Merry Christmas! A question was asked as to how people in Guyana celebrate Christmas, which is interesting here, as 57 % of the population is Christian, 33% is Hindu and 9% is Muslim. In such a religiously diverse place I was not expecting such an overwhelming show of Christmas spirit. It seems to be considered more of a general holiday and people of all faiths have Christmas lights and Christmas trees in their homes. The Hindu neighbors dropped off Christmas presents and have a tree in their home.
Most shops are closed downtown, and people are mostly spending the day with their families. A traditional meal includes either garlic pork or pepper pot. This tradition originated from the interior of the country which has a mostly Amerindian population and consists of chunks of garlic inserted in slices in the roast, then the entire thing soaked in vinegar to preserve it. The tradition began, and still continues, because of the lack of refrigeration in some of the more remote areas. Pepper pot is a type of stew with various wild game meats and cassava (the staple food here) juice, which becomes a molasses-like substance when processed and cooked thoroughly. Traditionally the pots almost never end, as more meat is added throughout the week and the flavors are enhanced by each new meat added.
December 20th, Wednesday
The early morning activity was to visit an animal sanctuary in the town of Surama. There we found capuchin monkeys, a puma, an anaconda, tree martens, a tapir, deer, agouti, laba, peccaries and a capybara. Most of these can be found in the online guide to Iwokrama mammals: http://www.iwokrama.org/mammals/index.html
After trying to get a picture with the tapir (he is quite camera shy and kept moving as I tried getting my picture!), we got back into the car, and headed to Lethem, a southern commercial hub on the border with Brazil. We had a meeting with the Regional government representatives to talk about development in the area (health, education, economy, tourism). A main point of the trip is for the US Ambassador, CDC Director and Peace Corps Director to broaden their knowledge of the country and hold personal dialogues with the rural communities in this area of Guyana. We met up with another Peace Corps Volunteer and headed to the Dadanawa Ranch. The road to the ranch was full of deep potholes, impassible in the rain.
The Dadanawa ranch is one of the largest ranches in the world with approximately 2,500 square miles, located in the Rupununi Region of Guyana. At one time it had 40,000 head of cattle, and now has about 3,000. Their main business is ranching, but offers the chance for visitors to experience the natural beauty of the area and typical ranch activities. We arrived at the ranch, got situated in our rooms and sat on the porch, hearing about the community from the 2 ranch managers. Being one of the main employers for the area, the ranch has become sort of a center for the 53 Amerindian communities in the area. Many people come in frequently for supplies, health assistance and as a meeting point. At lunch we ate with a young man who works as a volunteer pilot for Remote Air Medical (RAM), a nonprofit that provides medical and dental assistance to remote areas of the world. There is a small landing strip at the ranch which provides a central location if there is need for the small plane to fly in. Here is their website: www.ramusa.org/ You can see on their main page, there is actually a call out for doctors now to go to this region of Guyana for mostly women’s health issues.
There is no official website for the ranch (although they are currently working on it), here is a site that explains a bit about it: http://www.caribbean-sun.com/Hotels%20Guyana/dadanawa.htm
I thought I would provide you with a little background on Peace Corps, as we met up with a few volunteers along the way.
Since 1960, Peace Corps Volunteers have been invited by 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Today's Peace Corps is more vital than ever, working in emerging and essential areas such as information technology and business development, and committing more than 1,000 new Volunteers as a part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Peace Corps Volunteers continue to help countless individuals who want to build a better life for themselves, their children, and their communities (taken from the website). If you are interested to learn more, you can check out the website, or email me with questions.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/
(I will answer other questions in the guestbook as I go)
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