Man made jungle – natural jungle

Back to civilization for the first time in three months. By air, this time. In a miniature aircraft, bumpy and instable. But with beautiful views over the jungle, the mountains and the rivers. A lot faster as well, it only took a little over an hour.
Georgetown, cars, loud music, many people, smells, noise everywhere. Strange how one can get used to the silence and tranquility within such a short timeframe. Coming from Amsterdam Georgetown seemed like a village, coming from Annai Georgetown seems like a metropolis. It was wonderful to see all the other volunteers again and to share experiences. While being in town one must enjoy it to the fullest. More social hours, less sleeping hours. My lack of milkshakes, fries, shopping, pina coladas and partying has been brought back to an acceptable level so I can deal with another couple of months without any.
The randomness of Georgetown always makes it an interesting experience. One night we were desperate to go into town for another round of drinks and a bit of moving feet. Latino’s – closed, Mojo’s – closed, The Edge – closed; off to Jerry’s, on the way stopped by a rasta man who invited us to a birthday party. Dark, reggae and dancehall, wining, Banks beer and a live band! True Guyanese/Caribbean party, the best! The following night we ended up at a party in a diplomats house. Well let’s say castle. Marble, comfortable sofa’s, washing machine and dryer, kitchen bigger than my house etc etc. He even had a soft carpet on the floor, me followed by some other hinterland volunteers ran circles over the carpet just because it felt so soft on the feet, so much better than the concrete in our houses. The contrast is amazing, all fun though.
Back in Annai the impossible became possible my house in Wowetta is finished. Well let’s say it’s livable. There is still a to do list. It feels wonderful though to have my own place with Heather (another VSO) of course. Immediately we were invited by the neighbour for dinner, very sweet and the food was great. A welcoming feeling.
After one day the water was finished, showering with buckets is always interesting. Hopefully the pump will be coming soon otherwise we hope and pray for rain to fill our tank.
No time to settle in because the next trip is awaiting. The South Pakaraimas, a subsection in region 9. A mountainous, remote area with limited numbers of visitors from outside. Why? Because it is so crazy hard to reach! But all the villages in the Pakaraimas have been targeted for our project so one way or another we shall go. I wasn’t too worried since I have been to quite some rugged terrain especially in Mongolia. Well guess again, the South Pakaraimas bring rugged to a whole new level. The first part can be done by vehicle, well a 4x4 and still that is quite a challenge. But then, the rest shall be done by ATV (or quad as we normally call it – ATV stands for ‘All Terrain Vehicle’ by the way), on the back because one has to be a very experienced driver. A little side note, the ATV is covered in stickers with the following notice: Do not drive with a accompanying passenger, this brings the vehicle out of balance and may lead to serious INJURY or DEATH (it’s in capitals on the sticker as well). Awesome!
Off we go, they drive like maniacs, hold on tight. The local guys are even quite nervous to access the roads to the neighbouring villages. Through mud, holes, rivers name it we do it.
Tiger Pond what a lovely village after our presentation they wanted to sing a song for us: ‘Marieke, you are included in the circle of love’ while standing in a circle holding each others hands. So lovely.
Back on the ATV to the next village: Pai Pang. The toshao of Tiger Pond also hopped on (even less balance). A steep river bank, through the river and up another steep and bumpy river bank. There flying Havaianas (slippers), the toshao flicked over, made a back flip and landed on his feet. Luckily he wasn’t hurt but it made me aware again of the danger. Arriving in Pai Pang all the villagers seemed to be in the next village. Not reachable by ATV according to the single Pai Pang villager that stayed behind. Our stubborn drivers decided different. Until we reached a river. Quite deep so not possible to go through. ‘We just lift the ATV’. With my jeans wading through the river. The boys lifting the ATV through the water, crazyness. Not there yet the river bank was steep with gigantic holes. In one way or another they even managed that. Soldiers! Reaching the village the people seemed quite shy, later we found out that they had never seen foreigners. But yet again the villagers were very welcoming giving us fruit and fresh orange juice.
By the end of the day everything was sore, I have blisters on my hands from holding on tight. But it was all worth it, what an adventure.