Caribbean Beat — September/October 2018 (#153)

The celebrated Victoria
amazonica lily, with its six-footwide
leaves and night-blooming
flowers, is a treasure of the
Rupununi
pete oxford
2 Shell Beach
4 Pakaraima Mountains
Near Guyana’s northernmost point, past the mouth of the Pomeroon River,
a ninety-mile stretch of untouched coast is the annual nesting ground for no
fewer than four species of endangered sea turtles. Unlike the Atlantic mudflats
further south, Shell Beach is made of up countless seashells pulverised
to sand: perfect terrain for sea turtles to lay their eggs in excavated nests.
Backed by mangrove forest and ité palms, the region is also famed for its
diversity of bird species — everything from scarlet ibis to kingfishers, spoonbills
to flamingoes. Visits to this remote region are organised via the Guyana
Marine Turtle Conservation Society. Don’t be mistaken, this is no luxury
vacation: the beach camp accommodation definitely qualifies as roughing it,
but the extraordinary natural surroundings make it worth the effort.
3 Iwokrama
Near Guyana’s geographical heart, on the west bank of the Essequibo River,
the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development
manages 1,432 square miles of rainforest, a hotbed of biodiversity
— and makes this pristine ecosystem accessible to visitors. A hike up Turtle
Mountain to gaze down upon the unbroken forest, a nocturnal jaunt on the
river looking for the bright eyes of submerged caiman, a heady climb along
Iwokrama’s treetop canopy walkway — these adventures all help support
the centre’s research and generate income to protect the rainforest for future
generations.
Extending over five hundred miles from west to
east, the Pakaraimas are among the world’s oldest
mountains, part of the 1.7-billion-year-old Guyana
Shield. They form the northernmost boundary of
the Amazon basin, as well as the border region
dividing Guyana from its neighbours Venezuela
and Brazil. Many of the Pakaraimas are tepuis,
distinctive flat-topped mountains that seem to float
above the clouds like islands — and mightiest of
all is Roraima, where the boundaries of Guyana,
Venezuela, and Brazil converge. The best way to
visit? Try the annual Pakaraima Safari, in which
a convoy of intrepid 4x4s make their way through
valleys and over passes down to the Ireng River.
5 1763 Monument
Arguably Georgetown’s most significant public
artwork, the 1763 Monument, designed by Philip
Moore, stands at the head of Brickdam, one of
the capital’s main avenues. Depicting the historical
figure of the heroic revolutionary Cuffy, the
monument commemorates the first major uprising
of enslaved Africans in what was then Dutch Guiana
— a full seventy years before Emancipation.
60 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM