Friday, January 30 & Saturday January 31. Moraira to Amsterdam to Georgetown
We left home at 6 pm for a 9:20 pm flight to Amsterdam. This was on the cheap sister airline of KLM. The flight was somewhat marred by a group of Spanish ladies who were drunk and were sitting almost right next to us. On the way off the plane David remarked to the Steward that they should have training in dealing with drunks and the steward claimed that the police were going to arrest them once they left the plane. However I doubted this as I think one of them was already off the plane!
Once landed in Amsterdam, we walked to the Citizen M hotel which was not too far away. At the hotel we encountered our first ever self-service check-in which was remarkably efficient (you even printed your own room key) and there was actually an assistant around to help, if we wanted help. Our room was on the fifth floor and there were 80 rooms there all about 7 feet wide, with a large bed by the window, a basin in the corridor area formed by the shower and toilet cubicle, and one armchair and one stool. Plus of course a large television on the wall one side of the bed. The room was actually quite cozy and there was a tablet to control the curtains, main lights, night lighting, etc. We had a good sleep between about 12:30 am and 7:30 am, leaving the hotel by 8 a.m. to walk the short distance back to the airport.
There we found a half hour queue to get through security, very well roped to get the maximum number of people in a small space. This was followed by another half hour queue to get through passport control, but this could have been shortened considerably if the Dutch had had more than three immigration agents on duty. There were 12 or more checkpoints available to be manned. So in the end we arrived at the take-off gate for our KLM flight with just 10 minutes to spare, but at least we were saved queuing to board that as most people were already on! A bit of digging on Google revealed that this problem has been going on for 5 years, with the queues extending for hundreds of yards outside the airport building.
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I was very pleasantly surprised to find that we were in premium economy which was very civilised. And we had a good meal on it with some Negroni and Baileys to finish off with. Also a good snack before landing in Barbados where we had an hours wait whilst people disembarked, the aircraft was cleaned and more passengers boarded. We had two slightly unpleasant or worrying periods whilst Chris lost her phone and David lost the bag with the charging leads in but both were eventually discovered hidden in the chair backs.
So we landed at Georgetown, Guyana, around 5 pm local time, this being five hours later than European time. There was a man to pick us up and drive us the 90 minutes into Georgetown. He did not seem to be a guide as such and presented us with some printed papers which did not tell us much about the plans. He also gave us some cold water to drink He did tell us about a few sites along the road. but that was quite difficult to understand. The one impressive site was a new bridge that had been built very recently over the river Demerara with their new oil money.
We were on the second floor in the Cara Hotel. And sorted ourselves out with Wi-Fi and suitcases whilst waiting for a lady to come round to the hotel presumably to discuss our stay here in Guyana between seven and 7:30 pm.
As Chris has limited vision and needs as much light in the bedroom as possible, we found the room was very dark with heavy shutters. On our first visit they were kind enough to use plastic rods to prop the shutters open and let more light in. On our second visit, the receptionist refused either to prop the shutters open (supposedly security) nor would he give us another room where we could get more light (claimed they were full and nothing was available). With that he spun round and walked away. I contacted our tour operator, and guess what, a room suddenly became available, we moved rooms, and the new room was full of sunlight. I have written hundreds of reviews on Tripadvisor, and I do not think I have ever named and shamed an individual employee before. But his name was TRAVIS and he should either be found a job away from the reception desk, or given a months training in how to deal with customers. I would not stay again at this hotel when they have someone as rude and unhelpful as Travis behind the desk I spoke to others about him, and he has a reputation for rudeness
The breakfast is somewhat below basic in quality and quantity
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We had a good nights sleep and went down to breakfast around 8 am. It was an agreeable breakfast area, but we had problems with not being able to obtain an espresso coffee without extra payment and we’re not sure if we could order any eggs. On the way out of breakfast we discovered breakfast menus which had not been given to us and we went and asked reception what we could have ordered and about coffee. The receptionist was very pleasant but seemed to have no idea of what breakfast might include and the general sense was if we had paid for breakfast, then everything was included: we will see tomorrow morning how far that it’s true. We also remarked to the receptionist that we were unable to open the shutters in our room and the response by a senior member was that that was how the hotel was designed, punto com.
