more colourful than one would expect.

As the sun sets, insects swarm above the river and vast numbers of bats feast on them. Then it is time to observe the night capture of a black caiman. Obviously capturing a large caiman is a pretty dangerous enterprise. The team is professional and very well-co-ordinated. Everyone has a designated task and safety comes first. Once it is dark the capture team leave us and head up river in pursuit of a suitable specimen. The caiman is captured with a noose pulled through a long pole. A line is attached to the pole cable and fed through a guide on the prow of the boat and the pole removed. This ensures that the caiman is kept at a safe distance form everyone and remains in the river.

The boat then motors up and down the river for 15-20 minutes until the caiman is tired. This is quite an adrenaline packed thing to watch. During that time the caiman thrashes violently in the water and bangs noisily on the side of the boat with its immensely powerful tail.

Once tired a second noose is put on the caiman around its neck and it is held by the side of the boat whilst a third noose is placed over its jaws , which are pulled shut then securely taped up. The boat then comes ashore and the caiman is laid on the sand. It is really strange because the caiman now seems completely docile. It makes no movement or effort to escape despite not being tide up. Caiman are identified by snipping a small piece from one of the protruding scales on the caiman’s back. This one was captured eight years ago when much smaller. Calipers are used to measure size of the head.

It is gently turned over to determine its sex, which involves examining its cloaca (vent). This is a male as it has a penis structure within the cloaca.

It is securely bound so it can be lifted and weighed.

Then all the lines are removed and freedom awaits. Initially the caiman makes no movement – 10-20 seconds then zoom. In a flash it is gone.

That was a truly remarkable experience, but our evening is not quite over yet. We return to the launch site and wait for transport back to Caiman House. This turns out to be a large truck that requires a ladder to climb up into. Bench seats have been bolted in. We drive back up the rutted track at break neck speed. We are frequently thrown off our seats and, as we are so high up, we must hope that does not coincide with an overhanging branch. It was an exhilerating end to a most educational and thrilling evening.

Next morning we drive to Lethem on the Brazilian border and catch our flight back to Georgetown.

After our very basic accommodation in central Guyana the Cara Lodge Hotel in Georgetown feels like a 5 Star experience. Funny how one can re-calibrate one’s expectations so quickly. We luxuriate in our room with a hot shower and air-conditioning. Heaven!

We have a final group meal at The Backyard Cafe – an eco-restaurant serving organic food in a slightly dodgy backstreet in Georgetown. Our van stopped right outside to both drop us off and pick us up. We were not allowed to wait outside. The food was very good and course after course appeared. We could not do the volume of food justice but we did try.

We had a lazy morning with pickup to the airport scheduled at 12.00. In hindsight we should have asked for this to be much earlier and our issues were magnified by thev driver turning up at 12.35 after making a local airport drop-off. He apologised and said the traffic was awful. It was. The twenty mile journey to the airport took 3 hours. There were roadworks, numerous contraflows and long waits with nothing moving. When we arrived at the airport check-in was closed. There were 5 of us. We all had boarding passes so I said we should all just go straight to the gate and not check the bags in. The problem with this is that I was already carrying a heavy backpack with all my camera gear and I now had a soft bag probably weighing another 15kg to carry. Also we all had stuff in our bags like scissors and liquids that had to be dug out at security. This was all taking time that we did not have. Somehow we made it through the 30C airport and onto the plane. The cabin crew said we could not put our bags in the overhead lockers because they were the wrong size. We pleaded and were allowed to keep them. What a relief. However we then had a similar issue at Schiphol Airport where we only had 90 minutes to make our connection and had to carry all our bags again and clear security too. Somehow we made that connection too as the gate was closing. The gate staff were great and put our bags in the hold, which meant they were the first bags out in London. Every cloud….

It was all extremely stressful and definitely not to be recommended!

That having been said the trip overall was very worthwhile. We had an easy-going group who were considerate to each other and good company. It was most definitely an adventure and a very different and interesting experience from anything we have done before. It was a shame that there were not as many wildlife encounters as hoped for, but we learnt much about the indigenous people and their way of life. It was certainly challenging at times but all-in-all it was an highly educational and enjoyable holiday. Would I go back? No – I don’t think so but glad to have seen the country with my own eyes.

The airport in Georgetown is brand-new and impressive. This is clearly a country looking to grow as there are large oil reserves and I wonder how long it will be before the pristine rainforest suffers. It’s a 90 minute drive from the airport through industrial suburbs and along poor roads. We finally arrive at Cara Lodge Hotel at 19.30 and meet our fellow travellers. There are 10 of us altogether. It is quite a cosmopolitan group with 2 couples from the US, a couple from Germany, 1 lady from Canada and 1 from Finland. On first sight I am not sure how well we will get on. Time will tell….

