lördag 21 augusti 2010

The forgotten city of northern South America

So Georgetown... Where to begin. After a stop in Trinidad the airplan finally landed in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. The first thing that striked me was the heat. You know, I am used to the heat but this heat is differnet. Depending on three things. 1. The sun is just above your head and the shadow of yours is just under your feet. So the sun is steaking hot. 2. The huminity. Here you become ampfibian. Everything you have on you body become soaking wet. 3. The air here is standing still which makes it heavy, no wind at all.

However on the airport it was kaos with all the baggage. Finally I got my baggage and after 1,5 I was out of the airport taking a minibus towards Georgetown. The distans was 40 km but took almost 2 h. No roads signs or rules. I didnt find out if it was leftside driving or rightside. If it was que on the left the driver was just driving on the opposite side of the road and if it came a car in opposite diraction he just honked and we both met on the (wrong) side of the road. -And do I need to mention that he was driving in full speed all the time? CRAZY,I have been in India, but this beats the most...
Georgetown is a true wildwest city opposite to what we are used to in W. Europe. After 2 h in the city I was the only white skinned person. No tourists. On the hotel I meet Jeff Slocum. A teacher from Boston. Really nice bloke that has a burning interst in ampibians and reptiles, and he is really good at it. He almost know all the species in Guyana! Jeff and I are both volunteers for Rupununi learners (http://www.rupununilearners.org/) and we will work togheter for a couple of month.

During the evning I went out toghter with Guyanan feather frindes to see the stunning Scarlet ibis (I will upload pictures as soon as possible).

On Sunday  we went to change money. We went thorugh a shop crowded with people, through a door and upstairs. There it stood a tatood man with a shootgun. He did not look too nice and was glaring at us when we came up. -We are here to excange money are we right?, Jeff began the man nooded and let us un to a small dark office. It all went out well and there were nice men. The guy with the shootgun was just a private guard seeing that the criminalty is big problem in GEO.
Jeff leaft me in Georgetown he had mangaged to fix a flight ticket to Yupukari seeing that the he came a couple of days earlier. I should fix a bus ticket so I went to a local bus company. -no problems my friend yo take a bus from here in the evning comm back in two hours and buy ticket, he said. No problem I went back 2 h later and heard: You cant buy ticket... -Why. -You just cant buy ticket man. But you said I could buy a ticket 2 h ago. Ya man but the road is closed yau know. -Alright???

At the hotel I met a man named Cris that became fierd with anger when I told him about the mess with the unbought ticket. -I fix a ticket for you, come on I fix! So we went back to the buscompany and he asked for a ticket. Same answer the road is closed. -But this man needs f****g ticket! whos your boss, man?!. Want to speak with the boss! Chris the shouted. I didnt understand anything convinced that the road really was closed. suddenly the man said. -Alright give the foregner a ticket. -What!? I did not understand anything. The buss leaves here at 7 this evning. I was there at 5 seeing that the buss might just leave 1 of 2 h before time.

-Thank you Chris, you really fixed it for me! -Without you perhaps I still would have been in Georgetown if you did not helped me out. And sorry for not trusting you in the begining. In my eyes you where just acting strange in the begining. -New culture for me...

I have been to many cities and many cities that not is that nice but this is the worst I ever been to. It was unsafe even during during the day to walk the crowded streets as a European man. ( Not talk about the nights). Even on the days drog-affected men came to me and shouthted strange things and where even draging my clothes. It felt a bit uncomfortible... -And you dont want to mess with them, they might be armed I heard from the taxidriver.

But everything worked out well and I leaft Georgetown on Sunday evening. During the day I had hooked up with two really cool French guys living in French Guyana and we ever leaving the city togheter on the small bus driving to Letham.

Im glad to leave the city becaus I did not want to stay a minute longer... But also intersting to seen a city like that it. It was so ruff and seamed to lack laws... I heard a lot of things about Caracas but Georgetown? No.

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