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Sunday, June 14, 2015

A Trek to Paradise

Saturday dawned cloudy, then sprinkled, then bright sunshine, then heavy rain, then sunshine. That’s the weather conditions that accompanied our walk to Mashabo Village, Guyana. This idyllic Amerindian Village greeted us after a six mile walk on road and trails that wound along the Ikuraka Lake and between flooded rice fields. It’s puzzling to me to see Palm trees growing in water. We saw colorful butterflies (one as big as my hand), birds of all varieties (I wish I could identify), and lots of pesky ants (red, black, brown, big and miniscule), but no large mammals. Maybe that’s a good thing since I was looking up Mashabo Village on the internet and read that not very long ago, in March, a jaguar was killed in the village after devouring 14 dogs and several chickens. They called it a ferocious feline probably because it instilled fear in the residents after so many animals went missing. The villagers set a trap and were successful in catching and then killing the big cat.

To get to the beginning of the trail to Moshabo I boarded a mini-bus, then speedboat, then hired car. After a picnic lunch along the shores of Lake Ikuka, we hired a villager’s boat to transport us back across the lake to a waiting hired car who tried his very best to get us to the 4pm ferry in Sopanam to return us home. But it was not meant to be, and we ended up taking another speed boat which is faster but 3X as costly as the ferry. But this is what is so great about living in a country as opposed to visiting as a tourist. We can enjoy all the splendors of this great land without a tour company. We are on our own and figuring it all out. 


How cute can a boy and his mom be? Chase and Heidi Gorishek


The trekers



Local resident gathering wood.


Local  resident undercover!






St. Theresa Primary Mural

Greetings once again from Anna Catherina, Guyana. Due to life circumstances I have not been able to blog, but that doesn’t mean things have not been happening, especially in Berbice, where another PC volunteer, Lindsey Daugherty, organized an event at her school. Students, teachers, community members and PCV’s painted environmental, health, and well-being messages on the front of St. Theresa Primary School building. I was so excited to be a part of this undertaking, so I travelled the 2 ½ hours in bus and hired car on a questionable Saturday morning. Questionable, because it looked like rain, and felt like rain when it actually started falling. But as the good luck caiman was with us, there were enough periods of clearing to add a considerable number of squares to the mural that had been in progress over the past week.
Many Guyanese families showed up to add their heartfelt messages. I had a blast collaborating with fellow PCVs Katrina and Matt Kongirst on two blocks that tried to portray the philosophy of our Environmental Working Group. Other volunteers helped with paint distribution and clean-up. The school staff was there offering assistance in any way they could including snacks for hungry participants.

This shows how successful some PCVs have been in bringing to life Goal II and Goal III of our mission here in Guyana, that of promoting a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served, and promoting a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.



"Love" in any language.

Patty Ryan always helping.
"

Lindsey, successful PCV