We went and sat in the garden below us soon after nine, as there was so little light in the room. Unfortunately they were setting up for a Sunday brunch and this was somewhat noisy, but the Australian manager did try reduce this noise to a minimum and he probably ordered our shutters to be put out on a pole,which did indeed give more light to the room.
At 10:30 am we were picked up by the same clueless driver and driven to the nearby local airport . There was already one person in his van when he arrived and we picked up another man, an Australian called James en route. We arrived at the airport by 11 am and were told that our flight took off at 12. But after 12, we were told that it was delayed till 1215 and in fact it was delayed until 12.50 so we were not too happy about this.
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The plane was tiny, just seating 12 maximum. It was only about four feet of headroom inside, so we had to crouch to get to our seats. The flight took one hour to go to Kaieteur Falls. It is one of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the world. It is located on the Potaro River in the central Essequibo Territory of Guyana. It is 741 ft high when measured from its plunge over a sandstone and conglomerate cliff to the first break. It then flows over a series of steep cascades that, when included in the measurements, brings the total height to 822 ft. While many falls have greater height or greater flow, few have the combination of height and water volume, and Kaieteur is among the most powerful waterfalls in the world with an average flow rate of 663 cubic meters per second. Kaieteur Falls is about four and a half times the height of Niagara Falls and about twice the height of Victoria Falls. Apparently the Angel Falls is considered as two falls and not a single drop.
Once at the falls airstrip we were surprised to be given a plastic box of chicken and rice which was quite tasty and a Fanta drink for lunch which Shanette had not told us about. After this we set off with a quiet spoken guide who we could not really understand and she stopped several times to talk about the plants en route to the falls.
There were three viewing areas for the falls, all quite impressive but one which contained a vivid rainbow made by the sun shining through the spray from the falls and was most impressive. The walk to the falls was quite wet at times and also quite rocky and full of tree roots so was not as simple as Shanette had promised me.
We saw the two endemic animals, the Golden Rocket Frog. These are tiny under 20mm long, and I was very pleased to find one. They live in th giant tank bromeliad, Brocchinia micrantha, relying on the acidic, water-filled tanks (phytotelmata) formed by the plant's leaves for breeding, tadpole rearing, and shelter.
.. and the Cock of the Rock bird. The males are bright red/orange and they inhabit tropical rainforests, particularly favouring rocky areas, gorges, and near waterfalls in the Guiana Shield region. They are a highlight for visitors at Kaieteur National Park.
We got back to the main building by 4 pm and took off almost immediately for the return trip which was quite uneventful. The pilot of the plane was a man of few words! He even refuse to do a two minute detour to see the falls from the air. So far our view of the Guyanese people is one that considers them somewhat surly and completely unable to provide service.
Back of the hotel just before six we went down to enjoy the happy hour only to encounter a very surly barman, who certainly did not want to provide us with the Happy Hour advertised package of two drinks for the price of one. Anyway, we enjoyed during the next hour a Caipirinha and a Margarita each and came back to the room to do this diary and then to eat some snacks that we had in the room. Then early to bed as we had an early morning pick up.
Feb 2 and 3 On to Atta Lodge
Feb 4 and 5 and Karanambu Lodge
Then returning to Georgetown
Friday, February 6 Karanumbo To Georgetown.
An early morning ride along the river starting before six and back at the camp about 07.45. There was just the three of us in the boat and we spotted several caiman, storks, herons and kingfishers, before alighting upon a family of three or four otters. We stayed looking at them for 15 minutes at least. Chris just seeing one of them, who was in the nearby bank looking suspiciously out at us.
Then another delicious breakfast and a quick final pack. Departed by 9 am for Letham, roughly 2 hours drive away, by car. David felt we were hassled as people kept turning up at our bungalow for a suitcase that was not yet ready! The drive was uneventful passing just one tiny village and not a head of cattle the whole way. The airport in Letham was on the main road and the check-in area and the waiting room very small. We were there before the check in deadline of 11 am and we did not feel they were right in saying they would refuse us after 11 am. The plane was due at 12:30 but was almost 30 minutes late taking off. It slightly larger plane than the previous two and resembled a rocket inside, having single seats each side of the corridor, probably about 16 in total. The overriding memory of the flight will be the coldness of it as there was no heating at all and we rose to quite a height with temperatures were obviously quite chilly even with my anorak I felt very cold.
