Guyana

We knew the trip to Guyana would be a tough one first we would have to motor our way East along the Trinidad coast towards Tobago. That went to plan and when we cleared the Trinidad coast. We continued East some thirty miles before turning South. It soon became apparent that the South Equatorial current was going to have a significant effect on our headway. This current is caused by the flow of the Amazon,Essequibo and the Orinoco rivers and at times it produced a three knot current against us. So while we were making six and a half knots through the water our speed over the ground was a mere three and a half knots! With south east winds when we tacked the course over the ground became anywhere between 0 and 10 degrees. We finally reached the mouth of the Essequibo three and a half days after leaving Trinidad and as it was the middle of the night and the tide was against us we dropped the hook and tried to get some sleep in preparation for the trip up the river. I say tried because the anchorage was very rolly and just before dawn a squall went through that produced 50 knots of wind and driving rain. In the soft mud river bed we started to drag but were in no danger as over on the Western Channel of the river there were no fishing nets and the depth was good. A fisherman came on the VHF to ask if we were ok but by that time we had dug in again and calm was restored.

                                                                    Squall on the way!
We started up the river on a rising tide and we were just feeling pleased with ourselves for negotiating over the bar with depths no lower than 3 metres when I noticed something in the water...just a plastic bottle we thought. I looked closer to see very low in the water some coconuts, as we approached it was a case of slam it into reverse and I could see a row of coconuts, low in the water, right across the channel....fishing nets! We slowly followed the line of coconuts around, eyes firmly fixed on the depth gauge and we successfully made it to the end of the net with no damage to nets or boat! As we edged up the river a voice came over the VHF thanking us for not damaging his nets. Nets are a bit of a hazard in the River as they are not always visible until you are almost on top of them and the coconuts are very low in the water. The colour of the water is very brown as the River obviously carries a tremendous amount of mud, sand and silt. Its a bit disconcerting the first time you pump water through the heads I can tell you!

The current is such that we were motoring at 1500rpm and doing 8 knots and we made good time eventually anchoring off Stampa Island for a wonderfully quiet nights sleep. It was like being on the hard again the boat was so still and with a full moon it was bliss.
Our quiet evening was soon disturbed by a fishing boat circling around the boat John went out to ask what the problem was and the fishermen were muttering something about compensation for broken nets. John politely but firmly told them we had not been near his nets which he admitted was the case and then he asked if we had a beer so John sent them on their way ...flea in their ear and with a couple of beers for their cheek. We later found out that most of the boats on the rally had given the fishermen a couple of beers,
so look upon it as a local tax!
On the way to Hurakabra we passed Two Brothers Island and a large mansion on the Island that belongs to Eddie Grant. John and I are old enough to remember his 70s hits.His mansion is distinguishable by the filtration station that is visible which is apparently panning for gold 24/7. Bartica is a gold mining town and it reminds me a bit of a wild west town... there are signs all over town saying 'gold bought here' and many locals spend alot of time panning for gold then trading it in. It is a very real town with water taxis plying in and out of the jetties. The locals were all very friendly and could not do enough for you. Not unsurprisingly there  quite a few Brazilians in the town and some signs are in Portuguese.
This is a very different experience to what we have had so far and we are both enjoying it!

Leaving Trini for pastures new

Having been in Trinidad for over five weeks working on boat maintenance we are finally ready to move on. There is a good community feel about Powerboats and this is typified by the Thursday evening pot luck sessions at the Roti Hut. Yachties from all over Chaguramas are invited and at times as many as forty plus would turn up to chat,socialise and barbecue. It was always a good night with the South Africans trying to teach us the finer points of using the barbecue! There are a lot of South Africans in Trinidad having sailed up the South American Coast it is a good place to haul out for the hurricane season before heading up the Islands or across to Panama.
We had said our goodbyes but as I was washing down the decks for the final time a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the chain plate on the stern was lifting....not good! John and I made the decision postpone our splash into the water and get it sorted. It would be silly not to. We employed a boat builder to chip away into the deck which was wet under the grp and we had a much bigger plate made to hold the back stay firmly in place. We managed to get all the work done in just over a week which I doubt we would have managed anywhere else around the Islands. Son, our grp man did a very good job and all we need to do now is repaint that part of the deck again at some point.
We finally splashed into the water but not before a bit of drama. Orion was in the strops on the travel hoist which was making its way down to the pen. Brent who was driving the travel hoist was then obstructed by a SUV that was parked in our way. Asking around no one owned up to claiming the car so he instructed the 'lads' to get the hydraulic boat lift and proceeded to drag the car out the way and deposit it clear of the travel hoist and out of our way. 'Had no right parking there ...this is a working yard' he rationalised and I suspect the car belonged to a fisherman who had left it there for the day while he went fishing. If he ever got the car going when he got back, I suspect he won't do that again!
Once in the water we went over to Scotland Bay, a quiet anchorage which is spoiled by the amount of flotsam,jetsom and general rubbish floating around. It is also close enough to Chaguaramas for the powerboats to come out there with their boom boxes on full blast and generally ruin the peace and tranquility.

