Guyana Caribbean in South America?
Guyana | Country 15 | 4 day |
Guyana is a beautiful country, and only more good things will come with the new discovery of oil deposits off its coast.
Sending best wishes that Guyana and Venezuela can find a meaningful compromise.
Some aspects of the Guyana trip that I find really unique:
- A seawall that surrounds Georgetown
- A mixture of Carribean (90%) and South America
- A mixture of Indians (40%) and dark skins
- A British past like Belize, but with a Dutch connection like Suriname
- A connection to “Drinking the cool-aid”
I arrived at Georgetown at 11:30pm in the evening. Every single taxi driver at the airport were from the same company and had the exact same charge to Georgetown.
My taxi driver had to find an ATM for me at midnight because I couldn’t exchange money from the airport.
Finding the Airbnb was a challenge because it was dark and that there isn’t really a street number for the house. I was so glad to finally find Travis, my host.
Georgetown
Buying a sim card was pretty darn difficult for foreigners. Guyana doesn’t exactly have a lot of tourists when I visited in 2022. I somehow managed when a vendor registered me and my passport on the streets of Georgetown.
The population of Guyana is around 40% Indian and 60% others. I was glad to find many Chinese grocery stores as well (very common in many Carribean / Eastern Europe countries). My only complaint is that the only Asian food they have is chowmein or fried rice.
- The doubles are vegetarian and delicious!
Georgetown is surrounded by a giant seawall. The immediate soil off the coast are thick marsh lands with all kinds of birds wondering around.
When I visited, the rain came and went all day long.
The 1783 monument is dedicated to the Berbice uprising
On a heavier note, Jonestown, the origin of the phrase “drinking the cool-aid” connects both Guyana and San Francisco Bay Area where I came from for an event in the 1980s.
Local life
Pepper pot beef - the national dish that’s full of spices | Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of these breakfast / street food dishes
Taking the bus is quite typical of the Caribbeans, where a van picks up and drops off passengers.
I enjoyed visiting the malls and cooling off from the humidity. I also tried to visit the university but unfortunately it was not open to the public.
The Indian culture is very strong in Guyana, much like countries like Fiji.
Guyana was a fantastic experience. I will be back to visit the waterfall one day, perhaps when I travel to Suriname.
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