After a hectic morning gathering up everyone's "small" bag to take to the island with us and storing our other luggage then riding around in a van with Eugene seeing Georgetown, we finally cross the pontoon bridge and make our way to a small boat that will ferry us up the river to Baganara. It's not a very big boat but we all fit ok, put on life preservers and off we go. As we travel upstream, we pass many small openings in the jungle canopy. There are people living on the river and using it for their road. Some of them are fishing families, some are mining families. Guyana mines diamonds and gold and used to also mine bauxite for aluminium but I believe that mining has ground to a halt. There are also quarries here and there for the stone and rocks.
Anyway, as we are travelling on the Essequibo River which is huge (3rd or 4th after the Amazon), there is a tide change in the height of the river so we see docks that are high and dry but with water markers on them that indicate the tidal change might be as much as 6' or so
. Also many of these home clearings are barely visible. you know a home is there because a boat is docked and you can see a bit of a building far from the water's edge. other clearings look to house 4 or 5 families. it's hard to get any good photos because by the time I can see a dock and boat and look for the house, we've already motored past it. And once again, I'm on the wrong side to get any good shots. Sometimes there are kids playing in the river. This is a one shot ride because we will be returning to Georgetown via plane so we sit back and enjoy it.
This is what Baganara's own web site has to say about itself: ""Escape to an exotic Island Paradise and experience one of Guyana’s true gems. Luxurious, exotic & spectacular are just some of the words guests have used to describe Baganara, a tropical Island resort located in the Essequibo River. Our Golden sand beach, beautiful surroundings and blissful atmosphere, make us a favourite destination for locals and foreigners seeking a true getaway. An ideal destination for a myriad of occasions, we can cater to small groups such as families or larger ones for wedding, conferences, retreats & more. We pride ourselves in continuously providing the highest standards of service and hospitality.ROOMS AND AMENITIESConsisting of 15 spacious, well-ventilated and beautifully decorated rooms, the resort gives you the best of both worlds, having the feeling and comforts of home, whilst enjoying the cool and relaxing island life
. Our other amenities include free WiFi, a conference center, a well-stocked bar which features local and international beverages, a gazebo overlooking the Essequibo River and a beach-front Bar-b-Que grill.ACTIVITIES
Nature lovers and the adventurous types can choose to take part in several available activities such as Kayaking, beach volleyball or tours to nearby destinations such as Marshall Falls & Bartica.""
As we are a group of 16, we will be the only guests there for our two nights. Eugene, our local guide, and one other guide to help with our luggage and such, will be staying downriver at another resort because there's no room for them at Baganara. The owner from Toronto has come down with his mother this trip and her companion so there's a couple of rooms gone but such is his prerogative and the fact that his 92 year old mother comes and makes the trip is amazing. But then we have a couple of ladies in our group that are close to that age as well and doing much better at getting around on their own
. I do hope I am that agile and alert and able to travel when I reach that age as well!
We didn't get there in time to take off on another boat ride for the evening parrot watch so pretty much all of us just relaxed for the evening. We could either sit in the main lodge and have cocktails, or read, or watch the river - which doesn't have a lot of activity. It was quite peaceful and calm. For dinner, we had some of the local Guyanese dishes and for the life of me, couldn't tell you what we ate. it was good but not overly inspiring. They do have a local hot sauce both in Guyana and Suriname which will take the top off of your head. I didn't notice anyone besides my husband and myself eating more than a tiny, tiny bit. My hubby and I are pretty good with spicy foods so we enjoyed the hot touch.
Finally it is dark enough and late enough to retire to our rooms so we walk back in the dark to our building which is about 1/2 km away from the main house
. One of our group walks with a cane so we walked with her to ensure she got back safely even though she probably didn't want or need the assistance. And we walked with another couple where the wife seems fairly frail. And luckily my hubby and I didn't trip over anything in the dark either. It was a quiet night except for the generator running but that kept the fans running so I was happy to hear it all night.
In the morning, after breakfast, we are organized into a boat trip to ride along the river and see some of the sights with a stop in Bartica, a mining town. It is a different boat than the one that brought us but still comfortable. Again, we get our lifejackets but some members of the group have decided they are superfluous and don't bother. personally, I believe in safety and have read too many tales of capsized boats and such in odd little countries in Africa and South America. At least we are not an overcrowded ferry but only our small group. We have to stop at the other resort and pick up Eugene and his helper and then we go upriver to Marshall Falls. We pass an island with a prison on it. The entire island is the prison. The Essequibo river has over three hundred islands in it and some of them a large enough that you wouldn't know it's an island to see it - until you circle it
. The prison island had plenty of prisoners including a section where they go when they are about to be released - so they can learn what has changed in the cities where they are returning. We could see people meandering about in this section. Otherwise the whole island looks like buildings behind wire fences with no activity of life at all. a bit creepy
We pass by Bartica, the mining town. We'll stop on our way back. We pass some small communities of various sorts where miners are also living and these are usually close to a quarry of some type - mostly rock and stone quarries. I think the diamond and gold mines are further in the jungle and more hidden. We pass an island where there is an abandoned dock and an arch of stone where a fort used to be but has since decayed away into nothing. Finally we pull into the shore and exit the boat for a hike to Marshall Falls
. Eugene takes us over a small hill to some rocky landscape so we can see the Marshall Rapids - rapids our boat will not shoot to go further upriver. As we get to the rocks to overlook the rapids, a boat is coming downriver. It has about 15 people in it, all ages, and not a single one has a life-jacket. The water isn't too high though so the rapids aren't running too fiercely. Still, they go through the rapids rather quickly and jumpily and then are out of sight around the corner.
