Where we were

Stabroek Market, Georgetown

Guyana - Land of Many Waters

We were in Georgetown, Guyana between February 2007 and February 2009. We lived in Queenstown, the oldest part of Georgetown. It was the original village and Georgetown is made up of many villages which together make up the city as a whole. 

Guyana is the same size as Great Britain but with only a small population - just over 3/4 million. Guyana means Land of Many Waters and it certainly lives up to its name. The country is riddled with rivers which flow from and into the Atlantic coast - The Demerara of sugar fame, the Berbice to the East and near Suriname and the Essequibo with an island the size of Barbados, to name but a few. Most of the houses in Georgetown are built of wood and are on stilts to foil the constant flooding which occurs when the rains fall and the tide is coming in.

We were very fortunate that we were able to travel throughout the country during our placement by a whole host of forms of transport. 

We travelled from school to school by bicycle.

We travelled around the city by taxi (70p a ride anywhere)

 We travelled from town to town by minibus.

We crossed and went down rivers by speedboat.

And we reached the inaccessible places over the rain forest by 5 - 12 seater planes.

It certainly beats the Mitcham one way system!