(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 30th 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 ?
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| Tha ranch store - le magazin du ranch |
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| Some of the buildings - quelques uns des batiments |
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| Guest House (we were on the left side) - l<auberge (nous étions du côté gauche |
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| The view from our balcony - la vue de notre balcon |
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| Two of the youths helping with the butchering - deux jeunes aidant à la boucherie |
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| Our hostess Kaylee and Erin - nos hôtesses Kaylee et Erin |
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| Inside the store - à l'intérieur du magazin |
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| This is as much of a real Jaguar we have seen - le plus près que nous ayons approché un jaguar |
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| The isolated village of Rupenau - le village isolé de Rupenau |
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| Lunch at our driver (middle) grand-mother's house - le lunch chez la grand-mère de notre chauffeur (au centre) |
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| Cattle being rounded-up for the drive to Lethem - le bétail regroupé pour la marche vers Lethem |
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| The wild horse for the Rodeo - les chevaux sauvages pour le Rodéo |
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| Jean-Claude getting ready for the cattle drive to Lethem - Jean-Claude se préparant pour amener le bétail vers Lethem |
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| A pit-stop on the trail - un arrêt-repos sur la piste |
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| An old 'vacheros' riding with us - un vieux 'vacheros' nous accompagnait |
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| Lethem, main city in the south at the border with Brazil - Lethem ville la plus importante du sud sur la frontière du Brésil |
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| Main drag in Lethem - principale artère de Lethem |
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| Manari Ranch near Lethem - le ranch Manari près de Lethem |
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| Entrance and living room - l'l'entré et le salon |
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| The room section - la section des chambres |
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| The opening parade at the Rodeo - la parade d'ouverture du Rodéo |
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| Bull riding - dressage de taureaux |
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| The crowd - les spectateurs |
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| Flying cowboy - cowboy volant |
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| Saddled Bronco rider - cavalier sur un Bronco |
