Sooooo.....We were all set to move a little upriver on Saturday to the lovely little island of Baganara having stopped off in Bartica to buy fresh supplies en route and having spent a wonderful day on Friday visiting islands in the middle of the Essequibo and then sitting underneath a series of waterfalls at Barracarra after a mini trek through the rainforest..... Then the trouble started! First thing was the engine not starting; and it looked quite serious. Help! Suddenly we felt rather isolated as really are no "yacht" facilities here at all.
So Dick phoned Dom, the Amerindian who drives the little boat into Bartica and lives and works at the resort "Hurakabra" nearby. (Photo in earlier blog). He came straight across then taxied to Bartica to pick up his friend and mechanic, Raymond, an Indian muslim (non practising, eats pork, drinks beer!). They spent the rest of the afternoon buried inside the engine and found a problem which they fixed. Hoorah!! Except that it wasn't the whole problem and when we tried to start it up again next day, it was a no go once more. Then the wind suddenly shifted quite violently and the rain arrived in sheets and we started to drag the anchor alarmingly close to the shore.... Phone Dom again dragging him from his Sunday lunch to give us a shove downstream towards safer and deeper water!
Next day, he brought Raymond out again and having found the real problem with the engine (which was quite a big one and would have cost an absolute fortune anywhere else), it was off to Georgetown (Capital city of Guyana) for Dick and Raymond for the day via water taxis, buses, taxis and ferries to find the man, possibly the only one in Guyana (?) who could fix it...... This took all day. In the meantime, I was having a lovely time ashore doing the most enormous pile of washing (photo of facilities in last blog!) while simultaneously dousing myself in deliciously cool rainwater. Indescribable!
The man in Georgetown knew his stuff and the new parts for the engine came back. Dom and Raymond then spent the next day fitting it all back together and phew, it worked!! Then, they started on the next problem which was fixing the generator leak. This meant taking the infernal thing out of its hidey hole and dismantling it. It was at this point that we left our miracle workers on the boat and set off via water taxi to Georgetown to spend a couple of days on an organised tour of the Kaieteur Falls.
Now we're almost up to date having done the tour yesterday. The trip was rather exciting in the end and very nearly didn't happen after some lack of communication on the part of one or two people or perhaps too much communication even! There were some heated exchanges but we all eventually stuffed ourselves into an "Islander" aircraft for the one hour flight to the falls. An "interesting" trip as most of it was over dense rainforest and through heavy downpours. The falls were incredible and the photos don't do them justice. I felt quite privileged to be one of a relatively select few to have actually seen them for real.
We stayed there for a couple of hours and then had lunch before the flight back. Islanders are very noisy as any Guernseyman will know but I fell asleep for a while anyway on the way back!
We are due to leave Georgetown shortly for the hour and a half boat trip upriver back to the boats. There are eight of us on this particular trip. It is possibly the biggest gathering of yachties that Guyana has seen!
We have made our mark here it seems and have become the talk of the little town of Bartica, so much so that we have been asked to meet the Minister of Tourism on Monday to talk about our experiences here and to discuss possible future changes to make Guyana more yachtie friendly. Coo!!!
For my part, I have really enjoyed being here...the weather, apart from horrendous but short daily downpours, has been a lot more tolerable then Trinidad. The wildlife is quite simply amazing. So many colours and sounds, toucans, macaws, howler monkeys, the "ocelot on the beach" (well it was dark so I couldn't see any colours but it WAS a big cat). The people are just lovely, so friendly and helpful, at least in the little towns and settlements. I know we heard several gunshots yesterday evening while eating dinner at the hotel, but hey, you could hear that in any capital city couldn't you??!!
We are due to leave Guyana midweek and sail back to Charlotteville, Tobago. The trip back should be much shorter and pleasanter, thank goodness. After Tobago we will head north for Grenada and then west for Blanquila, an island off Venezuela. Venezuela is not considered safe anymore for small boats though this particular island seems to be OK. Will let you know.....!
Thursday, 15 October 2009
A few photos from Guyana. News later.....
Below is a colony of oropendula nests. These black and yellow birds are everywhere and very noisy!!
