Patricia and Jean-Claude in Guyana: April 2013

(le français suit l'anglais...)

Our last trip was to the south of Guyana in the great stretch of savannah between the Kanuku Mountains and the forests on the border of Brazil and Guyana. Sparsely populated it is the “Wild West” of Guyana – cattle, horses, cowboys, isolated Amerindian villages, rough roads, and floods in the rainy season. Completely different from the tropical forests of the north and central Guyana.

Our 9 days were organized by Duane deFrietas and his company Rupununi Trails – a wonderful job. Everything was paid upfront and there were no surprises. We were well taken care of by Erin, Kaylee and Leroy from Dadanawa Ranch and Lissa from Manari Ranch. In fact it was the people we met during this trip that made it so wonderfully fun and informative. We were treated like family, invited into their lives. We shared the rhythm of their lives in the savannah and for this I am very grateful. Thanks to all of you.

Our first stop was Dadanawa Ranch – the oldest cattle ranch in this area. It was a step back in the past, to the time of the great ranches. It is now a corporation with Duane as the General Manager. The Ranch has over 5,000 head of cattle and many horses that range freely over the hundreds of acres of the Ranch. The buildings are old and date from the early 1900’s – there is little investment in infrastructure as the future of the Ranch is not clear. But there was a flush toilet and wonderful shower in the room we shared with harmless bats. No electricity but for us that doesn’t matter. Evenings were spent on the verandah with Patrick, a young Swiss traveller and the only other guest, Erin, Kaylee, Duane and others who dropped by – exchanging stories, learning about the area and about Erin’s home-Northern Ireland. We woke to the animal sounds as pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, chickens roamed freely throughout; we woke to the gorgeous views of the Kanuku mountains in the distance. It was quiet, it was peaceful.

We came to Dadanawa so Jean-Claude could participate in the cattle drive – a two-day ride to herd steer to Lethem for their annual rodeo. Patrick decided to join J.C. and the two of them practised riding the horses for the first two days while I enjoyed the hammock and the wonderful breeze. One day we all piled into Leroy’s truck to visit a relative in a very isolated Amerindian village. The road was incredibly rough and we were told in the rainy season it floods completely. About 200 Amerindians live in Rupunau. Allen, our host, spent over 15 years in Canada before returning to his wife’s village. Erin made us a wonderful lunch and we went swimming in a nearby river. We had to wait over 4 hours for Leroy to return from a much more southerly village because he got stuck in the mud. No communication in this part of the world – cell phones and computers don’t work. There is a shortwave radio only and Allen has the only vehicle in the village. No one was worried though as this type of thing happens all the time. People wait a certain time and then send out for help. But Leroy showed up at 20:00. I admire everyone here, as I could not possibly live so isolated!

Next day J.C. and Patrick headed out with the cowboys on the cattle drive – they left at 10 a.m. and arrived in Shulinab, the half-way point at 20:00. I drove to this small Amerindian village (250 people and Leroy’s home village) with Leroy, Erin and Kaylee. Jean-Claude and I stayed in the village’s new guesthouse. He LOVED the ride but decided not to do the second day. It was incredibly HOT and DRY during the day and he got bitten by a very weird insect that made a large burn on his leg.

The next day Leroy’s grandmother invited us into her home for lunch. Another wonderful opportunity to see how people live. Then we drove over the dry savannah and rough roads to Manari Ranch just outside of Lethem, a frontier town of about 5,000 people. It is a dusty (red dust) village, a border town with Brazil. Really spread out, you need a vehicle or a bicycle to get around. But with all the dust blowing all the time because of the dry savannah winds, it is not a pleasant place.

Manari Ranch, however, was wonderful. Another old ranch from the early 1900’s. Lissa returned from Canada to take over the ranch when her father died, two years ago. It was totally run down, abandoned for several years, and is still in need of a great deal of repair. She has fixed up the 8 guest rooms (great showers and comfy beds) and has great plans for the main house. What a courageous young woman! But in this part of the country you are rarely alone as family is everywhere. Her large kitchen was always full of people.

