a return to the land of cheese, wine and fresh vegetables

Hi Everyone!

So sorry its been forever since my last post. My internship in Guyana finished on July 17th and since then, I have been very very busy back home on Canada's West Coast. It was very hard to leave the Iwokrama Field Station and say goodbye to everyone I met there. It was such a pleasure getting to know some of the amazing staff and members of the community--what a magical place. The Iwokrama forest and the Rupununi Savannahs will always stand out as one of the most beautiful places on this planet. I was so fortunate to get the opportunity to not only visit, but live in this location for six months! If you ever have the opportunity to visit Guyana's Rupununi and Rainforest, you are very lucky as well.

Since I have returned to Canada, I have been awestruck at the extent of options we have. I stood in a BC Liquor store for about 15 minutes staring at all the wine bottles to choose from, I couldn't make up my mind which one to choose! I have spent my time visiting friends and family around Vancouver-will post pictures soon! I just came back from a two week road trip down to California with my boyfriend, where we hiked in Yosemite, visited General Sherman in Sequoia National Park, went surfing in San Clemente, visited Jazz Clubs in San Francisco and the Brewery District in Portland on our way back. What a diverse and stunning state! Now I am enjoying house sitting for my older sister in Vancouver and going on bike rides and picnics around the city. Can't believe the summer is close to an end. What a whirlwind of memories in the past year!

I was so glad today to discover an ounce of Guyana in Vancouver- I found my favourite baby bananas in the grocery store, which shot me back to moments racing through Georgetown's busy market--take me back!  xxx

Climate Change and Tourism

Stumbled across this lizard while on a frog trip the other night. The frog was so docile and slow he didnt complain when we introduced him to his new friend!

Also, here is a link to some free online journals about climate change and tourism for you to enjoy over your Saturday morning coffee:
Climate Change and Tourism


Enjoy

Wildlife caught on camera

After completing the set up the 60 camera traps at 8 sites in the forest, the team waited for 15 days for the cameras to collect footage. We were so excited to see the results, the cameras caught 11 terrestrial species with two jaguar individuals, all from the sustainably logged areas. Yesss! And to reemphasize, this was just 2 weeks!

We need to put a copyright logo on all the photos, but they are coming soon!

Monday News

Here are some interesting articles relating to activities happening in the Iwokrama forest:

 How camera traps have revolutionized wildlife conservation

Economic benefits for local communities next to conservation areas

"Alone in the Wild" New series filmed in Guyana's Jungle

Happy Monday

Broken Bridges

 On June 29th, I joined a road trip South of Iwokrama River Lodge bound for the Rupununi Savannas to attend a community meeting. We never made it outside of the Iwokrama Reserve though, since TWO truck accidents blocked the road along the way. A sad loss occurred at the first broken bridge-Moco Moco bridge. A young driver in his early twenties was driving an overloaded truck and the truck slid off the road into the creek where he was then trapped inside. A terrible loss. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for the Government to fix the bridges immediately and enforce standardized loading weights on trucks.

 Shot of first truck crash at Moco Moco Bridge where fatality occured. You can see from this picture the poor quality of the bridge-a repair constitutes placing pulled up planks back where they used to be nailed in.

Shot of damaged goods from truck at Moco Moco Bridge. Workers had no choice but to dump lost stock straight into the creek, an unfortunate result for the Iwokrama river systems.

South to North shot of collapsed truck

This guy didn't let all the food and supplies floating in the river-not to mention the body still in the vehicle-stop him from having a bath. He picked up a soap bar that was part of the damaged stock and started washing himself.

 
Second truck accident at bridge right outside the Iwokrama Reserve. Truck is carrying THREE TIMES the allowed weight. But, the bridge hasn't been repaired for over a year. This was the point where we had to turn around (two hours away from the River Lodge) since the bridge was 100% impassable.

 

This photo is Guyana in a nutshell for me. Typical laid back attitude. ALWAYS travel with a hammock, you never know when you will be stuck! 

Seeing the accidents and the frequency the bridges break down on this main highway through Guyana makes me so grateful for the road system and traffic enforcement standards back in Canada. When returning home, I will not only look at our smooth, paved highways in a different light, but will think again when questioning the amount of speed limit signs that saturate our roadways.

Lets go Frogging!

 Since there have been less tourists at the lodge for the past few weeks, I have been able to join our frog researcher on her nightly transects in the forests around the River Lodge. After dusk, the forest comes alive with a loud humm of many frog species calling to one another. Instead of the classic ribbit, it sounds more like many crickets chirping at different octaves. We went to an old mill site the other night, and caught soo many cool frogs! It was sort of like a treasure hunt, where you could hear the one frog, and had to use your headlamp to shine on the bush until you spotted the little guy. Then you have to be really sneaky and walk quietly up to the frog to try and catch it before it jumps away. I was really impressed with our researcher's ability to distinguish the different species based on their calls, since the forest houses many frog species, many of which remain to be documented.

 

Here I am looking super nerdy decked out in my Iwokrama gear, ready to head into the forest!

 This guy was super friendly, tickling my ear!

  

Clown Frog!

 We had to cut a toe off the frogs to use as a sample. I was told it wouldn't hurt the frog...

 Do you like my thumb ring?

 The forest with the long vines hanging down.

 

A spider friend I came across, and almost stepped on!

 

See you later!

swimming over the lawn!

 The compound is suuper flooded now, the river is up to the cabins! This means we have enjoyed swimming in the calm waters in front of the field station. There are also a lot of fish and birds that are enjoying the calm sidewaters of the Essequibo. I haven't seen any caiman yet, and I hope they aren't lurking under the surface!

Our mini bus experience was a lot like these girls'!

the Whiteys Visit Georgetown

Last Wednesday, I decided to jump aboard an Iwokrama vehicle for a spontaneous but much needed break in Georgetown-the road is somewhat passable now. We stayed at the Sleepin Guest House on Church Street, which was a great location - right next to Borden Market, that is famous for its fruits and vegetable stands, and really close to Regent Street, Georgetown's main shopping area. We wined and dined all week and I looved getting to stay in an air conditioned room! It is also surprising to notice what bush life does to you--its strange to be surrounded by so many people and activity! Georgetown is a true contrast to the lush, green, quiet peaceful field station.

Here is a shot of the pontoon coming to pick us up at Kurupukari Crossing -right beside the entrance to the field station. The water level has risen soo much since I first arrived!

Here is a shot of Michelle Island. Michelle's patio is almost submerged. Lets hope the water doesn't get ANY higher

About 3 hours north of Kurupukari, you hit the rest stop called km 58. They have taken a spider monkey as a pet and roped him to this tree. It was really sad to see him running around the tree while we had our lunch, I was tempted to let him go free. Poor little guy...

 

Here are some shots of Georgetown. I didn't take too many, because I am always a bit apprehensive of  taking photos while walking around...people were staring at us to begin with! Above is a shot of Stabroek Market. We decided to venture to the market on Saturday, the main shopping day in Georgetown. It was insane to say the least. We could hardly breathe let alone move, it was so crowded. Check out all the mini buses lined up

A common site on the streets of Georgetown. They really have to start a proper recycling system in the city and ban the use of Styrofoam...its everywhere, pretty sad. 

A typical house in the city

 There are little hair salons like this one everywhere in Georgetown!

 When walking down the street, we constantly get hissed at and people should out, 'hey Whitey'...Its super annoying, but nice that we had each other to walk with. Once, someone shouted, 'Hey Snowball!' to my friend...pretty unbelievable! One time a guy shouted to me, 'Wheres your sun umbrella, Whitey!' Ever since, I have walked with an umbrella, useful not only for sun protection, but to avoid stares.

 On Sunday, we stopped at a small market on the outskirts of town to pick up some bananas and pineapple, before heading out of the city to cool off in a stream by the road.

 We enjoyed some coconut drinks along the way :)

On the drive back, we stopped for a walk on Georgetown's bridge over the Demerara River. The pink sunset was spectacular.

 

We enjoyed some ice cold mango smoothies at Oasis Cafe after a long walk in the afternoon heat. I love this mural on the wall inside Oasis, taken along Georgetown's Main Street. 

 Cheers!

 View of Church Street from the top flood of the Sleepin Guest House

 This is what the kids in Georgetown get to play on-- never take Vancouver's fancy playgrounds for granted!

 On Monday night, we had to take a mini bus back into the interior, since the intraserv is no longer running. We were squished onto two seats in the front row-if you call the middle seat between the driver and the passenger a seat! It was a bumpy trip, and the driver drove VERY fast along the paved strip between Georgetown and Linden. Not to mention, he was blasting Reggae the whole way, and every time he changed gears, he hit my leg! We had to pile on and off the mini bus numerous times to get our passports checked at Police stops, and for the driver and passengers to stop for snacks. Nevertheless, we eventually made it to Iwokrama!

Happy to finally reach Kurupukari Crossing :)

So now I am back at the field station, enjoying the flooded waters. Wont be able to go on any runs along the access road for the next few weeks, but looking forward to doing lengths in the pool that has formed infront of the field station!

Stuck in the Jungle!

 I walked down to the river yesterday and noticed the water level is 2 feet below the record highest water level, and it is only JUNE! It has been raining very heavily over the last few weeks, and this has taken a toll on the road to Iwokrama. There is only one road into Guyana's interior, and it is a bumpy, pot-hole ridden mud road, that worsens extensively in the rainy season. Below are some photos of the road conditions my family and I trekked over at the beginning of May, you can only imagine the conditions they are in now!

Since transportation into the interior is very expensive, a relatively affordable way of traveling into the interior is with the Intraserv Bus Service (around $8 000 Gy-$40 US). It usually takes around nine hours to travel from Georgetown to Iwokrama, and has excellent shocks to go over the bumps. Due to the heavy rains, there are numerous culverts and bridges that are now UNDER WATER, and the road is now uunpassable. As of May 31st, the intraserv bus has cancelled its service, until the road is repaired! Here is an article in the Stabroek News on the cancellation of the service.

 

As a result, Guyana's air services are clogged up with desperate travelers trying to find alternate methods of transport, despite rapid differences in cost. I just hope the road and the Intraserv service will be back up and running by July 14th!