Guyana

Late at night our plane lands on Timehri Airport, 40 kilometres out of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. Besides Martin and Gerald, the Team of the Borneo Expedition, Markus Ziebell takes part. He is a 34 year old engineer who already did trips to remote areas in Greenland, Alaska and Patagonia. This is his first expedition into the tropical rainforest.
We pass through the entry formalities without problems, but unfortunately Martins Backpack did not arrive with our plane.
Murvin of Rimas Guesthouse where we booked our first night, drives us to town. When he is not working at the hotel, he washes gold in the interior. His stories give us a taste on what to expect.
The next morning we start with the preparations for the expedition. We got help from Wilderness Explorers, a guayanese travel agency which we e-mailed from Germany. With their support it is no problem to achieve the permits for the amerindian villages on our way. The civil servant in the bureau of amerindian affairs is himself of amerindian descent. He seems to be interested in our journey but does not forget to warn us about the caimans!
Sandy de Freitas expresses her concerns little different. She lives at Dadanawa, the biggest ranch in the south of the country. When we meet her at Wilderness Explorers, she greets us: "So you are the mad germans who want to die on the Essequibo".
We know, that 500 kilometres on two junglerivers flowing through pristine wilderness devoid of humans and in parts clustered with rapids and waterfalls are not necessarily easy. But we will see!
Georgetown with its broad alleys and some nice wooden buildings which originate from the dutch colonial period has a certain charme, but we are happy, when Martins Backpack arrives so that we are able to take off for the interior. Our plan was to head for the south on a truck, but because of the lost time due to the missing luggage we prefer to fly. Apart of that it rained a lot during the last month, so the track is probably in a bad condition.
Short time after the small plane took off, the sugar cane plantations and scattered settlements disappear and give way for the almost unbroken carpet of green rainforest. Now we see with our own eyes, that the country of Britains size is extremely thin populated. 90% of the 750000 inhabitants live on the narrow coastal belt. The interior is almost devoid of people.
We get a little scared when we encounter a heavy tropical rainstorm which reduces the sight to almost zero. But soon we pass the front, the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains appear and abruptly the forest ends. We have reached the Rupununi Savannas, a grassland with scattered amerindian settlements and some big cattle ranches. Our flight ends at Lethem on the brazilean border. We buy 60 lbs food per person, mainly rice, noodles, flour and farine, which is roasted cassava.
The next day we continue our jouney in a chartered 4-wheel drive. We head south across the savannas with their red termite mounds and frequent palm groves. The landscape reminds me a bit on africa.
When crossing swollen creeks the car sometimes sinks deep into the water, but always manages to reach the other side. Eventually we have to cross the Rupununi River. We expect a motor ferry and are surprised when about 15 cowboys of the nearby Dadanawa Ranch push and pull the pontoon with muscle power to the other bank.
Duane, the manager of the ranch, already once did the trip we plan. But he lost one of his boats with all the food in a waterfall, which caused some problems! He thinks our chances to make a successful expedition are not too high.
We don't loose our courage and reach Aishalton, an village inhabited by Wapisiana amerindians in the evening.
Here we meet Regis James, a 32 year old amerindian who already accompanied many, mostly scientific expeditions. He is willing to go with us. A letter which announced our arrival reached him a month ago. Dr. Jevan P. Berrangé, a british geologist who mapped southern Guyana at the beginning of the 70s recommended him, and gave us good advive on the rivers we plan to canoe. After Borneo Martin and me thought, that it makes sense to travel in Southamerica with two boats. The main reasons are greater safety and the chance to shoot better boat pictures. We found Markus by an ad on the Internet. The fourth man should be a guyanese we decided, because locals usually can provide a lot of useful and interesting informations about the area where they live. Later we discovered, that Regis was an excellent choice. He never disappointed us.
Some creeks with steep banks make the trail after Karaudanawa impassable for cars. We load our luggage on a cart which is hauled by two oxes.

