TRAVERSE 189
TRAVEL- GUYANA
MICHAEL SCHELLER
I ' D BE SPROUTING TOO
Which languages are needed for travelling in South America? It is well known that English doesn’ t go all too long a way where mostly only Spanish and Portuguese are being spoken and understood, along with a variety of indigenous languages. Other than the two Western European settlers, and during the centuries of colonialisation, there have though been other countries trying to get a foot in the door of the continent home to the Amazon and the Andes. The remnants of this attempt can nowadays be witnessed by three off-the-grid countries nestled just north of Brazil, namely Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
Passing through these countries is not on the scope of the classical Pan- American route that tends to stick to the western side of the continent and the mountains, rather than immersing in the sogging heat of the rainforest.
“ I don’ t mind riding in the heat”, so I thought, soon coming to the realisation that riding in equatorial heat leaves one with two states of mild discomfort: soaked by rain or soaked by sweat, that indeed wouldn’ t transpire thanks to a constant humidity close to 1. On the plus side, it never gets cold apart from when indoors with air conditioners on.
Since there is only one road connecting the Guyana’ s with each other and Brazil, there are two ways of exploring them overland, being West to East or vice versa. I went for the former, starting from Boa Vista, the northernmost city and only Brazilian state capital entirely north of the equator, entering Guyana passing its capital Georgetown, connecting via Paramaribo in Suriname, and French Guyana with its capital Cayenne, ultimately ending in Brazil and in the city
TRAVERSE 189