Next picture is the rainwater "laundry" at Kit Nasciemento's place. Plenty of water and elbow grease and the washing hasn't been so clean for ages. 
Left is the waterfalls at "Barracarra" which we all spent ages sitting under and enjoying a good soaking! Below is the best picture I could come up with of this "bird" but you can still see what it is. They are very common around here and make a noise like a little dog yapping.
No comment! It says "welcome to Bartica" on the wall behind though...
Next picture is the rainwater "laundry" at Kit Nasciemento's place. Plenty of water and elbow grease and the washing hasn't been so clean for ages. 
Left is the waterfalls at "Barracarra" which we all spent ages sitting under and enjoying a good soaking! Below is the best picture I could come up with of this "bird" but you can still see what it is. They are very common around here and make a noise like a little dog yapping.
No comment! It says "welcome to Bartica" on the wall behind though...
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Greetings from Guyana!!
Dom, Amerindian at 30 knots.
Jim, Aussie at 30 knots!
The lovely resort where we had lunch. See how brown the water is? But you can swim in it!We left Charlotteville, Tobago last Tuesday, heading around the north end of the island before striking out more or less southwards against the wind and current towards Guyana. Nearly four days later after a hard sail to windward and a lot of motoring, we ended up at the mouth of this enormous river, Essequibo, Guyana. We knew we were there because the water had turned a lovely shade of pale brown although it would be several more hours before we spotted land. We are almost pioneers in sailing here as so few yachts manage the long windward passage from the Caribbean and it’s off the beaten track for Transatlantic crossings.
We anchored for the night at a suitable spot where I was immediately attacked by millions of vicious biting things who had no doubt not tasted fresh “meat” for some time…but enough of my tales of woe!
We set off at the best time for the tide to take us upriver next morning, closely following Troutbridge whose chart plotter was still working (Moonshiner’s wasn’t: more tales of woe), to Bartica where we eventually anchored just before dusk. The trip upriver was a little hairy as the sandy bottom continually shifts leaving some parts of the channel extremely shallow. We did actually touch the bottom a couple of times…luckily, it’s very soft sand and mud.
So here we are now in Bartica, a sort of frontier goldmining town….it really does have that kind of atmosphere. There are cows wandering about the streets. It’s a wonderful mix of people, Amerindians, Portuguese, Afro-Caribbean etc. Some people charge around in high powered colourful riverboats, many used as water taxis…no pictures yet… I can’t recharge my camera…yet another tale of woe! Other tiny wooden boats carry whole families squeezed in, anyone big enough to, wielding a paddle. They cross the river, which must be over three miles wide here, and also have fierce currents to overcome. No helpful navigation lights or buoys anywhere.
The locals are incredibly helpful and friendly and we are managing to get things fixed by degrees thank goodness. The father and son electrician team and the local computer man have been wonderful even coming out to the boat and hardly wanting to be paid either. We had a visit from Kit Nascimento and his delightful jack of all trades righthand man, Dom who have both been brilliant. Kit, born locally, is well known throughout the country and has been an MP among other things. His wife Gem is also local and arranges tours into the interior, the rainforest and waterfalls etc. We hope to charter an aircraft (cheaper as a group!)and fly up to the Kaiteur Falls next week. These are the longest straight drop falls in the world at over 700feet….much more spectacular than the dribbly Angel Falls in Venezuela so I’m told. We also hope to see jaguars, sloths, caymen and possibly a manatee in the jungle and swamps en route.
Kit and Gem invited us all to lunch at their little holiday resort across the river. Dom picked us up in the boat which must have done over 30knots. We all really enjoyed zipping across the water like this…..a change from pounding into lumpy seas at 2knots max! We had an interesting lunch, local dishes included…think we ate something like capybara…it was described to me as a large rodent! Tasted “a bit like chicken” (well, pork actually) and was perfectly acceptable, quite a delicacy I suppose.
We had gone ashore our first night in Bartica and met some real prospectors who spend the week in the mines digging or panning for gold. I have the phone number of Pierre, a New Yorker who has made it big out here in the goldmining business. He said he is more than happy to drive us out to the mining areas. I’d love to find a small piece of native gold, not interested in jewellery, just a nugget will do!!