By oxcart accross the Rupununi Savanna

Unfortunately I have a bad cold with fever. Despite that handicap I am impressed by the vast savanna with rolling hills and many raptors in the sky above the grassland. The strong rains have covered the land with a lush green carpet. Often we pass areas which were flooded not so long ago. Regis parents accompany us with their cart to Karaudanawa, the next village which we reach in the evening.
The settlement is really widespread. There are only about thousand people living here, but between the palm thatched clay houses there is always a lot of space. We show our permits and are welcomed friendly by the chief of the village. The headmen are called tuschau or captain. They are elected and have an important function in the life of the village. The Wapisiana are christianized since more than 50 years and wear western clothes. Nevertheless many still lead their old lifestyle in which shifting cultivation of cassava play the biggest role but hunting and fishing are also important food sources. Today more and more of the younger men go to the towns of nearby Brazil to look for work, which causes social disruptions.
The next morning we continue our voyage with a fresh ox-team. Sometimes we need to push the cart to climb steep ridges. At other occasions it is necessary to slow it, to avoid, that the heavy cart on the way down a riverbank injures the oxes.
Often we cross scattered jungle islands in the sea of savanna. Beautiful macaws pose fascinating sights. We overnight at the hut of a family, located near their fields. The savanna is too dry for agriculture, so the indians have long ways to their fields in the forest. For not need to travel this trail every day twice, they sleep in simple huts near their gardens.
On the third day of our trek to the Kuyuwini we leave the savanna behind. Apparently it is long ago, that a cart used this stretch of the trail. Often we need to clear the path off branches from trees felled by storms. Short time before dawn we reach the river where we put up our two tents. The loud concert of the howler monkeys indicates, that we now reached the true rainforest.
Next morning we need some time to pump and load our inflatable canoes. But we have no problem to store the baggage for 30 days on the river.
Just after half an our paddling we see some fast looking dugouts on the right bank. Some metres above the river the new village Kuyuwini Landing is situated. It was established only some month ago. The village is inhabited by Wai-Wai amerindians, who lived before deeper in the south.

Wai-Wai children

The Wai-Wai are known as the guyanese indians least influenced by civilization. Their shooting skills with bow and arrow are famous among the 8 other tribes of the country. We use the chance and buy one of their bows. Regis is no Wai-Wai, but also skilled in the use of the weapon. Additionally we buy some large fishing hooks. Ours are far to little for the monster fishes of Guyana!
Finally we say good bye and start the river expedition. First the Kuyuwini has a single bed of about 40 metres width. But soon it gets narrower and we glide through partially flooded swamps full of thorny, spiny palms. Sometimes the channel is so small, that we hardly can pass through. Always we fear a collision with the sharp thorns which would inevitably punctuate our rubber boats. But everything goes well. Along curtains of hanging lianas we paddle through the calm flooded forest with its somehow depressing atmosphere. Anyway, it is fascinating to penetrate deeper into the lush green.
Around 4pm we reach a good camping spot. That at least is what we think. But Regis advises to paddle on. A big rotten branch is hanging over our chosen spot. The advice of the amerindian derives of his own experience. On another expedition he was buried under the branches of a fallen tree while sleeping in his hammock. He was very lucky not to have lost his life! Little later we find another spot and pitch our tents in the shade of the forest high above the waterline.
Markus bakes nice tasting bread for breakfast in the heat of the fire, on which we put honey and marmelade. The birdlife on the Kuyuwini is quite rich. Often we observe different kingfishers, toucans and macaws. Sometimes we see colonies of nests hanging on a small halm over the water. These are the homes of the black and yellow caciques who remind me on the african weavers.
In the afternoon we meet two Wai-Wai who just stalked a troop of spider monkeys with no luck. Although we see signs of old camps several times on the Kuyuwini, we meet no other people on the whole length of our river expedition.
A big three quarter moon rises above our campfire. Lighning beetles crash into the fire, two frogs are having a singing contest and large fish hunting bats are zig-zaging quietly over the water.
After three days there are still some narrow passages, but the thorn swamps ly behind us. Despite the high water level the current is week and we have to work hard to paddle about 20 kilometres a day in our inflatable canoes. During the nights Regis often hides lines with small fishes as bait, to catch different types of catfish or the predatory aymara.
The amerindian almost always spots animals first. Without his sharp eyes we would see only half as much. So its no wonder that he sees the tapir first, who crosses the river in front of us. First we think to be able to reach this largest mammal of south america to shoot a close up picture. But soon we learn that the giant who weighs about 500 lbs swims faster than expected.
Simple carvings on the rocks along the river show, that once this region was inhabited by amerindians. The Taruma tribe who lived here almost died out due to influenza in the 1920 years, like this was the case with many tribes in amazonia who had no immune power against the diseases of the whites. The few who survived joined the Wapisiana and Wai-Wai. Today remain only a handful of old people who are able to speak Taruma.
Although we travel on the peak of the dry season it rains almost every day. Even here signs of a changing climate? Anyway, we don't care for the rain because after the heavy showers we dry fast under the tropical sun.
The forest above the high riverbanks never gets flooded and is less thick. We have no problem to move across it during our jungle walks. But it is very important to mark the trail with the machete, because it is easy to get lost, like I know from own experience. Some years ago I was lost in the african rainforest of the Congo and needed a week to get out of the jungle! For our european eyes there are usually no landmarks in the rainforest. Eye sight is seldom more than 30 or 60 feet.
Regis shows us the trails and caves of the armadillos, explains plants used for healing or reveals where a raging jaguar has shredded the bark of a young tree with his claws. On another excursion Markus and me spot a troop of spider monkeys nearby. The frightened monkeys throw branches to get rid of their intruders.
On another occasion I almost step on a little green snake. Most of the reptiles here are not venomous but I'm a little shocked. Martin has a similar strange encounter when he meets a big, brown bird spider while filling his canteen in the dark without a torch.

