Georgetown Guyana

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Georgetown Guyana
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Georgetown Guyana: This is the first hotel I used in Georgetown; the $75 Bransville Apartment Hotel.

Georgetown Guyana: Sign in front of the city water department. Tank trucks fill up in front of the property for deliveries to homes without pipes.

Georgetown Guyana: Gasoline is not cheap in Guyana.

Georgetown Guyana: The sign is a reminder that not far from Georgetown miners still dig diamonds and gold.

Georgetown Guyana: View from this upstairs dining room of the KFC restaurant near the seedy market area downtown.

Corriverton Guyana: Looking north up the street in front of the $40 Malinmar Hotel I used for my two night stay as I awaited the "next" ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: View of the river behind the $40 Malinmar Hotel I used for my two night stay as I awaited the "next" ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: "Holy" cows roam the streets just like they do in India. There is a large Indian population here.

Corriverton Guyana: "Holy" cows roam the streets just like they do in India.

Corriverton Guyana: Mosque.

Corriverton Guyana: Mosque closest to the main area of commercial activity.

Corriverton Guyana: One of the two mosques in town. Many of the Indians are Muslims.

Corriverton Guyana: One of the two mosques in town. Many of the Indians are Muslims. (Vedic?)

Corriverton Guyana: Hospital; glad I didn't get sick here.

Corriverton Guyana: Sign in front of the "hospital." Stray animals roam all over the town, so the sign may mean what it says!

Corriverton Guyana: Flowers along the road.

Corriverton Guyana: Billboard showing the layout of the sugar mill behind it.

Corriverton Guyana: Around the ferry terminal. These are government housing for the ferry operation personnel.

Corriverton Guyana: The landscaped area around the ferry terminal includes this remarkable tree which seems to have been evolved to provide a lot of shade.

Corriverton Guyana: It is hard to believe, but there is a Duty Free shop next to the ferry terminal out here in the boonies.

Corriverton Guyana: Parking lot for the ferry terminal.

Corriverton Guyana: Government tourism promotional posters around the ferry terminal.

4-10 April 2006

Greetings from Georgetown Guyana,

After leaving Venezuela I jumped over to Trinidad in order to make a plane connection to somewhere in the Guyanas. That somewhere turned out to be Georgetown Guyana, a truly Third World capital city not unlike many I saw in Africa. The city center teemed with aggressive surly young men yelling at one another and the rare white face walking through their boisterous midst. The worst area is around the main city market where all the mini-buses scramble for passengers. Every bus conductor wants you to use his bus regardless of where you want to go, so information about which bus number goes where is kept secret; one person telling me one thing, someone else another.

Many people yell pleasantries as I wander the streets. Nearly everyone I pass on the street greets me in one way or another. Most are clearly friendly, but a large minority are either uncomfortable with the encounter, outright hostile or displaying predatory behavior. It is hard to tell which of the "hello's" are genuine friendly greetings and which are opening gambits for panhandling or something more sinister. I am convinced this is truly a city where strangers need to continuously be on their guard anywhere outside the few upscale hotels. Lonely Planet travel guide highlights security concerns for its readers traveling in Guyana.

My second day in Georgetown Guyana I went exploring the really seedy area where the minibuses congregate, ironically near one of the two KFC restaurants in town. While there a group of men clad in t-shirts and shorts, barefoot attempted to engage me in an extortion scam. As I worked my way through a crowded covered walkway near the riverfront, one man shouted in a commanding voice "Hey, Steve. Come here." Walking on a few seconds later his confederate dashed up to my side grabbing my shoulder and informed me that "Hey man, Immigration wants to talk to you." Fortunately, I immediately recognized their opening gambit and ignored the rest. Shaking myself loose from his grip I walked on without changing my stride or behavior, all the while looking for a window reflection that would give me some assurance the would be assailants had given up. They had.

The other KFC is in one of the upscale neighborhoods with a Pizza Hut next to it and about a half block from my second hotel, the $110 Roraima Residence Inn. It didn't take long to discover ATM machines only work with locally issued credit cards. However, several banks will arrange advances on international cards and one cashed a traveler's check for me. Gas is NOT cheap here, running about $3.50 per gallon. Because the country shares a border with Venezuela, smuggling dirt cheap Venezuelan gas into the country is a big business.