So I like Guyana. My bites are even starting to heal a little as I write!
We anchored for the night at a suitable spot where I was immediately attacked by millions of vicious biting things who had no doubt not tasted fresh “meat” for some time…but enough of my tales of woe!
We set off at the best time for the tide to take us upriver next morning, closely following Troutbridge whose chart plotter was still working (Moonshiner’s wasn’t: more tales of woe), to Bartica where we eventually anchored just before dusk. The trip upriver was a little hairy as the sandy bottom continually shifts leaving some parts of the channel extremely shallow. We did actually touch the bottom a couple of times…luckily, it’s very soft sand and mud.
So here we are now in Bartica, a sort of frontier goldmining town….it really does have that kind of atmosphere. There are cows wandering about the streets. It’s a wonderful mix of people, Amerindians, Portuguese, Afro-Caribbean etc. Some people charge around in high powered colourful riverboats, many used as water taxis…no pictures yet… I can’t recharge my camera…yet another tale of woe! Other tiny wooden boats carry whole families squeezed in, anyone big enough to, wielding a paddle. They cross the river, which must be over three miles wide here, and also have fierce currents to overcome. No helpful navigation lights or buoys anywhere.
The locals are incredibly helpful and friendly and we are managing to get things fixed by degrees thank goodness. The father and son electrician team and the local computer man have been wonderful even coming out to the boat and hardly wanting to be paid either. We had a visit from Kit Nascimento and his delightful jack of all trades righthand man, Dom who have both been brilliant. Kit, born locally, is well known throughout the country and has been an MP among other things. His wife Gem is also local and arranges tours into the interior, the rainforest and waterfalls etc. We hope to charter an aircraft (cheaper as a group!)and fly up to the Kaiteur Falls next week. These are the longest straight drop falls in the world at over 700feet….much more spectacular than the dribbly Angel Falls in Venezuela so I’m told. We also hope to see jaguars, sloths, caymen and possibly a manatee in the jungle and swamps en route.
Kit and Gem invited us all to lunch at their little holiday resort across the river. Dom picked us up in the boat which must have done over 30knots. We all really enjoyed zipping across the water like this…..a change from pounding into lumpy seas at 2knots max! We had an interesting lunch, local dishes included…think we ate something like capybara…it was described to me as a large rodent! Tasted “a bit like chicken” (well, pork actually) and was perfectly acceptable, quite a delicacy I suppose.
We had gone ashore our first night in Bartica and met some real prospectors who spend the week in the mines digging or panning for gold. I have the phone number of Pierre, a New Yorker who has made it big out here in the goldmining business. He said he is more than happy to drive us out to the mining areas. I’d love to find a small piece of native gold, not interested in jewellery, just a nugget will do!!
So I like Guyana. My bites are even starting to heal a little as I write!
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Sunset, Friday evening, Charlotteville. Colours accurate. Perfect!!
Just a bar we passed on the bus on our way into Scarborough, Tobago.
The Atlantic coast of Tobago.
The bay we are currently anchored in. Boats somewhere in the middle.
Jim (Delicado) dangles in Trouter's rigging in Charlotteville, Tobago inspecting broken bits!SO….We finally managed to leave Chaguaramas after just three hot, humid months there during which time the boat was totally “sorted out” in order that we may sail happily into the Pacific next year absolutely problem free!! Ha!! Famous last words…. Nothing is ever that straightforward with boats!
We set off in company with “Trouters” and her complement of four. Pete has been joined by crew member KayDee(?)...she’s American so spelling doesn’t necessarily follow (!) and our delightful Aussie friends, Pam and Jim from Delicado (so we’re very happy). Troutbridge encountered a problem with her”yankee” en route (that’s a sail to non yachties, not a reference to KayDee!!) and we encountered a problem with one of the rowlocks for the new dinghy in that it is now at the bottom of the sea. Oops! (It wasn’t me by the way who dropped it!)
Problems aside, we had three convenient overnight stops in Trini on our way round the north western corner of the island and then a longish daysail north east to Charlotteville, Tobago where we intend to stay anchored in the delightful bay for a week or so. We were accompanied by dolphins for a few minutes and I took a very nice short video which we will probably never watch again but never mind!