Saturday March 30^th was the first day of the Lethem rodeo. It was great fun but so dusty and dry!! The same rodeo events as in Canada – bull riding and broncos. We enjoyed just watching the people – 99% were Amerindians with a spattering of British youth on a volunteer program in this area. We skipped the evening party as we can get plenty of beer and loud music in Georgetown but we cannot get peace and quiet. We so loved the early mornings and evenings here as the weather cooled down a lot and there was always a breeze. Lovely, lovely. For those in Guyana reading this blog, you really must not miss out on visiting these two ranches – it is worth the cost and the effort!

So we flew back to Georgetown today, Easter Sunday. That's it folks; we have now seen all of Guyana - at least what was easily accessible. Tomorrow Guyana celebrates Easter Monday with a lot of kite flying. We’ll go check it out and report to you later.

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Pour profiter des nombreux jours de congés autour de Pâques nous sommes descendus tout au sud du Guyana dans la région du Rupununi près de la frontière avec le Brésil. Cette région est une immense zone de savane à perte de vue avec des ciels à couper le souffle et de magnifiques montagnes à l’horizon (voir les photos). Notre première destination était le ranch de Dadanawa, un vieil établissement qui nous permet de vivre la vie d’un ranch typique; cowboys, chevaux, taureaux avec évidemment pour ceux qui le désirent équitation à volonté! Les gens du ranch ont vraiment été super spécials en nous permettant de participer à toutes leurs activités journalières incluant la boucherie d’une vache. La bouffe était bonne, les conversations très intéressantes mais surtout l’air frais, le calme, la paix de ce paysage infini qu’on n’a pas à Georgetown. Après un peu de pratique pour retrouver mes jambes (surtout mes fesses) de ‘cowboy’, nous sommes partis avec 6 ‘vaqueros’ et 32 taureaux vers Lethem en préparation pour le rodéo de samedi. Quelle expérience! Après mon introduction à ce métier l’hiver dernier en Uruguay, j’avais vraiment hâte de faire l’expérience d’une aussi longue randonnée à cheval : 60 milles en deux jours ! Fatiguant et très chaud en plain soleil par 3 degrés de latitude au dessus de l’équateur mais tout s’est bien passé vers 20h00 le soir nous avons enfin complété la première étape. Le lendemain j’ai décidé de ne pas continuer avec le troupeau car je ne pensais pas qu’une deuxième longue journée à cheval allait ajouter quoi que ce soit à l’expérience de la veille. À la place nous sommes allés nous baigner dans un magnifique petite crique près du village où nous étions avant de rentrer à Lethem pour le rodéo. Nous sommes encore une fois restés à la résidence d’un vieux ranch en train d’être rénové après plusieurs années de négligences. Encore une fois, à part l’accueil incroyable de notre hôtesse Lissa, ce que j’ai le plus apprécié c’est le calme et la paix de l’endroit à moins de 10 km. de Lethem. Enfin le grand jour du Rodéo de Lethem. Les participants (…et le 32 taureaux que j’ai accompagnés pour la moitié du chemin) viennent tous de la région et de quelques ranches du Brésil juste de l’autre coté de la frontière. Une fois les discours du Président, du Premier Ministre et de la Ministre des affaires Amérindiennes du Guyana terminés les compétitions ont commencés. Ce rodéo à première vue ressemble beaucoup aux rodéos du Canada avec dressage de taureaux et bronchos sauvages pour le plaisir des villageois de tous les petits villages de la région qui se réunissent ici une fois par année pour le rodéo. La grande différence c’est le libre accès à toutes les sections du rodéo incluant la proximité des étales et les corrals où les cowboys se préparent à monter ces bêtes ruantes ; ça ne serait jamais permis à aucun touriste au Canada, mais ici ça donne de très bonnes photos. Après tout c’est un peu grâce à moi si ces taureaux sont ici, n’est-ce pas ?