Birdspider

For to have a scale for a photograph, we want to put a spoon near her. Probably she don't like that, because she attacks with a wild jump and touches Markus's leg. No problem but Regis tells: "Sometimes people die because of their bite, they have more poison than some snakes".
The observations on the river stay interesting, too. We see electric eels which have a length of more than three feet. With their electric strokes they can paralyze horses, like 19th century explorer Alexander von Humboldt witnessed in an interesting experiment. Behind the leaf curtain of the riverbank we quite often see little caimans. We already heard: "The big ones you will see behind the last big waterfall on the Essequibo" So the tension is kept!
One day we meet our first Anakonda which lies coiled up on a sunny spot above the river. Her body is thicker than the upper leg of a strong man. With its green-brown flecks it is well camouflaged. To get a better picture we approach her over land. When we are only some metres away she glides into the water with surprisingly fast speed.
Another time we hear a loud, rattling noise. Regis immediately reports "Riverdogs". Shortly after the armada of 5 giant otters swims towards our direction sometimes diving and resurface again. After their curiousity is satisfied, they disappear.

Curios giant otters

This biggest otter species can reach 6 feet and resembles with the sharp teeth more a wolf than a droll otter. Scrupulous hunting for their pelts extincted them in big parts of their home range. But here in Guyana we spot family groups of them almost every day.
On a short boat trip in the evening Markus has the luck to observe two jaguars climbing in the trees along the river.
The only rapids of the Kuyuwini have disappeared because of the high water level, so we are excited when we reach the Essequibo after 9 days on the river. We know from Dr. Berrangé, that this river is dotted with numerous rapids and waterfalls. But the first two days she flows calmly in her broad bed. But then the scene changes dramatically: Dark rocks and some hills appear and the river divides often into a lot of channels around many islands. Big red pacu fishes swim in the clear water and the caimans sometimes lying in the sun on a rocky island take almost no notice of us. Sometimes a capybara jumps into the water, the biggest rodent of the world.
This area gets almost no human visitors, even indians rarely get to the "waterfall section" of the Essequibo. Before Regis sometimes tried to sleep in his hammock, but always had to retreat into a tent, because of the rain in the middle of the night. Now he thinks it is safer always to sleep in the tent." The animals here don't know humans, so they don't fear them. I know about cases where a jaguar or puma has pulled out people off their hammocks, so I don't want to take a chance here" We get no visit of a big cat, but a giant armadillo strolls noisily through our camp how his footprints show Regis in the morning.
Even at bathing we never feel absolutely safe, because we know that the Piranhas are everywhere. In the moment a hook disappears under water, very often one of these predators with their sharp teeth trys to catch the bait. Their greedyness is so big, that they bite again immediately after swallowing the first hook! Anyway, we keep on eating them, not the other way round! But actually they are full of bones so they are not our favorite dish!
Of cause the caimans are often around, too. Once a guy watches Markus bathing, only 15 feet away! During the night we sometimes watch their red eyes in the light of the torches.
A loud sound is the first sign of a rapid. Along the whole width the river falls over a rock barrier, about 8 feet. Certainly we stop and scout before attempting the run. Finally we find a kind of waterslide through which we shoot down between the rocks.

