Things have been hectic the past few weeks, but I wanted to finish this blog post series before I leave tomorrow. So, without further ado:
Saturday morning, we decided to make an excursion across the border to Bon Fim, Brazil. Lethem is only a stone’s throw away from the Takatu river, which serves as the border between Guyana and Brazil. The small border town of Bon Fim is not far away on the other side. However, we weren’t entirely sure if we could get there. American citizens are supposed to have a very expensive visa in order to enter Brazil (lucky us, huh?), but we heard from multiple sources that to travel to Bon Fim, it wasn’t necessary. After the hotel tried and failed to connect us with their usual guide, we decided to just hail a car on the road to the immigration office on the border and then see about finding our way from there.
The car we picked up drove us over the Takatu and left us at the immigration office on the Brazil side. There we encountered a fairly large crowd, which resulted in a long and unproductive wait. After discussing our options with a British friend who happened to be there with a tour group, and eventually asking an immigration officer, we concluded that the rumors about crossing to Bon Fim were not true, and that we would need the expensive visa after all (which, by the way, is only obtainable in Georgetown, across the country). We started to walk back to Lethem, taking pictures on the Takatu bridge on the way.
At the top of the bridge, a man in a little blue car stopped and inquired, “Are you getting good pictures? You can get better ones in Bon Fim!” After our unsuccessful inquiry in Brazil, his claim seemed a bit dubious. In spite of our doubts, he assured us that we could in fact get to Bon Fim, and that he would happily take us. To further assuage us, he even gave us a lift to the Guyanese immigration office to ask about this ourselves. After a short conversation, the genial officer subtly encouraged us by telling us to “never say never!” if we really wanted to get to Bon Fim, and by assuring us that we wouldn’t have a hard time on the way back into the country.
It was a little jarring to cross a river and suddenly be on the right side of paved roads, and to see stoplights and signs in Portuguese in a town that couldn’t be much larger than Lethem. Even New Amsterdam, the second largest town in Guyana, doesn’t have any stoplights. It was one thing to take a plane ride to Tobago and be in a much more developed country, but quite another to drive 15 minutes and see such a drastic change. Jimmy, our impromtu tour guide, carried us to a little restaurant in Bon Fim near his house, where we had a great meal and got a small peek at Brazilian culture. After lunch, we took a ride around Bon Fim and then headed back to Guyana for the main event, the rodeo.
The Guyanese rodeo was quite different from the rodeos I went to as a child. Here, the Amerindians were the cowboys, and the rodeo was like a small fair. We hung out with other volunteer friends, ate meat on a stick (a very welcome treat; before the rodeo I could count the number of times I ate beef in Guyana on one hand), and enjoyed watching the events. The real event was the music and dancing that started at night fall: lots of dancing and music!
Saturday morning, we headed to Moco Moco falls. This is a small waterfall that was once the site of a hydroelectric plant built by the Chinese government. Unfortunately, it was damaged by a landslide and has been out of commission ever since. It was a nice place to go for a Sunday morning swim, and it was an enjoyable excursion that allowed us to pass through an amerindian village.
The last part of our trip, the stop in Surama, was much more peaceful than the start (besides the fact that we nearly got stranded there when it was time to leave), so there's not much to tell. Part 3 will be pictures of Lethem, Brazil, and Surama, which I'll post after I return.
On a final note, this will be the final blog post I make before reaching home. The reality of being back in the states has been in the back of my mind for the last week. However, I've been trying to focus on enjoying the remainder of my time here, instead of thinking about the readjustment process and the "reverse culture shock" of being back in America for the first time in 11 months. I'm not quite ready to leave Guyana yet; I wish I could carry my students for the next year, especially my 4th form students who will be writing their CXCs next year. I felt like I was only truly becoming comfortable in New Amsterdam in the last couple of months.
There's a saying that if you eat Labba (a local animal) and drink the black water, you'll always return to Guyana. Over the year, I felt that experiencing the diverse culture and beauty of this country has been my way of doing that. It has been wonderful to work with my students and seeing all of the wonderful places, especially in the hinterland. While it hasn't been easy, I really appreciated the opportunity to live here and have this experience. I truly hope that I'm able to return here one day soon.
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