Charlotteville is lovely and seems to be more like the Caribbean used to be according to those who have been here before. The sea is very clear, warm and mostly calm so I have been in several times already. It makes a change from the choppy and very dirty waters around most of northern Trinidad where no one aside from the locals dared to swim.
Apart from the dirt, humidity, heat and insects, I actually enjoyed being in Trini though. There is a very good social scene for cruising yachts and we were there for long enough to make several new friends from different parts of the world with whom it will be nice to stay in contact and perhaps meet up with again.
I also enjoyed the best birdwatching so far there, thousands of screechy parrots aside, and even had Dick occasionally spotting new species high among the rainforest branches. These birds are a real delight to see….so colourful and with such weird calls We caught a few glimpses of the crested oropendula...you know...the ones that build those amazing hanging nests. I wish I could get better photos but will have to leave that to the professionals although I keep trying….!
The locals here in Charlotteville are very friendly, something we didn’t always find in Trini. The part of the island we stayed in used to be mangrove swamp which was cleared by the Americans during the war. The native “swamp dwellers” were resettled further inland but not everyone is happy with this; one individual in particular is always arranging protests hoping to reclaim his land and he resents the yachtie presence. On the way into town on the bus, we passed graffiti saying “ yatchies go home”, “yauties go home” or even “yautchies go home”..We got the message but stayed anyway!!
Yesterday (Friday), we took the local luxurious airconditioned coach from here into Scarborough, the capital of Tobago. The trip took nearly two hours and was virtually an island tour as we travelled from north west to south east up and over the mountains, through the dense rainforest and then zigzagged down the whole of the east coast. The whole trip was wonderful. Lots to see en route and the island is so clean in comparison with most of the other islands. I spotted a MotMot at last (look it up on Google!) and a purple gallinule (look that one up too!!)
We will have been here a week by Monday when we plan to sail south east for Guyana in company with Troutbridge. This should take five days or so and ought to be fairly pleasant and trouble free, but you know how it is with boats…. I think we will get wifi there which is pretty amazing as it’s supposed to be one of the last few relatively unspoilt places left on the planet. I know this because of the recent BBC documentary…Ahh….that’s why we now have connections with the 21st century there. Never mind; it’s still quite unusual for yachts to get there.
Hoping for some interesting tales and photos with my next blog entry then………
We set off in company with “Trouters” and her complement of four. Pete has been joined by crew member KayDee(?)...she’s American so spelling doesn’t necessarily follow (!) and our delightful Aussie friends, Pam and Jim from Delicado (so we’re very happy). Troutbridge encountered a problem with her”yankee” en route (that’s a sail to non yachties, not a reference to KayDee!!) and we encountered a problem with one of the rowlocks for the new dinghy in that it is now at the bottom of the sea. Oops! (It wasn’t me by the way who dropped it!)
Problems aside, we had three convenient overnight stops in Trini on our way round the north western corner of the island and then a longish daysail north east to Charlotteville, Tobago where we intend to stay anchored in the delightful bay for a week or so. We were accompanied by dolphins for a few minutes and I took a very nice short video which we will probably never watch again but never mind!
Charlotteville is lovely and seems to be more like the Caribbean used to be according to those who have been here before. The sea is very clear, warm and mostly calm so I have been in several times already. It makes a change from the choppy and very dirty waters around most of northern Trinidad where no one aside from the locals dared to swim.
Apart from the dirt, humidity, heat and insects, I actually enjoyed being in Trini though. There is a very good social scene for cruising yachts and we were there for long enough to make several new friends from different parts of the world with whom it will be nice to stay in contact and perhaps meet up with again.
I also enjoyed the best birdwatching so far there, thousands of screechy parrots aside, and even had Dick occasionally spotting new species high among the rainforest branches. These birds are a real delight to see….so colourful and with such weird calls We caught a few glimpses of the crested oropendula...you know...the ones that build those amazing hanging nests. I wish I could get better photos but will have to leave that to the professionals although I keep trying….!
