Day 6-9 - Updates becoming less frequent now!

Obviously due to being in the middle of the jungle, giving updates is difficult but now is a good time so here it is for you all!
Over the past few days the camp has been improved and even rebuilt! Toshi had his 21st birthday, that big boy!... he wished for a pony but it's yet to come. A lot of our new friends came including Dillon, one of the workers at Iwokrama, and Phenton, a legend in his own right who attempted to teach me how to make his world famous bush brew. After lovingly adding the eggplant peel, yeast, water and sugar to a plastic bottle it all blew up sending aubergine shrapnel all over the road and bringing back my repressed memories of my time in 'nam. A good time had by all however London dry gin has now been renamed 'poison' by the locals.

With the EPA yet to have been fully processed the only past times are improving camp and our cooking skills... I however have undertaken butterfly catching under the careful guidance of Toshi and have somewhat surpassed him by catching a Morpho achilles (for those of you who dont know, it looks ace).
Dillon is having his 21st birthday this evening to which we were all invited however Toshi and myself have had to return to Georgetown to finalise the EPA application. All i can say about that is that I hope everyone is drinking and having fun on our behalf... I know we are on theirs!

Everyone in the area has been extremely friendly including the loggers up the road, the workers at Iwokrama and the members of Fairview an Amerindian village, inviting us to gatherings left, right and centre (tic toc tic toc!)

As for biology the only thing we can do is look at the animals and get used to identifying them in the wild... for myself, I'm sampling the air... by smelling it... taking some preliminary readings!

So for those worried parents and lovers that are unable to sleep at night through fear of losing their little darlings, we dont yet have malaria or snake bites... and Emma and myself are still yet to be bitten by ANYTHING!... I guess the only worry is that we might be corrputed by Wilson and Phenton's seductive dance moves!

Over and Out!
Mark (Princess) Brown

Day 4+5 - The other two still in Georgetown

Just a quick post to let everyone know what Tosh and I have been up to while swanning about in Georgetown. Although we were both thoroughly bummed about not joining the rest of the team (especially now as they have their own splash pool!!), we have actually been having a great time in Georgetown mainly talking to everyone and getting to know what's what about the place. On sunday we had lunch at some ladies' house, Andrea and Noelle who i met at the RGS funnily enough. We got to see the inside of one of the few restored wooden houses that make up the city. They also took us on a speed tour of the sites which include the sea wall and various other important buldings, the high court (not that we want to end up there) and the tallest wooden church in the world.

Yesterday, National Carribean Day, we decided to take a walk around to the zoo and botanical gardens (sticking to biology and all). It was pretty interesting and we definately sharpened up on our bird identifying skills as there were so many types of macaws and eegrets. They had Harpy Eagles, although both Tosh and I thought they had far too many of the rare birds, in far too smaller cages! They also had jaguars and a lion, once again the cages were a bit too small for the animals comfort. There are plenty of birds just flying about in the city, no need to go to the jungle..... just kidding.

We have been chatting to many people from taxi drivers and street vendors to VSO officers and an ex-seal, coast guard, boat inspector official and other people who drop by.. Our aim, to try get a picture about how everything happens in Guyana. It's a very vibrant country and definately worth a visit!

Tosh and I are now impatiently awaiting our ride down to join the others! Just one hour to go and then we'll be on our way!

Day 4+5 - In the Jungle

We’re three days into the jungle and were nice and cozy but still stressed out! 7 out of 9 of us have made it and 2 of us are coming in tomorrow, they’re still alive as well I think! We’ve set up the bashers and hammocks and are in the process of re-doing the tarpaulin shelter. The meals we’ve had are pretty disgusting but surprisingly satisfying and as yet there have been no major problems, although Alex’s hammock fell down with her in it last night! We’re meshing really well and there have been only small minor disputes. Aside from that this stay is going to amazing; the weather is blissful and the area is beautiful; next to our camp site (within our campsite) is a deep plunge pool that we swim in everyday, the work is hard but the reward is all worth it. Toshi and Steph are really missing out but they’ll be able to enjoy the area in the morning. Personally I feel as though I’m already loosing weight; the sweat here just drips off and without a bandana the sweat really gets in your eyes.

The trip down was pretty hectic. We took an overnight minibus and although we knew we wouldn’t be able to get much sleep the journey was so bumpy because the road is made with clay and there are potholes everywhere. Alex got the most sleep because of motion-sickness pills, followed by Emma and Ester. Of the boys 2 ended up trying to sleep on the floor, and Mark was proposed to by a drunken pregnant girl!

Biology-wise we’ve seen all sorts of crazy shit! This morning we found a wasp nest happily taking advantage of our tarpaulin; this was however swiftly destroyed with 100% DEET. We’ve seen a few kapybara (massive rats), a fair few bats and a whole load of weird butterflies. Yesterday we came across an amzingly small spider that mimicked a mould on a twig, putting 4 legs forwards and 4 legs back it could camouflage away. As yet we are yet to see any monkeys or snakes but we’ve seen a fair few birds including toucanettes! Things we’ve learnt so far is that ant bites hurt like hell, black flies bite worse than mosquitoes but mosquitoes bite a hell of a lot more! Mark and Emma are yet to be bitten but everyone else is getting annihilated by all sorts of creepy crawlies! We’ve all begun to not care about the Sun as well, the guys (apart from Ed who has a V shaped shirt tan) are all happy strowling about with no tops on.

The people here are all genuinly friendly. Everyone that drives by honks, which may just be because of a massive camp of white people they usually don’t see, and some just kind of stop by for tea and have a chat, as well as that they all wave. Aparently national figures for tourists in Guyana are at 32/month! Our main ranger is called James, who is can craft pretty much everything you’ve dreamed of – he even made Ester a little step which we now use as a veranda!
Our camp is prime location as well, as right next to us we have a creek with red water, and we have made it our designated pool! The water is really fresh and fast-flowing, so we’re also using it as a fridge, and we’re filtering and iodining the water to drink.