We head back into the forest and follow a path the goes up hill for maybe 3/4 mile and then downhill to the falls. Marshall Falls is not that impressive. Our view on the side of the river is blocked by several trees. There is a wooden bridge over the river to the other side which is the side to be on for taking photos. BUT the bridge has many missing slats across the walkway and no rails to hold onto and looks to be quite slippery and slimy. Eugene hops onto the bridge and makes his way across. In spite of the advanced age of most of the group, everyone is trying to get up onto the bridge to at least take photos and one member makes it across to where Eugene is. At this point, Chris, our group leader, is freaking out and putting his foot down and telling everyone not to get on the bridge and certainly not to go across
. I'm still waiting for some of the slower members to at least get out of the way so i can get far enough onto the bridge to take a few photos. Two of the slowest members of the group are in front of me and one falls on the slippery surface but isn't hurt. She gets off the bridge and the other gentleman halts right in front of me and refuses to move. i am quite frustrated as by now Eugene and the other guy have come back across the bridge and i still have no room to move onto the area to take a photo. All I want is a photo and everyone is yelling to get off the bridge. i just truly hate it when the people who already have their shots have decided that it's dangerous so no body else can do it. So i just stood there until everyone else got off, then i moved out a bit to take a photo and then I got off the bridge too. BUT I never got far enough out to take a good photo so i have nothing i like of Marshall Falls. like I said though, it wasn't very impressive. The best part was the color of the water which was quite coppery from the minerals
.
So back up the hill and down the hill on the other side to the boat where one lady had waited rather than try and climb the hill with her cane. I had used my walking stick but don't think I held up anyone. One gentleman had used two walking sticks but I don't think he had ever done such before so he was very un-practiced with two and was the slowest member of the group. that's frustrating as well but as long as he felt like he was safe, he's still going and trying and I know that will be me some day so I try to be patient.
Back in the boat and back downriver past the quarries and past the old fort and we stop at Bartica. We have one member of the group who came to Guyana as a very young man (42 years ago) and taught English
. So he had been to Bartica before as well as Georgetown and was quite interested in seeing what has changed. Bartica is a mining town. It was dirty and trashy and fascinating. My hubby does not always share my joy and amazement in places that look like they come from an apocalyptic movie set. Eugene and our group guyr who'd been there before were telling us all about how the place used to have huge markets with tons of fruits and vegetables and fish to ship downriver. The miners would come into town on their days off and the town would swell in size for the day or weekend. This day was rather quiet but there were some shops open, a small market open and a few restaurants where we could go in and get a drink. We all ended up in the market where some of the ladies wanted to get bananas and other fruit. There was a bowl of the tiny, very hot peppers that we associate with Thailand's hot food. The woman selling the fruit challenged me to taste one when I commented on how hot it was. She didn't think I would but I took a bite
. Yep, it was mighty hot but not too bad. surprised the heck out of her though.
We didn't have very long there but went back to our boat and then back to Baganara. Time for some lunch and then a nice nature walk in the jungle. For some reason, this trip was more about trees and plants in the jungle and history on what the Amerindians had used for survival. If you are wanting to see wildlife, you never go out in the heat of the day , You take an early morning hike, then eat breakfast, relax during the day, then go out at dusk. But we never did that. don't know why. So we saw plants and trees and more trees and more plants and got explanations of them all. it was very, very hot to me and this was after we had walked down to almost the end of the runway - in the broiling sun - before we headed into the trees so I was hot and tired and exhausted halfway through the walk. it is so much harder to stroll and stop and stand than it is to walk for awhile. By the third tree, I probably wasn't paying much attention anymore but was more interested in when it would be finished. We are finally done and I stagger back to the runway and back to the main lodge where I can get something cooler to drink and sit without moving for awhile.
In the evening, we take off in an open topped boat (two boats) to see the parrots. According to the write up, hundreds of parrots fly home to a small island to roost at night. We get to the island and grab hold of some mangroves to hold us in position and wait. We see some small blobs in the air which Eugene identifies as Amazon Green Parrots. They fly over us and disappear into the trees of the island on the other side from where we are sitting. A few more come and a few more but never hundreds. We sit and sit and watch and watch and a magnificent sight just does not appear. As a wondrous thing to view, it never materialized. Just a few sets of birds coming - too high to see them well and too small and too many on the opposite side of the island from where we are. Most of us were complaining about the lack of birds well before Eugene decided to leave. We did see a nice sunset from the boat though, through the trees of the island. And we went to the other side of the island where the birds were landing and were able to see a few more in the trees but it just wasn't very marvellous and was rather disappointing from what any of us expected. We drop Eugene off at his resort again and then hit Baganara for our second night.
Either the resort had run out of fuel for the generator or they decided that we should all experience a true jungle night or something because all the power went off so although we opened all our windows in the front and back of the room but there wasn't a cross breeze to be had. We moved into separate beds, my husband and I, but it was still too hot and uncomfortable to sleep so it was a miserable night compared to the night before. Whew. i never would have lasted in the jungle without A/C or fans or having enough money to hire someone to fan me all night!
Baganara Resort Visit
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Baganara Island Resort, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Guyana
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