I barely got any sleep last night yet again and was not ready to get up at 4:50am this morning but today we go on our 5 Island Tour which is an all day tour (12 hours). Booked through Trip Advisor we would make several stops on several islands and lunch is included; our meeting time was 6:15am. Last night it was arranged for the driver that dropped us off to pick us up again this morning to take us to the meeting spot (he was scheduled to pick us up at 5:30am). He arrived around 5:40am due to another ride which was fine because we would have extra time once we arrived at the meeting location (by now it was light out even though it was early).

When we arrived we saw a group of people outside waiting and I saw the Wanderlust sign so I knew we were at the right place. Kassandra said Saturday would probably be a good day to do the tour as we’d probably meet more tourists and it looked like she was right. When we arrived Jamal (who ended up being our guide) began calling out names and our names were among the first that he called. It became clear to me that Jamal had the group that was going to the resort and the other guide had the group that was going to do the sloth tour (we had about 11 people in our group which was a good size). #fortisland

On the way to the port Jamal showed us things along the side of the road and explained new and old developments. The towns/cities here have different regions and people will say, “I’m from the east side/west side” and etc. Here are some of the things I learned on the tour today:
• Guyana’s floating bridge which is the first of it’s kind and the 4th largest in the world. It was built in 1976 but opened in 1978 and is 2 miles long. They are in the process of building another bridge and may end up closing the one they currently have once built.

• Sugarcane, tobacco and cotton are 3 of the largest and well known things produced here in Guyana.
• The Demerara River is the 3rd largest and is important because it’s the main port of entry for any vessel in Guyana.
• Guyana and Brazil train in an area called Jungle Warfare (see photo below)
• Many people here speak Creolese which is a mix of Creole and Broken English
• The Essequibo River is thr largest river in Guyana and measures about 630 miles in length and is the 3rd largest in South America
• Fort Island has a population of 60 people (very small community)
• The island of Bartica has 9 streets and 7 avenues with an overall island population of 20,000 people
• Easter, Independence Day and Christmas are 3 of the most celebrated holidays in Guyana

For a quick breakfast bite we stopped at a vendor on the side of the road “A&A Hallal Snackette & Fast Food” and we all ordered something (I got a chicken ball which was really good by the way-I should’ve gotten 3 versus 1). After that we boarded the bus again and went to the port. At the poet we got on a speedboat that sat about 16 maybe and we’re off (it would be 15 minutes to our first destination Fort Island).

Once there, a girl on our boat Angie dropped her phone and down in the murky water it went. The port gentleman on the island worked at trying to retrieve her phone (good news she did get it back in at the end of the day (we had to go back and get it)). As everyone got out we walked down the sidewalk passing 2 small side vendors selling fruit and snacks (we went back afterward). At the Fort it reminded me of the Iximchi ruins I saw during my first Guatemala trip. I would say a fair portion of it is still in tact and we walked around and through it looking at how it’s held up all these years. The cannons onsite for the Europeans were seen as tools for survival but for the people of the island symboled oppression. Reading up on it it was two stories, the top was for the soldiers and the bottom was a warehouse and powder house. Facing the Fort on the left side behind it is The Armory where gunpowder and ammunition were stored (the walls were very thick to withstand the effects of attacks).

Heading now toward the Dutch Museum (a national monument in Guyana) we stopped at vendors and I got a chance to try an apple banana (which was basically a small banana) and the watermelon. Inside the Dutch Museum was a lot of information and artifacts but I couldn’t help but feel a way. After reading how the Dutch brought over enslaved Africans and how they were punished by being hung by the neck, feet and rib-cage I became angry. There was an area beside the museum where these events took place and some say it may be haunted (who’s surprised-not me). I personally feel anywhere a traumatic event took/takes place is prone to harbor spirits.