Gerald and Regis in the rapid

The high waves soak us completely, but such little cool downs are very welcome under these temperatures! After the main fall a series of smaller rapids follow, before we glide again for sometime on calm water. This combination of more or less high falls with rapids followed by smooth water is typical for the Essequibo. Sometimes we paddle unvoluntary backwrds, but besides that we are satisfied with the performance of our heavy loaden boats in the whitewater. The judgement of the current which the choice of the best route is based, is as important as skilled paddlework.
While before we mostly had to camp in the dense, dark forest, now we often find scenic spots on little islands. Yellow sand beaches in front of white foaming waterfalls make for real holiday atmosphere.

Beautiful camp spot

We use the nice surroundings to spend frequent layover days. The proximity of the rapids is ideal for interesting whitewater training with the empty boats, which weigh only about 26 lbs. Narrow channels give the possibility for interesting boat excursions into the island labyrinths. The roaring of the waterfalls one can hear over a great distance, which fascillates orientation in the forest on extended walks. Sometimes I see bigger animals like howler monkeys or peccaries on these excursions which I usually undertake alone. But more frequent are observations of smaller lifeforms, like steel blue wasps which lay their eggs into caterpillars living in a rotten tree.

Caterpillar

Only rarely the colourful blossoms of orchids or lianas appear in the foliage, but the thousands of different green colours- and forms make for new impressions again and again.
Slowly our food gets less varied, because fresh things like garlic and onions or sausage and marmelade are already almost consumed. So it is really nice, when Markus surprises me on my birthday with a cake which he baked on the fire!
The evenings on the campfire with Regis are always interesting. It doesn't matter if he tells about Bush Didi, the one-eyed giant who lives deep in the forest and is keen for human meat or about black magic, still widespread among the amerindians. Of cause we learn a lot about Guyana, especially the situation of the native tribes. Every evening he sings a song for us, sometimes in english, sometimes in wapisiana.
At some occasion we see guans or currasaws, big black chicken of almost turkey size. They are not shy so it might be possible to shoot them with our arrow, but we prefer just to photograph. One night while sitting at the water the bow comes in use: Regis has seen an aymara and manages to shoot him. Shortly after, he perceives another move in the water. He lights his torch and shoots in the same moment. The two-feet long aymara hides under our boat, but Regis grabs the arrow on his back and finishes him with the machete.
Less impressed is our third anakonda, sunbathing on the shore. We would like to picture her in motion, so we throw small sticks. But even when Markus hits her with bigger branches she don't react. Probably she thinks: "Oh, again such a stupid branch, thrown on me by the wind". Finally we give up and canoe on.

Anakonda-the biggest snake of the world

Up to now we were able to negotiate all rapids. Only twice we had to line the boats through a rapid which seemed to dangerous to run. We can't afford to loose gear or a boat in this endless wilderness.
Certainly we are not keen to shoot the 18 feet high Schomburgk Falls! From the description of Dr. Berrangé we know that it is possible to go around the main fall by a small channel on the left. We find this river arm, canoe it down and have only to line a short distance to get to the foot of the fall.
The jungle nature gets even more beautiful. Forest mountains, sand islands and big black boulders. We reach Sawkins Falls. Regis and me go first. A slide leads to high waves, but we stay straight and get no problem. Then the second boat follows.

