A couple of days ago I got back from spending about a week in Lethem and the South Rupununi which is on the Guyana-Brazil border. Someone told me it would be like a different continent down there - and it is. I travelled down on a plane - my first small plane trip on a 10 seater. It was nice to see Georgetown from the air, after which we flew over dense bush for a while, which breaks out into Savannah and endless plains.
Once we arrived in Lethem we checked into the hotel and took a look around. It has a lot of Brazilian influence - most signs are in English and Portuguese; there are lots of shops selling shoes and t-shirts which are pretty quiet during the week but are flooded with Brazilians at the weekend! After an evening eating Brazilian kebabs and drinking plenty of beer we headed to bed. The hotel had air conditioning and hot water - I had my first hot shower since I left Barbados. Lethem is primarily an Amerindian town and has a very different feel to Georgetown; as an outsider you feel very safe walking around, even at night, and there is plenty of space and very little mess. It's also a lot cooler as there is always a breeze accross the Savannah.
Our party consisted of myself, a Canadian VSO, two of his friends and one chap in his 50s from the UK who goes travelling in South America every year. This chap was a stereotypical colonial complete with bushy handlebar moustache and was never not in his explorer gear - outdoor trousers, shirt and full brimmed hat. On our first full day in Lethem we got someone to drive us to Moco Moco falls, a derelict hydroelectric power station originally put in by the Chinese government which fell into disrepair after a landslide. There were 975 steps to the top, although many of the steps were broken or simply washed away so a fair amount of scrambling was required. It took about 90 minutes to get up with a few stops and time taken to scramble up rocks, but it was worth it and we spent a while enjoying swimming in the rock pools and waterfalls at the top before heading back down. On the way home our driver Wayne took us to see his allegedly 110 year old Grandfather on a small farm and we were given some Kari (phonetically spelt) which is an alcoholic drink made from Cassava. It had lumps in it and was a bit like a very sharp-tasting cider and potato soup.
The following day we drove to Saddle Mountain Ranch which was the focus of our trip. There we spend four days riding horses, rounding up cattle, eating, sleeping and drinking. The first day we visited a little creek there which was a beatiful place to swim and wash clothes, followed by a big meal (our hostess cooked us three big meals a day which were all excellent) and settled in with some beer and rum. There isn't any electricity, phone or mobile coverage there so things were quite basic, although a small solar-charged battery provided lights in the evening and there was a water pump in a well so we had running water in the house. It was quite nice to be so remote - and you can see all the stars at night. Having said that, getting home has been nice as I'm not so good at hand-washing clothes to the extent of them not looking any cleaner than when they went in.
As someone who has only done a couple of pony rides before, riding took a little while to get a hand on but was pretty easy to get the hang of. Saddle sores were a bit of an issue for everyone but we just had to man up and get on with it. My horse was called Lightning and he was quite good natured. He wasn't so keen on galloping though, and to get him to go fast he needed a little go with the riding crop. The thing is, none of us were confident enough to ride hands-free, so one hand is used holding onto the saddle for dear life, the other to the riding crop. This is fine unless you need to steer; and horses aren't so smart so they'll happily dash under a low branch without any regard to the fact that you will fall off. As a result I had to do a bit of shuffling of hand whilst running but fortunately managed not to fall off despite a few near misses.
One morning we got up early (after a lot of rum the night before and having to carry our moustached friend to bed!) and rode out to find some of the ranch's cattle. They are let out to graze most of the time but have to be brought in to be branded, castrated and so on. This was a great outing for about 4 hours and we travelled a long way over the Savannah herding cattle all the way home. The other interesting session was castrating about 8 young bulls - there were maybe 50 cows in the corral by the Ranch so we had to lassoo, then pull in, then knock over and hold on the floor every eligible bull whilst Tommy the ranch owner came over with his knife and things got a bit gruesome. Watching the first was pretty nasty but after a few it was ok, and I was involved in holding the head so the bull didn't struggle, and in one case had to pull its tail to turn it over.
On Christmas Eve we headed back to Lethem and spent Christmas day at someone's house playing monopoly, drinking and having Christmas dinner. That night we went to the local nightclub which is essentially someone's garden but was quite fun. I got a bit lost on the way home unfortunately but someone gave me a lift on the back of their scooter which was pretty fun. There aren't many street lights so naturally things look very different at night!
We travelled back to Georgetown on a minibus which was not too bad, except the bus we started on kept stopping as the engine kept overheating. We were then transferred onto another which was ok except they guy drove very fast. This was good for getting home (the trip still took 11 hours) but bad for getting back alive. Much of the road was through the jungle - and was in surprisingly good condition, although there was the occasional tree fallen which had to be navigated around.
My little camera served me well on the trip and I took loads of photos - you can see some of them
here. All in all, it was a great trip - riding on the Savannah is a truly wonderful experience. I hope to go to Lethem for the Easter Rodeo which is apparently the place to be in Guyana which I will look forward to.
Until next time...