My Spanish, so agonizingly acquired during the past ten months is totally useless in Guyana where people speak what they assure me is English. Though a former colony of Britain, the English most people speak is so contorted only a native can understand most of it. When spoken slowly and in context I eventually managed to decipher some of it. Fortunately, people connected with the tourist industry have perfected a refined version... not unlike that spoken in other Caribbean nations.

Peace

Fred L Bellomy

Georgetown Guyana: Typical lush growth and old house.

Georgetown Guyana: Mural on the side of a fast food restaurant.

Georgetown Guyana: This is the first hotel I used in Georgetown; the $75 Bransville Apartment Hotel.

Corriverton Guyana: Old house; notice the "Not for sale" sign. It is hard to imagine the owner being hounded by prospective buyers!

Corriverton Guyana: Looking south down the street in front of the $40 Malinmar Hotel I used for my two night stay as I awaited the "next" ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: One of the many churches along the highway to the ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: Looking north up the street in front of the $40 Malinmar Hotel I used for my two night stay as I awaited the "next" ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: One of the two mosques in town. Many of the Indians are Muslims.

Corriverton Guyana: Krishna Mandir Hindu Temple here which serves a large Indian population in Corriverton.

Corriverton Guyana: "Holy" cows roam the streets just like they do in India.

Corriverton Guyana: Limited liability notice hardly seems necessary here around the ferry terminal.

Corriverton Guyana: Sign outside the Hindu Temple here.

Corriverton Guyana: This fellow told me a good deal about the Hindu community here.

Corriverton Guyana: Hospital; glad I didn't get sick here.

Corriverton Guyana: Passengers prepare to board the first ferry across the channel to the port of entry in Suriname.

Corriverton Guyana: Looking back at the Guyana terminal as the ferry crosses the river.

Corriverton Guyana: Ferry prepares to dock in Suriname.

END

Georgetown Guyana: Typical lush growth and old house.

Georgetown Guyana: BWIA Plane we used from Port of Spain Trinidad to Georgetown Guyana.

Georgetown Guyana: Religious and peace oriented activities are evident throughout Georgetown Guyana.

Georgetown Guyana: Flowers on the grounds of the first hotel I used in Georgetown; the $75 Bransville Apartment Hotel.

Georgetown Guyana: I watched a lot of construction underway at the hotel I used in Georgetown; the $75 Bransville Apartment Hotel.

Corriverton Guyana: Old house.

Georgetown Guyana: Crowd near the central market area.

Corriverton Guyana: Old house.

Corriverton Guyana: View of the street in front of the $40 Malinmar Hotel I used for my two night stay as I awaited the "next" ferry.

Corriverton Guyana: Activity around the ferry terminal as our van waits for transport across an intermediate river on the way to Corriverton.

Corriverton Guyana: Donkey cart returning from the ferry terminal as our van waits for transport across an intermediate river on the way to Corriverton.

Corriverton Guyana: On the ferry across an intermediate river on the way to Corriverton.

Corriverton Guyana: Mosque offers inspirational message.

Corriverton Guyana: Overgrown cemetery.

Corriverton Guyana: In one of the cemeteries.

Corriverton Guyana: Overgrown cemetery.

Corriverton Guyana: Hospital; glad I didn't get sick here.

Corriverton Guyana: Another view of the Hospital; glad I didn't get sick here.

Corriverton Guyana: Farm animals roam the streets just like they do in India.

Corriverton Guyana: Bollywood films are featured in this store.

Corriverton Guyana: Hotel I used for two nights while in the town. My room is the top left corner facing the street activity.

Corriverton Guyana: Around the ferry terminal.

Corriverton Guyana: Around the ferry terminal. This is the main (only?) road out from town.

Corriverton Guyana: Around the ferry terminal.

Corriverton Guyana: Arriving passengers at the ferry terminal.

Corriverton Guyana: Passengers prepare to board the first ferry across the channel to the port of entry in Suriname.

Corriverton Guyana: Ferry crosses the river. Suriname ahead.