Dinner is taken in a pretty internal courtyard. Service is exceedingly slow, which necessitates a second G&T. Unfortunately we could not have one as they had run out of tonic. A rum and sprite had to suffice. I ordered pesto alfredo. Not a wise choice. A huge glutenous mass appeared. Quantity not quality! At least the chicken on top was edible.

There was is no lift so we haul our luggage up the narrow stairs. Our room is on the 2nd floor, and takes time to locate amidst the rabbit warren of balconies. It is basic, but large and clean. The bed is comfortable and there is air-conditioning. We sleep well. Breakfast was simple with under-whelming, surly service. I had a stroll around the hotel grounds whilst waiting for our 11.30 pickup to take us to our charter flight to Kaieteur Falls.

We sit in the small private charter company’s airport lounge. We wait and wait. The flight is delayed but we do not know why. A packed lunch is brought to us. It consists of chicken, rice and bean salad and is quite tasty. We finally leave on a small 12-seater plane at 14.30.

The flight is over 200 km of pristine rainforest, but there is a lot of cloud cover so there is not much to see. The cloud lifts as we approach the falls. Our pilot circles them and we have an excellent view.

There is a small visitor centre where we meet the guide, who will take us to the falls.

He leads us along a track through the forest. He branches off into the trees, whilst signalling to us to be very quiet. We are very lucky indeed. In the distance I glimpse a flash of orange and then several more. We have found the stunning and colourful cock-of-the-rock. This is a bird that I have always wanted to encounter. I first saw its picture on a ‘Brooke Bond Tea’ collector’s card, when I was a child.

All too soon, we leave the beautiful birds and make our way to the falls. This is the dry season but the falls are no less impressive for that. Also it is just our little group. There are no crowds, no handrails or barriers, no people telling us to stay away from the edge. Just raw nature. Incredible.

Venezuela’s Angel Falls are greater in total height, but their drop occurs by stages. Kaieteur is a single cataract 100 meters wide created as the Potaro River makes a sheer drop of 228 meters, nearly five times the height of Niagara.

Giant bromeliads grow in the humidity along the cliffs and inside one I find the tiny endangered golden rocket frog, which is under 2 cm long. All too soon, it is time to re-board our plane. Our pilot kindly makes another couple of low circuits above the falls and we capture some good video.

We could not face another meal in the hotel so take a five minute walk to Froggy’s Grill, which was recommended by our driver. I was not sure about the wisdom of walking around Georgetown at night on our own, but we survived it. Service was slow. It was International Women’s Day and Georgetown was incredibly busy. The food was good when it arrived and significantly better than anything on offer at our hotel.

We are up early for the internal charter flight to Iwokrama River Lodge. The flight is supposed to depart at 08.00. Time-keeping and communication is an issue here. Again we wait and we wait. No explanation as to the delay but we finally leave at 12.30. Somebody says it was because it was raining. If that is the case then I am surprised that any flights ever make it. This is rainforest for goodness sake. Guess what. It rains! We arrive at the lodge at 14.30. Our room is a little cabin with a verandah. The view is lovely and lots of birds flit around the grounds. Although we do not know it yet, this turns out to be the best accommodation of the trip. The room is not particularly large but it has that rare thing in Guyana – screening to prevent insects and wildlife invading the room. No hot water though and we never really adapt to that throughout the trip.

We have a light lunch and then go for a trail walk. Sadly there is not much to see as it is raining and all the animals are hunkering down. We have dinner at 19.00 then go out on a boat on the Essequibo River to see nocturnal creatures. We see lots of caiman and a green iguana, although it does not look that green.

This morning we have opted to hike up Turtle Mountain. This requires an early start with breakfast at 06.00. We then take a 30 minute motorboat trip along the Essequibo River to the start of the trail.

The trail is 2 miles long with an ascent of 300m. This does not sound very challenging, but this is the rainforest. There is no air movement, 100% humidity and a muddy and slippery trail. It is a 2 hour hike to the top and I am very glad that I have brought walking poles with me. It was very hot and by the time we reached the summit we were all soaked in sweat.

It was worth the effort though. The views were good and we even saw a spider monkey posing nicely in the canopy below us.

The descent seemed much easier and at the bottom we drained our water bottles and then took shelter from a sudden downpour at the research station.

In the afternoon we took a boat trip to see the rapids and Amerindian petroglyphs at Kurupukari Falls. The carvings on the stones are 6000 years old.

Local people are swimming and washing their clothes in the river.