The locals here in Charlotteville are very friendly, something we didn’t always find in Trini. The part of the island we stayed in used to be mangrove swamp which was cleared by the Americans during the war. The native “swamp dwellers” were resettled further inland but not everyone is happy with this; one individual in particular is always arranging protests hoping to reclaim his land and he resents the yachtie presence. On the way into town on the bus, we passed graffiti saying “ yatchies go home”, “yauties go home” or even “yautchies go home”..We got the message but stayed anyway!!
Yesterday (Friday), we took the local luxurious airconditioned coach from here into Scarborough, the capital of Tobago. The trip took nearly two hours and was virtually an island tour as we travelled from north west to south east up and over the mountains, through the dense rainforest and then zigzagged down the whole of the east coast. The whole trip was wonderful. Lots to see en route and the island is so clean in comparison with most of the other islands. I spotted a MotMot at last (look it up on Google!) and a purple gallinule (look that one up too!!)
We will have been here a week by Monday when we plan to sail south east for Guyana in company with Troutbridge. This should take five days or so and ought to be fairly pleasant and trouble free, but you know how it is with boats…. I think we will get wifi there which is pretty amazing as it’s supposed to be one of the last few relatively unspoilt places left on the planet. I know this because of the recent BBC documentary…Ahh….that’s why we now have connections with the 21st century there. Never mind; it’s still quite unusual for yachts to get there.
Hoping for some interesting tales and photos with my next blog entry then………
Incredibly fast and free wifi here in Tobago!!
We had a very expensive but very nice "indian" somewhere in Port of Spain...the house wine cost £22! Eek!! The other pair are Mike and Pat from "El Lobo", Geordies who have sailed across from the UK in their concrete boat.
This tern with injured wing landed briefly on the boat as we sailed towards Tobago...but it flew off just as I was going to feed it some lovely red snapper.
I tried to get a decent photo of a pelican but this has been the best so far...it was just about to dive, or rather "plop" into the water after fish.
Taken at the "Pan" on Independence Day. Our amazing tour organiser, Jesse James is in the middle with me and Elaine (Virgo's Child) on his right and Pete (Troutbridge) and Pam (Delicado) on his left. Dick is "lurking" at the back as usual!
At last, a photo of "Pete's rock", a massive lump of coral that his top of the range anchor (Rocna) managed to tie itself around. It took quite a lot of undoing!Monday, 7 September 2009
Photos to go with the previous post.... I hope!!
One of the steel bands we saw on Independence day....pity I can't add the music too!
These women danced and sang...I don't know how they coped with the heat. It was stifling.
Waiting for the bus to take us to the "Pan" on Independence Day. L to R.. Elaine aka Ned Kelly, of "Virgo's Child"...Aussie if you hadn't guessed!, Dick, Pete, Pam and Jim. It was raining by the way!!
The brand new and very shiny dinghy gets pumped up for the first time.....it also floated some time later.....
Just a photo of an amazing thundercloud taken from the boatyard. We saw lots of lightning inside it but I just couldn't take a photo at the right time for some reason....... Anyway, it was rather spectacular.I am waiting patiently yet again for these photos to upload....this must be the tenth time I've tried but at least I'm sitting in airconditioned comfort this time. And hoorah..because it worked this time...at last!
We are still moored in Chaguaramas Bay and just have to get a few more things sorted out with the new dinghy which has caused a hiccup or two... Then.....we plan to sail around to a quiet and clean bay on the north coast before setting out for Tobago where we plan to stay for a few days before striking out for the 300 mile trip to Guyana and the 40 miles up the Essequibo river
Pete on Troutbridge should be coming with us but he is out of the water again for a day or so while the boatyard people redo his antifouling. This antifouling which Moonshiner also has now (American "State of the Art", extremely expensive and on which absolutely nothing is supposed to grow...guaranteed for a couple of years... except that it doesn't appear to work in these warm, fertile waters!) is possibly going to be a cause for concern until we can get into cleaner water.
We have been on some serious stocking up shopping trips.....tins and bulk things like flour.... as we don't know what we will be able to buy in Guyana. Pam and Jim from Delicado are planning to join Pete on his really quite luxurious and very spacious catamaran(!) for this trip and I'm looking forward to their company. Guyana is still relatively unexplored by yachties...it is also therefore prudent not to go there alone?
