Macushi tribe on the Burro-Burro river, Guyana
Here's something you MUST do before you die; stay with the Macushi tribe on the Burro-Burro river (Guyana). The river itself is like streak of blackened glass sliding away, off through the trees. There, high on a bluff, you sling your hammocks in the Mucushis' shelter (see photo), and eat some catfish. It tastes of trout with an extra dollop of pond.
An unsinkable 'warship' on a South American river
This is old Dutch fortress, built right out in the middle of the Essequibo, in 1744. Back then, the tiny islet was called Vlaggen Eyland, or ‘Flag Island’. These days its called Fort Island.
Swords into ploughshares
.image.jpg "Former UK military trucks")
What happens to a large army's equipment, after it's too old for active service. The US army must produce thousands of vehicles each year.
Yesterday, my train went though Market Harborough (UK) and I saw a field full of old Bedford trucks, in camouflage colours.
John Gimlette's book "Wild Coast" about Guyana, Suriname and Guyane Francaise will be published in Polish
John Gimlette the author of "The Wild Coast" a book about Guyana, Suriname and Guyane Francaise will soon be published in Polish.
John has kindly contributed his blogs about his escapades and are published on under John Gimlette's Voyages
Hunting down the lost world of Georgian sugar
This is the map on the wall of the manager's office, on the Wales Sugar Estate, Guyana. For me it's a treasure trove of old names.
I'd been looking for the estate described by a Georgian traveller, called Bolingbroke.
The nobility of sugar (and the horror)
This is the Scottish church in New Amsterdam (Guyana). The Scots, many of them left landless by the agricultural reforms in Scotland, were the pioneers of a new prosperity in this region (building on what the Dutch had begun). By the early 1800s they had an appreciable presence on this coast.
A great little India - 3
It's not just Guyana that has a large population of Indians. Next door, in Suriname, around half the population are descended from those who came from India. In fact, there are 170,000 Hindus here (37% of the population) plus 18,000 'Indian' Muslims. It's not uncommon to hear the greeting 'Salaam alay-kum!'
A great little India - 1
The great Indian diaspora can be found all over the world, particularly in Canada, UK (e.g Southall) and the USA. Their contribution has been inestimable, especially in terms of the professions and business (the most common name for a millionnaire in Britain is now Patel). Over the next few days, I'll be focussing on the Indians who came to the Guianas
Missionary Aviation in the 60's - Wings Over Guyana
The American missionaries who came to serve the people of Guyana were faced with many challenges. My parents came in 1960 and stayed until 1966. In those days, the runway at Paramakutoi Village in the Roraima Mountains where we lived, was not paved. In fact, there were no paved interior runways.
What was Jim Jones up to in Jonestown in 1978?
Not long ago, I visited the site of the world's greatest mass suicide, in NW Guyana. Remote and derelict, it's hard to imagine that up to 1,000 people had lived here.