Things are going really well, we’ve made ourselves quite at home; there isn’t much to worry about!

See you all soon
Ct & Ester

Day 2/3 - Georgetown

After experiencing a rather successful first day of shopping in Georgetown it seemed only apt that we experience a taste of the Georgetown nightlife, despite having read in every tour guide not to go out at night here whatever you do. However, our hard day of work left our tummies a rumbling and we really had to find somewhere to eat. Since we had been walking the city all day, we figured we'd try find somewhere to eat around Starbroek market which seemed like the heart and soul of the place. We were NOT wrong in thinking this. It was the busiest 'heart and soul' of a city i have ever witnessed in my life. It was even busier then in the day with hundreds of people pouring into the centre from taxis and vendors selling sweets, rattling cups of pills at us or trying to get us to come drink home made vodka with them. I suppose this is a pretty standard Friday night in Georgetown.

Everyone vehicle constantly beeping, crowds of people bustling past eachother and then us, the 9 white kids trying once again to 'fit in' with the locals. We really should have listened to the guidebooks. After wondering into the first establishment which looked like it may offer some sort of decent grub, we quickly decided that 3 types of dishes which had been left under a hotlamp for what looked like a week were not qoing to satisfy our hunger. We went out onto the street where we all quickly decided to get a taxi out of the sheer chaos we saw. We soon realised that if we stuck around any longer, we were bound to be caught up in drunken brawls or possibly be kidnapped. At that thought, i began to panick and after being bombarded by all 100 taxi drivers who wanted our business we got into two taxis and quickly go out of the market. We headed to a chinese restaurant that the hotel recommended but ended up at an overpriced restuarant in a quieter part of town which we could definately not afford. Against my gut instincts we began walking about to find something cheaper.

We were in a group of nine, it wasnt as if anything could happen to us but it was still the most unnerving night for most of the group and we walked the darkened streets avoiding the pricier restaurants. We did however find a chinese which served our food quick and cost about 15 pounds for all of us! I had however lost my appetite at this point! We got home safe and went to bed!

Day 3 was just as exciting as the last. Breakfast included chicken balls in curry sauce and sausages. As Tosh and I were staying extra nights in Georgetown, we had to move all the equipment into one room. The hotel must think we are pretty strange, carrying sacks of flour, sugar, machetes, gardening implements and water barrels to and fro! After a 40 minute trek, John and I finally found an ATM which would take our cards so we could complete the shopping. We had to buy the last bits of food and equipment. Yes, more rice (that takes us to 128kg of the stuff) and about 30 tubes of tomato paste. Pots, pans, sunblock (very difficult to find in a place where most people definately do not need it) and finally got to sample a bit of fruit from the market. Mangos, watermelon and bananas for lunch which were loving. Emma, Ed and I paid 10 pounds for kidney beans, which must be the most expensive food purchase of the week but we got a free cocnut from a vendor who used to live in the same part of london as Emma! It really is a small world. Once again, the 'barbie girl' calls were loud and clear.

The plan for the rest of the night was to pack up everything and for everyone except Tosh and I to take a taxi which Trevor had helped organise down to Iwokrama. Trevor, who obvioulsy knows the right people in this town helped barter a good price for the taxi, however not all went as planned. In the early evening, 6 hours before everyone was due to leave, the driver came by to check on everything. But.... he was under the impression the team were not going as far as Iwokrama and so when Toshi and John explained where they wanted to go, he wanted more money. For the couple of hours John and Tosh were in negotiation with the driver to make sure that everything was still going to run to plan, the rest of the group were having negotiations of their own. Time was running out and Toshi and John did not want to aggrevate the driver as he was eally our only hope of getting down to Iwokrama that night. We couldnt afford really for the team to stay any longer and so the pressure was really on. Toshi had to call Trevor, the only man who could help.....

Meanwhile, the rest of the team crammed into one room with rotten potatoes and enough equipment to start a small farm to discuss their fears about the situation unfolding downstairs. 'Stranded', 'Kindnapped', 'Gun', 'emergency plan', 'satellite phone', 'safety', 'machete' and 'death' were a few of the common words in the discussion. Our worst fears being that the driver drops everyone in the middle of nowhere and demands more money which we dont have to take us the full way and then leaves us taking everything, even the rice! WE just didnt know what could happen and were starting to feel really uncomforatble........

However, Trevor did save the day. He knew the Taxi driver, Peter, really well and explained our situation. As a result we got the price to $400 for the trip down. Alot cheaper then taking the public bus too! Everyone's minds were eased by Trevor's confidence in the man and so all the previous talk of emergency procedure fell to the back of everyones' heads. We now had to concetrate on actually trying to pack the taxi. After another chinese (Honestly its the cheapest food around and its really tasty), a last shower (the last for a very lonng time) and couple of games of cards, we were all bringing down the equipment (we threw those potatoes away) It began to feel like a real expedition. At 12am, Toshi and I waved goodbye to the rest of the team in a blue minivan with a bulging roofrack. With only water, bread and peanuts for accessible food, the rest of the team will have to get to Iwokrama and clear and set up camp and wait till we have the permit on tuesday to begin our study.

Toshi and I felt like we were sending our kids away from home for the first time and there were almost tears in our eyes! Well not really, they're big enough and ugly enough to deal with it! We will now wait in Georgetown till Tuesday to sort the pemit out and then join them on wednesday. Although i know their journey will be absoultely fine and very exciting, i am awaiting their e-mails impatiently!

So fingers crossed now that the permit is fine for tuesday!!