We sailed on Troutbridge last weekend to a little island west of here, Chakachakaree (or something like that!). This island was a leper colony until they found the cure for the disease about 30 years ago and abandoned the place, leaving it to become a wilderness again. We wanted to go ashore but there was too much swell in the bay so we just contented ourselves with enjoying the peace and quiet for a couple of days......no photos would do it justice except the one that I shall try to upload after this post.....Pete has an anchor which is supposed to be the best in the world.....called a "Rocna"...that's "ancor" backwards...just in case you hadn't noticed. Past experiences have shown us that this anchor is really attracted to rocks and seems to attach itself to them whenever it can....just look at the photo when it arrives! We had one hell of a job to untangle it as you can imagine.
OK....more later but I just don't know when!!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Independence Day!
We, (The usual Suspects...see photo...sorry can't get photos to upload yet. Editor!) had planned a day trip, organised with precision by the delightful Jesse James, on August 31st, Trinidad's Independence day to see the steel bands, known as the "Pan" and then to watch the fireworks at the "Savannah", the huge open space inside the world's largest roundabout!
It nearly didn't happen as the heavens opened during the morning causing flash flooding in many places. I wondered how a steel band would sound when the drums were full of water? In the event however, it more or less cleared up in the early afternoon and we had a lovely day out. Some photos of the Pan above...... There was a surprise draw....lucky tickets under our seats.... our party was extremely lucky as we picked up two of the prizes (xxl T shirts...see photo later) out of only eight given! The music was varied and very good too. We didn't fancy any of the food though having observed the BBWs (big beautiful women!!) spread out in front of us, eating what was on offer.............chicken feet! Absolutely no way, in spite of so often being told by the locals how good they really are....I've seen what chickens love to walk in...........
After the Pan, we had a chinese meal which I shall not comment on (chicken feet may have been preferable) though everyone else enjoyed their choices. The fireworks started at 7.30 so we sat on the grass in the Savannah and waited..and waited, forgetting that Trinidadians do things at their own pace. They did start of course and were very good. I took photos though goodness knows why....one firework going off looks much like another..... it's the bangs and flashes at the time that you can't capture!
All in all though, a lovely day out. Thankyou Trinidad.
We are due to go back into the water at any minute so I'm taking advantage of the electricity while we're still connected. The aircon has gone so the galley fan is on full blast. The temperature in here has already risen 3degrees in about 10 minutes.
I shall post another blog before we leave for Tobago and possibly Guyana...I say possibly because we aren't sure yet..... I'd love to go but........Watch this space
It nearly didn't happen as the heavens opened during the morning causing flash flooding in many places. I wondered how a steel band would sound when the drums were full of water? In the event however, it more or less cleared up in the early afternoon and we had a lovely day out. Some photos of the Pan above...... There was a surprise draw....lucky tickets under our seats.... our party was extremely lucky as we picked up two of the prizes (xxl T shirts...see photo later) out of only eight given! The music was varied and very good too. We didn't fancy any of the food though having observed the BBWs (big beautiful women!!) spread out in front of us, eating what was on offer.............chicken feet! Absolutely no way, in spite of so often being told by the locals how good they really are....I've seen what chickens love to walk in...........
After the Pan, we had a chinese meal which I shall not comment on (chicken feet may have been preferable) though everyone else enjoyed their choices. The fireworks started at 7.30 so we sat on the grass in the Savannah and waited..and waited, forgetting that Trinidadians do things at their own pace. They did start of course and were very good. I took photos though goodness knows why....one firework going off looks much like another..... it's the bangs and flashes at the time that you can't capture!
All in all though, a lovely day out. Thankyou Trinidad.
We are due to go back into the water at any minute so I'm taking advantage of the electricity while we're still connected. The aircon has gone so the galley fan is on full blast. The temperature in here has already risen 3degrees in about 10 minutes.
I shall post another blog before we leave for Tobago and possibly Guyana...I say possibly because we aren't sure yet..... I'd love to go but........Watch this space
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