A Visit from My Sister

My sister came to Guyana! I didn’t sleep the whole night before she came because I was so excited – and partly because I knew that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep on the plane! Navin and I arrived a little early and were eating our bake and saltfish when we realized her plane would have landed and we should get over the to the arrival area. It became a bit of a joke as various types of men and women of all ages and races came out of the luggage area with Navin exclaiming, “There’s your sister!” The guard wouldn’t let us in to see if there had been a problem with her luggage and finally as the last person came out, she told us that the plane from Trinidad had been delayed so she wouldn’t be back there anyways! (the airport monitor was broken). A couple of hours late, Lesa arrived tired, but happy to see me (or atleast she told me the tears were happy tears!) The rest of the day was rather uneventful as someone was apparently tired and slept the afternoon away!

The next morning we caught a flight from Ogle airport to Annai, a village in Region 9 and more specifically to Rockview Lodge. We were greeted by the apparent loss of our luggage (misplaced in the wrong storage compartment) and by our long lost sister, Andrica Holmes (a Guyanese from Region 1 working at the lodge – I knew I was part Guyanese!)! The lodge and Annai are located on the savannah with mountain ranges nearby (http://www.rockviewlodge.com/). We were greeted by lunch and then given a tour of the lovely grounds that was completed with a demonstration of how to roast cashews and a sample! After a few hours by the pool, we went for up the Panorama Nature Trail that was built on the Cock-of-the-Rock mountain, getting a lesson on the local flora, birds and some amazing views of the savannah below! The next morning we arose in the predawn darkness for coffee and cookies before heading out to the Iwokrama Nature Reserve for the canopy walkway. We happened to probably pick the only time of year when no trees are fruiting or flowering so there wasn’t a lot of activity for our 6:30am viewing of the tops of the trees, but the view was spectacular and it was a personal accomplishment to overcome my fear of heights and stand 30m above the floor of the rainforest and walk 154m in the trees! I personally napped upon our return to the lodge, but I think Lesa spent some quality time with a book in the hammock. We took full advantage of the pool before we left and even took a trip to the village of Annai to see the community with their thatched roof homes and the largest benab in Guyana (wider than the Umana Yana, but I think not as tall).

Birthday celebrations started upon our return to Georgetown with afternoon tea at Pegasus – can only be described as quaint with excellent service and cute little finger foods. Originally with no plans for a big party on the actual day, we started with drinks on the patio and a need for food found us at Windies Sports Bar. The final birthday celebration was a random assortment of Guyanese family and friends that I have collected over the past year. A lovely evening!

Saturday morning after a trip to Oasis for breakfast found us at Stabroek Market and the Hibiscus Craft Plaza for exploring and shopping. We thought the Carifesta air show was on Saturday, but the planes were a no show from our seat at Celena’s on the sea wall which was explained the following day after our trip to Sophia Exhibition grounds and the real air show took place – and all of Georgetown was on the sea wall to see it! For Lesa’s last night, we went for dinner and drinks at Pegasus, enjoying the ocean breeze, fruity cocktails and the closest thing to a real burger that I’ve found in Guyana.

Her departure was bittersweet – I wish she could have stayed longer, but the end of August means I am that much closer to going home myself.