If you’re into ghost stories and that sort of thing Jamal said he did a tour there one time and he was standing in the middle of that guillotine room explaining the history and he said he felt someone right up against him and as he turned to look there was no one there so way did he do…he got out of there with the quickness! History has a way of reminding me how glad I am that I wasn’t living back then. In reading I learned the Berbice Slave Rebellion was the first major attempt by enslaved Africans to win their freedom in Guyana (it was also the first attempt to win freedom in the Caribbean). With the rebellion lasting a year, there is a monument to commemorate the event and the leader Cuffy. I think it’s very interesting to have a monument honoring Dutch influences yet at the same time the Dutch were the foremost slave traders in the area (I don’t see that as honorable but it is part of the history so it does need to be mentioned).

After the Dutch Museum we moved on to the island of Bartica which was a good 45 minute boat ride away. This was a good time to relax and just marinate on the experience in the moment. Once there, we were greeted with a big “One Guyana” sign. What was nice about this stop was the fact that they had small eateries along the waterfront. If more people were out it’d be more lively especially at night. We spent about 20 minutes sitting around in case anyone wanted food (some did get food) and then we proceeded to the next location Fort Kijkoveral which took about 10-15 mins.

On the way there we stopped in the river to glance at the Guyana jail that was situated on another island. At the arrival of Fort Kijkoveral there was mostly remnants of the archway and it was debated if it was made by the Dutch, Spanish or Portugese and it was determined by examination from a historian that it is Dutch. It was the French that ended up sealing the fate of this Dutch fort. Our next stop was the Aruwai Resort White H2O which is where we’ll have lunch and get to enjoy the facilities. We were given a selection of lunch and I chose to try a fish I had never heard of before called snook and it was tasty.

After lunch, there was supposed to be pool time but our food took long to come out so we would have to bypass this stop for now. Across the river was a waterfall that had a mild hike (10 minutes) and the waterfall was flowing more than expected according to Jamal. We stayed here a bit longer than expected and because the islands were right across from each other we simply hopped in the speedboat and went back to the resort for about 40 minutes. Kassandra was anticipatibg usage of the pool and got it.

As we left it was now time to get back to the port where we began but not before Jamal went back to check on the status of Angie’s phone (it was found). Back at the port where we got the speedboat at we got back on the bus and headed for Georgetown. You could say this was around the time of rush hour but we ended up back at our meeting spot around 6:30pm (the same time the tour was scheduled to end). One thing that I thought that was interesting was 70% of the people on tour with us today were Guyanese and live here in Guyana. The three guys that were on the tour were from Trinidad and Kassandra and I were from the U.S., everyone else was Guayanese.

We had agreed we’d push through and try to go to the GuyExpo after the tour but I was tired and wanted a shower after such a long day and to me since we found out tomorrow was actually the last day I wanted to switch to going tomorrow but Kassandra wanted to go today. I gave in agreed to go today though I never understood why with so much time/days left we couldn’t have gone tomorrow. All I knew was if I pushed through tonight I would be super tired upon leaving and just want to shower eat and sleep once home.

The block of the GuyExpo was hot and the taxi had to drop us off around the corner due to streets being blocked off. This looked like the place to be tonight and the crowd was giving very much a fair crowd as far as size and variety. I was shocked, I wasn’t expecting to see this many people at this event. Admission was $500 GYD or about $2.50. USD. The event was both inside and outside and it was like a big fair (no rides), trade show and promo all combined in one. To be honest I was impressed it far exceeded the expectations I had and it looked as though it took a lot of work yo setup some of the footprints.

There were some sampling stations (like Costco), liquor brand promotions, food trucks, gov’t related agencies, entertainment and more. I was looking for something unique and handmade but ultimately didn’t find anything (we did get a free henna tattoo though). After being there for an hour and a half/two hours we left and am I glad we went sure even though I still feel like we could’ve went tomorrow but now we can cross that off. After the exit we were able to find a taxi to take us home.

I find it kind of funny that some of the taxi drivers have no idea where they are dropping us off at (even with the GPS-but I will say the Airbnb is tricky to find on the map for some reason). We got stuck on a house party street at one point but the police helped usher us out. Back at the Airbnb I jumped in the shower, then ate and then to bed I went. I drifted off to sleep while writing about today but it’s a good thing I started earlier. No clue yet as to what exactly we’ll get into tomorrow but we’ll figure it out tomorrow.