A few weeks ago I travelled to Guyana on a few short trips with work. I stayed a few days each trip, the majority of the time spent in or around Georgetown, however we did travel to Linden, about 100km south of Georgetown, away from the coastal plains into the rainforest.

Horse and Cart

An interesting place, Guyana reminded me a lot of Central America, with the main population out of Georgetown focused around the one road from the airport. This road runs parallel with the Demarara River, a huge expanse of water flowing from about 350 miles inland in the rainforests of Guyana, before emerging into the Atlantic.

Road to Georgetown

Rainforest

Flying into Guyana is an eye opener. The rainforest spreads out to the horizon, a thick canopy of green broken only by the brown water of various rivers slowly meandering towards the sea.

More Rainforest

As far as the eye can see…

Georgetown itself, like any capital city, is noisy, dirty and full of hustle and bustle.

Demerara River

This doesn’t mean to say it is not a nice place though. The locals were friendly and welcoming, and the Sunday afternoon/evening lime on the seawall gives them a chance to let off some steam. The majority of the buildings are constructed in wood, a resource in which Guyana certainly has no shortage. This construction includes the one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, St Georges Anglican Cathedral, built in the 1890’s and situated in the middle of town.

St Georges Anglican Cathedral

Georgetown

The Government offices and Prime Ministers official residence are also constructed in wood.

Georgetown

Linden is a town built for the mining industry, and it has the atmosphere of a frontier town. It is on the banks of the Demerara River, but the river is a lot smaller this far inland. The road to reach Linden is fairly good, however it turns to a mud road soon after and all the way down to Brazil.

Road to Georgetown

Horse and Cart

Splashmins Resort

The rest of the photos can be seen on my flickr account, a small slide show is here.