[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7wRf1cdByL4/Us6GDjQq1mI/AAAAAAAAZDQ/KliJ8ASE1dw/s144-c-o/P1080012.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5966853951875372642″ caption=”The scrap merchant’s house in Georgetown” type=”image” alt=”P1080012.JPG” ]

I woke well rested at a reasonable time, the five hours jetlag are easy to overcome in this direction.
I got a breakfast visit from Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh, the director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, who was happy to help organise and to arrange some press the next day and on my launch. Thanks!

Ben also showed up soon, and he was so nice to drive me first to the Suriname embassy to get my “entrance ticket” to the neighbouring country. I had already bought an 50 $ expensive tourist visa in Trinidad, which was stamped in my passport, for multiple entry (they didn’t offer me anything else…), but I didn’t notice it was only valid for two months, plus I also had to get a new passport on my break in Germany. It would have worked if I’d not have been stopping already in Guyana but in Suriname or French Guiana…This new tourist card really looks only like a ticket, is not attached or stamped into the passport, and is valid three months after entry. The Suriname embassy in Trinidad was obviously out of this cheaper and easier version…?

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-h_JlQkejX3U/Us6E6elTOGI/AAAAAAAAZC0/gMXTjYpqcys/s144-c-o/P1080010.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5966852696489277538″ caption=”With Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh, the director of the Guyana Tourism Authority,” type=”image” alt=”P1080010.JPG” ]

Here, they didn’t let me into the embassy until I proved to have the necessary passport copy and was appropriately dressed (which I fortunately was). The initial discussion was simply made through the metal bars of the high fence… ok…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6RLNvaVVYfM/Us6FjSCZckI/AAAAAAAAZC8/f654QhlzeDg/s144-c-o/P1080011.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5966853397496296002″ caption=”Ben ter Welle, a Dutch national, is the Honorary Consul of both Germany and Austria in Guyana. Multinational world!” type=”image” alt=”P1080011.JPG” ]

Next stop was a check on a possible launching site at the mouth of the river, but unfortunately it was also all concrete, metal and rocks. But I was lucky to meet in a nearby office with Petra, a nice East-German immigrant and friend of Ben’s, for an entertaining chat. The ideal launching site we found simply at the coast guard Marine station where my kayak was stored. A wooden launching ramp, still in g water at the end on low tide, which it  unfortunately will be early morning on Friday, my starting day. Also the kayak doesn’t have to ride on a car which I am always scared of in this exotic traffic. Thanks to the Guyana Navy to look after my kayak in my absence!

The drive through the city visiting the different sites gave me another good look sightseeing Georgetown. I love the wooden colonial style houses, many of them well restored and used either for authorities, offices or lodges. But also many of them are suffering a destiny of simply rotting and will fall apart one day. New buildings in concrete at least make not too bad of a valuable effort to match the old style. In the many ditches crisscrossing the city everywhere grow sometimes pretty marsh plants and flowers, but more often are simply ugly rubbish dump places – a pity! The cemetery style here are concrete coffins sitting on top of the wet land more or less hidden with marsh plants and reed, almost looking like floating coffins on an overgrown lake.
One wooden house stood a bit out – it was the home of a scrap merchant. Not sure if he was still living in there, as you could barely see the house almost fully covered under the piles of different metal pieces. Ben reassured me he is the place to go when you need anything metal you can’t find in a “regular” shop! And he will always find the needed piece in his huge pile around the near submerged house…

In the afternoon, I visited a local market which attracted me with the many fruit stands outside. They are looking not much different to ours, but inside the huge wooden market hall, it was the world of Old Guyana. One very small stall next the other, organized in narrow unpaved rough soil aisles with similar goods, from fruit to veggies to meat to fish to hardware to drugs to shoemakers to clothing to simply general stores, it was all there, rather reminding me of a souk in Morocco or in the far east. There were far more dealers than customers around, and I was really wondering how they are all making their money. Maybe the afternoon was just a quiet time, where the many dealers found pleasure to call after a lonely single tourist woman. You don’t see many other European looking tourists here, the few that come are rather visiting the jungle on the tracks of the lush wildlife and nature Guyana has to offer in abundance…
Just the meat and fish stalls were giving me some doubts about the hygene standards, as I didn’t see many cooling counters, and the animals were butchered on the spot. Feet, tails and tongues also as raw skulls were gazing at me, not really a tempting sight for a European person used to buy lean abstract meat pieces sealed in plastic trays out of the freezer or at least well cooled.
One broom dealer presented outside a nice big bundle of mops and brooms, just aside of a ditch bank covered with the usual many plastic trash. The citizens should make a joint run on the brooms and start cleaning their own environment…

On my last day in Guyana in November, I already visited a “large” supermarket to check what’s available here, but now I realize that most people still don’t go there but may prefer the traditional market style. It seems to work! Still I preferred to bring a bunch of my own trip food from Germany, being spoiled to have what I am used to and which I know would keep well in the heat and has low volume and high energy also as tickling my palate enough to keep me happy for at least a while.

On my city walk I came past a primary school, and enjoyed the view of the well and very creatively braided small girls in their cute school uniform dresses, as well as the cute naughty looking small boys. Kids are all the same all over the world! Just next door was the Moslem’s primary school, also mixed boys and girls on the court yard, but I assume they may still be educated in separate classrooms? The small girls were all full covered with their traditional long dress code with long pants underneath, a covered head with a scarf combo, but with an open face. The boys had the small islamic hat on their heads. 10% of the population here are Moslems.

I didn’t feel comfortable to take pictures anywhere at the school or on the market, respecting the friendly people everywhere and not wanting to stand even more out as a naughty tourist than I was already feeling like being one. I am hoping my descriptions are giving you enough of an idea how it’s like here!