Into the Hinterlands

In a few days I will head off on two epic journeys to the hinterlands and in the process will then have travelled to all 10 regions of Guyana. The purpose of my travel is of course for work and I will be meeting with the remote regional health centres to gather information and to do some training on data collection. I’m really looking forward to both doing the work and seeing the hinterlands.
First up is a 3 day trip to remote Mabaruma in Region 1 where access is by a 6 hr boat/bus trip, I plan to fly and then walk in instead. The guesthouse I booked had rooms with electricity being optional and at an extra $3000GYD ($15 CAD) per night! I agreed to pay for the decadent thrill of electricity (I want to see those tarantulas coming...as this region is notorious for large and frequent insect sightings) to then find out from a friend that electricity is usually only available there for a few hours per day if at all. I have been advised to bring my own food, water, mosquito net, candles, flashlight, batteries and insect repellent! All these supplies within my very scant weight allowance on the tiny plane, where you and your luggage are weighed before travel. Region one borders Venezuela and is apparently beautiful and the jumping off point for chartered trips to the alluring Shell Beach to witness the giant nesting turtles. Parts of the Guyana Venezuela border are in dispute and you can apparently easily cross illegally into each country from this area, but it is of course ill advised. As much as I’d love a quick day trip to Venezuela I won’t be doing it illegally, so my spare day in region one will likely be spent avoiding tarantulas and maximising my electricity options and computer work time.
Then it is off to Region 9 for six days, the wild west of Guyana, the region to the south that borders Brazil and is home to the famous Rupununi savannah. Many VSO’s are stationed in this region mostly working in agriculture and eco tourism development so it will be great to see them in action. The town of Lethem is home to around 2500 citizens and serves as the economic hub of this part of the country. Road access to this area is notoriously brutal with 12 – 20 hour bus trips reported depending on road conditions. Brazil is in fact in negotiation with Guyana to pave this section of road for them as it would give Brazil better access to the port in Georgetown. Once again I am lucky and will be flying down. But I inadvertently planned this trip during the busiest weekend of the year which means there are no accommodations available so I will now be sleeping in a hammock in the back of a VSO’s house for five nights...yes in a hammock strung outside, and I have been warned it is kaboura fly season to boot! The kaboura are a day time miniature black fly with a bite so nasty that it leaves welts and scars. Two VSO’s last week showed me the damage to their legs....and yikes....I seem to have the kind of skin bugs really enjoy snacking on here in Georgetown so have decided to take all the advised precautions...The locally produced Crab oil, which is called Andiroba oil in North America and is known for its healing properties and its particular bad smell is apparently a good deterrent. I have been advised to layer my skin first with the pungent crab oil, then spray as on much toxic deet as possible, then to wear tights tucked into socks and then spray again and also to spray your mosquito net!!! This approach sounds hot and well really really smelly….but better smelly than eaten perhaps? It is also a malarious and yellow fever area and they have snakes, biting scorpions and giant stinging millipedes…so ok maybe I will wear socks after all and will need to remember to take my nasuaa inducing malaria tablets in advance.
The rite of passage of sleeping in hammock will be exciting as it seems almost everyone else I know in Guyana at some point in their travels has been required to string up a hammock. I have had advice on how to best sleep in one, (diagonally and with net tucked in) and to be careful as it can cause an aching back and shoulders if slept in incorrectly. Realistically I will probably like the idea of sleeping in a hammock more than the actual doing of it. A few months ago I bought a beautiful maroon travel hammock and am looking forward to breaking it in, that is if I can get it strung up…I had trouble with this task when I last tried it out in Trinidad.
Region nine will be hosting an old style rodeo and dance, and is home to restaurants, a peanut factory, beautiful nature hikes, waterfalls and savannahs and is right across the border from Brazil so there will be no lack of things to do on the days in between my work. A side trip to Brazil might be fun and is rather tempting, but will depend on my ability to get a VISA in time and if I decide it is worth it to pay the exorbitant fee they are asking for the privilege of day trip. But they do sell coffee and snazzy flip flops there!
So happy Easter to everyone, this will be an unusual one for me as I will likely spend it fending off giant insects and biting flies while trying to sleep comfortably outside in a hammock and will hopefully not incur any nocturnal sightings of jaguars or anacondas in the process. Oh and I might just go to my first ever rodeo, where chances of eating some Easter chocolate is very low but drinking rum is very high! Yehaw y'all.