Caribbean Beat — March/April 2020 (#162)

River run
Guyana, any schoolchild there can tell you, is a name that means “land of
many waters.” And of the country’s thousands of rivers, large and small, the
most fabled is also the largest: the Essequibo, running like a backbone the
entire length of Guyana, rising from the mountains in Wai-Wai territory that
form the southern border with Brazil, and emptying, five hundred miles north,
into the Atlantic, sending plumes of silt far out into the blue ocean.
Guyanese like to tell visitors from smaller Caribbean places
that there are islands in the Essequibo bigger than Barbados
— which is manifestly a fib. But standing at the Parika stelling,
looking out at a river as broad as a lake, you can almost believe it.
From Parika you can catch a bigger ferry or a smaller speedboat
across to the islands of Leguan or Wakenaam, or to the far bank
of the Essequibo, or else thirty miles upriver to Bartica, a small
but ever-growing town at the confluence of the Essequibo and
the Mazaruni.
Just as some Trinidadians have beach houses in Mayaro and
Jamaicans dream of a villa near Ocho Rios, Georgetown’s most
fortunate have river houses along this stretch of the Essequibo,
for holiday retreats. (While Eddie Grant, Guyana’s most famous
musical export, owns an entire Essequibo island.) If you aren’t
lucky enough to get invited to one of these private escapes, you
can opt for one of a handful of river resorts, which combine
swimming beaches and watersports with proximity to nature —
the rainforest is never farther than the nearest riverbank.
But don’t miss the chance to explore Guyana’s history as well.
The Essequibo was the location of the earliest Dutch settlement
of this region. The first capital of what was then called the
Essequibo colony was on a small island in the Mazaruni, where
in 1616 the Dutch built Fort Kyk-Over-Al — “seeover-all”
— which centuries later lent its name to
a pioneering literary journal. What now remains of
the star-shaped fort, abandoned in 1748, is a single
brick arch, which still enjoys a commanding view
of the surrounding country. Though there are no
regularly scheduled tours, many boat captains
at the Bartica stelling are willing to make the trip — price by
negotiation.
Nearer to Georgetown, and home to a Dutch Heritage
Museum, is Fort Island — site of Fort Zeelandia, the Essequibo
colony’s second capital. Once a busy trading post, the fort is now
all but deserted on weekdays, but weekends and holidays bring
visitors from the coast. Though the fort itself is a roofless though
impressive ruin, the historic Court of Policy building was completely
restored twenty years ago, and stands in meticulously
tended grounds, dotted with cannon, interpretive signs, and
gazebos for picnicking.
Guyanese like to tell visitors there are
islands in the Essequibo bigger than
Barbados — which is manifestly a fib
nature picture library/alamy stock photo
A stretch of the Essequibo River
chock full of islands
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