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Once landed in Georgetown, a man was waiting with his van to take us back to the hotel Cara Lodge and here we were shown into a room where the receptionist, a tall thin man called Travis seemed unable to provide us with the means for the shutters to be opened to let in more light. As a result David contacted Shanette and soon we were found a new room the equivalent of the original one we had and two of the shutters were indeed pushed well out. We showered and washed our hair and then went down to the courtyard to read our iPads. Then at 5:30 we joined in the happy hour, Chris having a strawberry daiquiri and David a rum punch. We also shared a tasty crêpe with duck and crab. I got finally back to the room to do a little bit of packing as we were going very early, once again in the morning
Saturday, February 7. Georgetown to Paramaribo
We started the day at 6:45 am and were taken to a street market where we had breakfast on stools as a little counter. The best part of this was a passion fruit and ginger drink which we had in a bottle, so could continue it for the rest of the morning. David and I shared just one breakfast but only at a fraction of it and all the food was mixed up and I really did not know what I was eating so not worth getting up at the crack of dawn. We then continued through the market, everyone being extremely friendly with Delven, who had been with us at the breakfast. He was a local chef who had set up his own business in the Back Yard café. His specialty was accompanying clients through the market, buying food and then going back to his café to prepare a lunch with these ingredients.
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Our guide, Carlos, was an extremely affable chatty man who helped make a very pleasant day of it. As we went through the market, and for the first time ever, we really appreciated it and we tried various spices and fruit which the store holders were happy to provide Delven with. He also purchased a snook, a local fish, for our lunch.
After this we got back in the car and did a tour of the town, passing along the seawall and the cathedral and the bandstand and various memorials. This was followed by a walk through thee park, where we fed several manatees with grass that Carlos had picked
This was followed by a visit to the local museum which was full of stuffed animals and birds: but this was made really informative by Carlos who had a story to tell about everything. We were probably in the museum for up to an hour before another short tour and then the Backyard café. Here we were greeted by Christian, one of the two assistants that Delven had working for him. We watched them preparing the food in the kitchen which was somewhat hot due to a power outage. Delven was delighted by the fact that I was a chef, he thought! Four of us sat down for the lunch outside in a pleasant area and were later joined by Shanette. My lunch was the snook, casanova beans. and breadfruit crisps which were delightful.
Near the end Shanette joined us and was in a somewhat sulky mood, but she did offer us a dinner at the hotel which we had to finish before 6:30 pm, as an apology for the fact that the previous night at 9 pm, she had informed us that today’s flight to Syria now going to be at 10:30 pm from the large International Airport at some distance from Georgetown and we were not happy with this arrangement. Shanette did apologise several times but somehow her apologies did not come over as very sincere.
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After this we continued touring around Georgetown driving along the seawall and seeing two red Ibis. And two mongoose on the rocks by the sea. We returned to the hotel around four, very happy with our day out with Carlos.
But David then found he had to fill in forms for leaving Guyana and entering into Surinam that Shanette had sent the night before, but we had not picked up due to the start time being so early. He then struggled for over 90 minutes to do these forms which included so much detail all of which had to be looked up and also took selfies which somehow had to be taken, all on a mobile phone. I went downstairs about 17.20 and ordered two Club sandwiches for takeaway as our dinner and two strawberry Daiquaris on the happy hour basis. David came down soon afterwards and we stored some of the strawberry daiquiri in our flask to take to the airport. We were picked up at 6:30 with Eric already in the car and driven to the International Airport where we arrived well before 8 pm. Check-in was relatively smooth though there were other people there who had not filled in the necessary forms and were struggling with their mobile phones to do so
We realised that we could not take the strawberry daiquiri through security and so sat down for 10 minutes or so enjoying these before going through very busy security, who had not one ounce of humanity in them. Then a 40 minute wait or so before boarding the plane around 9:40 pm which had come through from Miami, and then a 45 minute flight to Surinam, landed in there around 11:30 pm, they’re being a one hour time difference between the two countries. Then a long wait for the suitcases and a ride of an hour into Paramaribo