Markus in front of King GeorgeV Fall

I watch it through the camera lense to get a nice series. They take the slide too far left and are hit by a powerful sidewave which immidiately turns the boat. Martin gets under the canoe and looses his glasses. Fortunately both manage to hold on the boat and climb up on it again.
Most gear is stowed safely in the middletube but even the waterproof packs, tied on top, stayed on their place. Unfortunately Martin has no spare glasses, so the loose of his eye lenses is a bad handicap to him. But our now half-blind photographer takes his bad luck with humor and keeps on shooting surprisingly good pictures!
Then we reach the next step of Sawkins Falls. The main stream in a sharp right turn is full of rocks and absolutely unnavigable for us. A smaller arm to the right disappears under a cavelike overhanging rock. Only somebody who is tired of life would paddle into this channel, because it is impossible to see which hazards await the paddler. So we scout the right side of an island. But the same, no way through. Even lining is impossible, because of the steep bank. Then we discover a high water channel which is now dry and full of rocks. We only have to carry our gear over a short distance in open terrain, so we keep the boats inflated. But we open the zippers and carry each of the three tubes alone, with the luggage in the middle one.
After an hour we passed by the fall and immediately reach the last barrier of the falls. On the left side it seems runnable. After a sharp turn we need to go through a narrow opening between mossy rocks. After that a small eddy provides a break before the next passage into the high waves of the main current. The first boat makes it, but Markus and Martin miss the opening and get trapped on a rock. The current lifts the boat, and Martin who sits in front falls from his kneeing position into the water. Immediately the now lighter boat is free, but there remain only some metres to the next ledge. Surprisingly Martin manages to climb on top before, but I fear the next capsize because they don't have enough time to navigate into the next passage. But this time they are lucky and glide over the chute which is covered only with little water. We pick off the sandal Martin lost in the water from the current and continue. Markus whose birthday is today will probably never forget these adventures.
A sound deeper and louder than anything we heard until now on the Essequibo announces the King GeorgeV Waterfall. All the falls we encountered before splitted before a barrier into numerous arms. This one thunders on whole width about 40 feet down, divided only by a small rocky island. Carefully we approach the abyss, but have no problem to carry our boats and gear over the rocks on the left side, which are flooded only at high water. A nice beach at a bay on foot of the fall gives us the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular sight a day long, before we continue our voyage.

Before the capsize

Behind the fall more rapids come and for a long time the river is constricted in a gorge and flows with good speed. But before Manarowa Falls again the usual labyrinth of islands.
We know, this falls flow over different cascades which extend over a distance of about a mile. A portage is unavoidable. Regis and me set of to search for the old route which Dr. Berrangé used on his expedition at the beginning of the 70s. Soon we discover an old trail, partly overgrown but still visible. It was cut by balata bleeders who canoed at high water uprviver from the village Apoteri to collect the gum of the balata tree. Until the end of the 70s it was a major income earner for Guyana. Balata was mainly used for oversea cables.
Unfortunately the trail leads only to the top of another cascade, where we put up our tents. We need to walk two times for half an hour to carry all our luggage in the bagpacks to the spot. Next day we need quite long to scout and cut the further portage route. The old trail has almost disappeared.
At noon we finally reach the bottom of the falls. We start an overland excursion, because up to then we saw only little of the falls through the dense forest. We balance on black rocks and hike up the Essequibo Gorge full of impressive whitewater in which high cascades flow from the other side of the river.Finally we climb a high boulder and enjoy the most beautiful sight on the Essequibo so far: The about 60 feet high main cascade of the Manarowa Falls., which has not the fearsome Power of King GeorgeV, but shows a phantastic panorama of blue sky, white water and lush vegetation.

