Greetings from Guyana!

• Jaime.hurlbut's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Bartica

Trip Start Aug 01, 2006 Trip End Jul 14, 2007 Next
Entry

  Bartica, Guyana
Saturday, August 5, 2006

Hey everyone!!

So i've been in Guyana for almost a week now and I am loving every minute of it. There are about 30 people in our group of WorldTeach volunteers, and they are all so friendly and awesome it is unbelievable :-) And the country of Guyana is just AMAZING. The people are extremely friendly and the landscape is absolutely gorgeous.

So our first five days here we spent CPCE (Cyril Potter College for Education) which is right next to the University of Guyana, which is just outside of Georgetown, the capital. At CPCE we learned more about the Guyanese culture, and had guest speakers from the Ministry of Education and from all around Guyana...it was pretty awesome. We also had some great group-bonding times at the local bar/restaurant :-)

So today we traveled from Georgetown to Bartica...first took a 1 hour bus west to Parika, then got on the ferry for a 5 hour boatride down the Essiquibo River

Demerara River

. Let me tell you...this was one of the craziest experiences of my life. We got to the ferry boat and it was just sooo busy---people and pineapples and carts of fruit everywhere and trucks trying to get places...just hectic. So we all had our big suitcases which we had to lug over rickety wooden ramps to get to the ferry. And then the ferry was pretty full already, and it was gonna leave soon, so we had to throw our 65 lb. suitcases over the side of the ferry---(30 people x 2 suitcases = 60 of those suckers). And that took a while and it was like 1000 degrees and we were all sweating and then the boat's horn went off and so then we all climbed on the railing and then jumped onto the boat...just in time!!

But even though we each had about a 1 ft. x 1 ft. space to stand in...the boat ride down into the interior was absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful vegetation on both sides and interesting houses on the banks of the river. And then it starting raining. haha---but it was okay cuz it cooled us all off anyways. So we get to Bartica...which by the way is awesome also--and it was kind of a repeat of the same crazy luggage situation. Frantically carrying/trying to role our suitcases on the wooden planks while trying to stay out of the way of everybody else. All in all it was a most unforgettable traveling experience :-)

So now we're in Bartica and this is our first real time on the internet...which we are all totally excited about. For these next 2 weeks of orientation we're going to learn more about the culture and have teaching practicums. Being here and learning the culture is so great...i can't wait to learn more every day. :-)

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Driving from the Airport to CPCE	Friendship Secondary School	Guyana from the Plane	i love the trees!
me in my little room	my little room i share with Alicia at CPCE	the local cantina :-)	Walkin Around
what does this sign mean??

Slideshow Print this entry Share Bartica hotels

Next Entry