Welcome to Guyana!

23.09.2013 - 25.09.2013
105,397 km since the beginning of the journey,
Route: Manaus - Boa Vista - Bomfim - Lethem (934 km).

Upwards from Manaus there are also rain forests and the landscape is a bit more hilly. And the road is more decent. In the long I even remembered that there was the fifth gear also available in the bus.

Next to the road is the Iracema Falls and to visit it one has to drive along side roads and then follow a shadowy walking path up to the waterfalls.




Between two large stones there is a narrow stairway.








This kind of road – on dry period entirely OK, and during the rain it turns slippery. By the waterfall there is a larger parking lot but no opportunity for spending my night there.

Ok, since there is still time to the sunset, I will drive on. It is still more then over 500 kilometers to Boa Vista, in one day cannot make it anyway, perhaps on the road can see something suitable.


Also, here there are barer places by the road and recent signs of fire. It is said that this is very typical here and, all the roadside forest will be taken off sooner or late.

Right next to the road there is a gas station, with the dining opportunity and as well as with other necessary issues. A good safe place to sleep at night. They offered this opportunity themselves as it is not advisable to drive in the dark.


It is silent here at night, because close to the equator it gets dark at 6in the evening and at 8 the gas station was closed.


The walls of the fridge of the gas station are full of stickers of different travelers. Practically - all of them are from Brazil, now in addition there is also a new Blue-Black-and-White one (the colors of the flag of Estonia)


Morning by the gas station


557 kilometers to Boa Vista








Then, one of the important "line ", the Equator. In the northern hemisphere again.








A new residential area before Boa Vista. It is a little over than 100 kilometers from Boa Vista to the border of Guyana.


Brazil has built a decent road up to the border, but there is almost no traffic here, I think I saw only two or three vehicles coming from the direction of the border. Brazil - Guyana border.


Brazil.

Here all the officials are in the same house, no need to look for someone. Actually I needed only the passport control. It took almost no time. Everything was in order. And that was that. In the end you just wave good-bye and drive away. Simple as that.


So some more kilometers of no-man-land between the two countries, and then there was a viaduct just ahead, a comfortable transition from the right- side traffic to the left- side one. Guyana and Suriname are the two South American countries, which have historically the left side traffic.


Having driven down you already are on the left side of the road. Again after a long time, so it is necessary once again to remember on which side of the road to ride.

At the border of Guyana all the formalities took more time and more Papers, but here too in the end everything was filled in and handed over and shown and explained - and at last the end was – Welcome to Guyana!


Guyana customs


Welcome To Guyana.

Guyana is in South American terms a small country, still smaller are Suriname and Uruguay, but as to the area – it is 5 times larger than Estonia. Guyana is an English speaking country, a pretty good change over a long period of time. Not just this very clear English, which is spoken in Scandinavian countries, but completely understandable.


Currency is the Guyana dollar, 1 EUR is 271 GYD, but it is easier to take into account that 1 USD is equal to 200 GYD.


Since the whole thing ended only at half past two, it was already too late to begin to move towards Georgetown, firstly – the distance is over 500 kilometers, and secondly the road was supposed to be not just the greatest one.

No matter that it is drier season now and the road should be drivable. The driest time of the year means that it rains less, not the whole day long, and on some days it does not even rain at all. When I asked at the border about the road conditions, the response was that there has been no rain during the last days and in Georgetown should be reached in two days.

Continued...