We have time to disembark, wander along the riverside and pick our way across the rocks.

There is lots of birdlife, although I fail dismally to capture any great shots of them. I do better with the little things.

There is just one red dirt road that runs from Georgetown to Lethem on the border with Brazil. The only way to cross the Essequibo River, which blocks its path is by the tiny ferry below. There is now a plan to tarmac the road and build a bridge here, which will totally open up Guyana and change it forever. I am glad we have come now. It will be a very different place in a few years time.

We rise early for a final walk before breakfast. There is lots of birdsong, but in the dense vegetation birds are hard to spot and we have few sightings. A local Amerindian couple are walking along the track and tell us that they have just seen a tapir. We walked to where they saw it. We see its tracks but sadly no sign of this shy and elusive animal. We collect our bags from our room. I do a final check and then think “Where are the passports?” I can’t find them. Then I remember that I put them in the desk drawer. There they are along with leads and camera batteries. A good job I checked and lesson learned. If there is no safe, keep them in your backpack.

Transport to our next lodge is an hour’s drive along that bumpy red dust road that I mentioned yesterday. Transport is in a converted Land Rover with benches replacing the backseats. We share the ride with Rachel, Gabi & Christoph. It really is not that comfortable and it is very easy to hit your head when clambering in, which is exactly what Christoph did.

An hour’s drive takes us to the far side of the Iwokrama Forest and our next home for 2 nights – Atta Rainforest Lodge. This is a little oasis in the middle of the rainforest.

The grounds are well manicured and have been planted with shrubs and flowers, which attract an abundance of dragonflies, butterflies and hummingbirds.

There is a short trail walk before lunch and we see this pretty red-fan parrot.

After lunch we visit the canopy walkway, which is a 500 metre walk from the lodge. This sounds easy, but it is draining as the walk involves more than 200 steps, which are roughly hewn out of the forest floor. It is hot and exceedingly humid. The actual canopy walkway looks very old and not that secure. The fact that one of the walkways is now out of action says a lot. Anyway, having come so far, I am determined to give it a go. The metal grids that you walk on are only loosely connected to each other so the whole thing feels very unstable. Fortunately I do not suffer from vertigo, and despite feeling that the whole thing is pretty unsafe, I am happy to look around me and admire the view as I traverse the bridge. The tree platform is not much better. It is secured with rusty bolts and cables. Disconcertingly, it also moves rather a lot too! Paul was less happy and immediately turned round and headed for terra firma as did several others.

I reach for my binoculars and survey the forest canopy. Not much to see initially. Not even any birds. A very different experience from Ecuador where the forest seemingly teemed with wildlife. Still perseverence pays off and in the far distance, probably a mile away I spot some howler monkeys. Even with the zoom lens they are tiny dots.

The sun is setting and we need to return while we can still see where we are going. We hear clicking noises and rustling in the undergrowth. A herd of peccaries appear ahead. Our guide tells us to stand our ground. He says they can be aggressive, but only if they raise the bristles on their necks and click their teeth. Um…. Guess what? That is exactly what they are doing. The two big males at the front edge forward and look pretty intimidating. There is nowhere for us to go. I decide the best form of defence is to make sure that I am standing behind someone else!

I’ve taken a couple of screenshots from the video that I took with my phone. Sorry it is very grainy. First picture is the aggressive males, second one is when they decided to scarper and literally several hundred peccaries stampeded across the trail in front of us. That was quite something!

I really like the lodge. It has a very welcoming feel and the staff take a pride in it. G&T is impossible to obtain here. We introduce the group to rum and ginger ale. It’s a winner.

In the morning we walk down to the main road to birdwatch. It is nigh on impossible to see the birds in the jungle but in the open space beside the road it is easier. It may seem a strange place for nature viewing but despite this being the main road through Guyana, it is not the M1. There may be a vehicle every half hour or so, accompanied by a dense cloud of dust. I am annoyed that I did not bring my long lens on this trip as my medium lens with converter just does not have the reach for distant birds. We saw lots – but no photos worth keeping.

Back at the lodge it is easier and I take pleasure in watching the numerous lizards, birds and insects that frequent the grounds.

After breakfast we have a trail walk and are lucky enough see some spider monkeys. They are such strange looking creatures.

Torrential rain in the afternoon prevents any further activities. It continues to morning so we have ample time to pack. During the night there was a lot of squeaking and scratching in the rafters. In the morning there were loads, and I mean loads, of rodent/bat droppings on the table in our room and pretty much over anything that had been placed on the table. Yuck. I was very grateful that we had a mosquito net to prevent us becoming covered too.