Manarowafall

Green is the dominating colour, but jacaranda shrubs with blue blossoms and some red-orange flowers also grow on the rocks in the middle of the spray.
The next day we reach the last major fall, King WilliamIV. It was named 1849 by Robert Schomburk who explored the british colony for the crown. His journey up the Essequibo ended on this barrier. In 1875, Barrington-Brown was the first who went up the whole length of the Essequibo.
We find a portage route, still well visible and have no problem to bypass the fall. Back on the river we camp on a beautiful spot where a small, clear creek joins the river. A big electric eel and a small kingfisher use the place to hunt fishes.
When I sit quite in the forest, I hear calm noises coming closer. Shortly after 13 peccarries, little pig relatives appear and pass by, one after each other.
When we continue, we have to negotiate again some rapids, but then the scene changes: The hills disappear, and the river flows in a single bed quietly with a slow current. Before the caimans we saw had 6 feet maximum length, but now we often encounter large black caimans for which the falls seem to be an insurmountable barrier. These biggest south american crocodiles can reach 18 feet. Overhunting for their hides is the reason, that they are already extinct in large areas. Here in Guyana they are still widespread, but seem to be shy, because when they see us from a distance, they glide fast from the sandbanks into the water. At a small island we see sand flying up into the air. First we think of caimans, but when we get closer, we watch two big arran turtles digging holes to lay their eggs. One of them notices us and rushes into the water.
I couldn't imagine. that these animals with their heavy shells are so fast! A turkey vulture who waited only some metres away for a good chance to steal the eggs disappears too. The other turtle stays, and we can watch her from close distance. She is about 6 feet long and weighs around 60 lbs. The amerindians and other inhabitants of amazonia like their meat and thin, tiny eggs. Therefore they are on the brink of extinction, too.
One of our maps show two villages on this part of the river. But we meet the first amerindian on the Essequibo just in front of his village Apoteri. We learn, that the villages on the map are abondoned since long. Once Apoteri was an important centre of the balata industry. But now the Macushi and Wapisiana make their living only from the harvest of their fields, hunting and fishing.
After 500 kilometres and 29 days on the river of which we paddled 23, our expedition has come to an end.
The welcome is friendly but a little shy. A young man starts a conversation, and tells us, that he lost half of his right arm from a caiman, when he was a child. A building of the balata company functions as guesthouse. There we dry our boats and pack our gear.
But the high point of the day comes, when we walk under the full moon light to the village. At many houses the amerindians offer parikari, an alcoholic drink made of cassava, which taste, consistency and strength is always different. This is a good place to celebrate our birthday parties, because on the river we had no drink to salute!

In Apoteri

The people here already had some visitors, but apparently we are the first to enjoy parikari. Probably the others knew, that spittle is an important ingredient!
The next day we hire a boat with outboard engine to go up the Rupununi. Regis told us about Dianne McTurk, who raises orphaned giant otters since 20 years and is active in eco-tourism on her ranch Karanambo. We had a radio call with her from Apoteri and she invited us to visit her. At Annai a car waits for us and we reach the ranch late in the evening. Mrs. Mc Turk is an impressive lady who tells us interesting stories of her life. Most of her clients are birdwatchers who find their paradise in the oxbows and ponds of the Rupununi. We explore the environment of this savanna river the next day, accompanied by an amerindian of her staff. Lots of caimans, blooming amazon water-lilys which leaves have a diametre of three feet, giant Jabiru storks, many kingfisher- and heronspecies are waiting for us. Most of the birds we know already from the rainforest, but the numbers of species and individuals here are even more impressive. One of the highlights of this day is a hawk who stands in front of a small but highly poisonus coral snake with beautiful black-red-yellow colour. Apparently he doesn't dare to attack, and when we get closer the hawk disappears and the snake escapes.

Diannne's car takes us back to Lethem. This time we don't want to fly and soon find a black man who wants to drive to Georgetown and is willing to give us a lift. But later we meet a Macushi, who warns us: He mentions that the black is involved in drug smuggling and that we will get problems when something is found at him at a checkpoint. We take his advice serious and go by plane, because we can't find another means of transport.
Once again we are impressed by the giant green carpet of Guyanas rainforest. There is still a lot of pristine nature in this country like we saw. But big logging-and mining companies have already started to exploit the natural resources of the country. We are afraid if it is not possible to establish large reserves now, in a few years it will be too late. Then one of the last untouched rainforest wildernesses will have disappeared forever.