We lasted one night before lifting anchor for Chacachacare, an abandoned island. A former leper colony it was finally abandoned in the 1980s and many of the houses look like they have just been left. It is a big Bay, big enough for all the boats that come along on day trips not to worry us too much. At night we had the Bay largely to ourselves.
Our five weeks on the hard gave us lots of time to plan where to next. There is a rally that leaves Trinidad on the 3rd of September for Guyana,Suriname and French Guyana ...John and I are not great lovers of rallies but this one is very small no more than 10 yachts are taking part, it's reasonable and so we figured we would give it a go. So on the 3rd we are out of here and on our way to Guyana and up the Essiquibo River.   

The Taste of Trini Tour

Whilst John was working away on the boat I decided to see a bit more of Trinidad and booked myself on the Taste of Trini Tour. This was a tour devised and led by Jesse James, a local who runs Members Only, a Maxi Taxi firm. He also helps to run the Cruisers Net in the mornings. He works very closely with the yachting community and is the Port Officer for the Ocean Cruising Club....any queries you ask Jesse and he will try to sort it.The tour takes you over to the Atlantic side of Trini then back up through the middle to the west .As you travel Jesse stops at local street vendors buying local delicacies and drinks so you can really capture the 'Taste of Trini'. The cuisine is very much a fusion of Eastern Indian and Carib which results in a unique Trini flavour in most cases. We left Powerboats at 9 o clock in the morning to return nearly twelve hours later stuffed with food and with our taste buds on sensory overload having tasted 78 different foods and drinks. This was not the record which stands at 95! I think we might of  come somewhere near this if some of the fruits had not been out of season but my stomach was telling me 78 was quite enough thank you! These were some of my favourites..

   Roast bake bread, garlic and tamarind hot sauce with salt fish ,smoke herring and Pakchoi

                                                                        Doubles
                                                      Barra and chana with hot pepper sauce.
                                  There is no special way to eat a double  ....it's messy but delicious! 

                                          Both these two dishes were part of our breakfast !

After travelling over to the eastern side we stopped for lunch at Manzanilla Beach. The red flags were up on the beach so no swimming so the twenty or so lifeguards who were dotted up and down the beach had nothing to do....but watch the Atlantic rollers break.

Jesse laid out our tasters for lunch ......Acra,curried potato,dhal purri,two different types of roti,fried shark,rice and three different drinks, Mauby drink, Peanut punch and Linseed and SeaMoss drink which tasted like Tapioca...not a particular favourite. I did like the Mauby which comes from the bark of a tree and has a slight licorice flavour

Whilst we were there Jesse made a pineapple chow for later consumption. This was chopped pineapple, salt, pepper, lime juice,chilli and Callaloo. I have got to say it was delicious! Something I will definitely try at home!
As we drove along the beach we came to where the River meets the Atlantic and there was an amazing swamp area.

                                                                                         The Navira Swamp

We turned inland and up into the Teak plantations and all along the side of the road people were selling their wares. This is a fertile area and outside many homes there were stalls set out with fresh produce at ridiculously cheap prices....two pounds of tomatoes 60p equivalent is just one example. Some were also selling fish and land crabs.

                                                 You can just see the land crabs tied together to the left of the shark
Trinidad is starting to grow more Cocoa and Jesse took us past a plantation where he picked a couple of pods for us to look at and taste. After cracking the pod open you suck the pods which actually tasted a lot better than I thought they would!

                                                             These cocoa pods are just not quite ripe enough yet!

Back in England I have tried to grow these air plants with very little success. I think that the atmosphere is too dry and not humid enough because they grow on trees here!

I thoroughly enjoyed my outing and this is a trip I would recommend, you have to pace yourself and really only taste the food put in front of you. Jesse makes it a fun day and he seems to enjoy it as much as us.He is a mind of information and obviously a Trini through and through! My five favourite tastes were:
Akra
Mauby Drink
Smoked Herring on roast bake bread
Doubles
Roast bagan choka

I really wasn't that taken with the Cow Heel soup or the BBQ pigtail but I would not have missed the opportunity to taste them.