The Rupununi

When I first found out that I was returning to South America, obviously I was excited. Not only was I going to Kaieteur National Park in Guyana, I was also heading to Brazil for some additional volunteer work (more on that later). Naturally, there was some downtime to fill in, which is a really lame way to describe a vacation. Before I left for Guyana I looked up tourist attractions across the tiny country. Kaieteur was, of course, the number one place to visit by most accounts. After that the pickings were slim. Guyana caters to the high-end eco-tourism crowd, which sounds terrific until you consider the absurd prices, especially for a solo traveler. Of all the major eco-tourism destinations mentioned, the area that caught my eye the most was the Rupununi Savannah in Region 9 of southwestern Guyana, mostly because it is considered one of the easiest places in all of South America to spot rare wildlife, like jaguars, anteaters, and harpy eagles. I figured it was worth exploring. (

NOTE: Technology has failed me miserably and I am unable to properly format the text of this post for some reason. I apologize for all the weirdness and lack of captions at the end.)

General area discussed in this blog post is circled in black. Rupununi Savannah is the brown area that extends from southwestern Guyana into northern Brazil.

It took a concerted effort to find a cheap way to visit the Rupununi, but I found it! A Peace Corps Volunteer named Gabrielle was accepting guests into her home in a little village just outside of Lethem (see map below). I sent her a message, and the rest is history. Gabrielle provided me a ton of insider information, from transportation prices and schedules (calling it a schedule is a lie), to contact information for another Peace Corps Volunteer named Cara, who was stationed further north near Annai. After a few messages with Gabrielle I had a loose schedule in place!

A map of the North Rupununi that I stole from another travel blog.

To reach the Rupununi I hopped on another small plane out of Georgetown's domestic airport and was picked up at the Lethem airstrip by Gabrielle. I knew that the Rupununi was going to be different from Kaieteur, considering it is a savanna and not a rainforest. Still, the difference on the ground was shocking! Red dirt, hardly a tree in sight, and a picturesque view of the green Kanuku Mountains were the first things to register. It was also a bit dusty. In some areas there were gnarled little trees intermixed with big termite mounds. Once again, was this even South America?

Guyana: Land of Many Waters

Guyana: Land of Many Grasses? (Rupununi Savannah)

The Kanuku Mountains provide a nice backdrop to the termite mounds and grasslands. My shadow provides an annoying presence in the foreground.

Termite mounds amidst the open landscape. Cool, right?

Staying with Gabrielle near Lethem was one of my best traveling decisions to date. She gave me a clean and comfortable place to stay, excellent company, deliciously healthy food, and all those helpful tips I mentioned. She even drew me a map for exploring around her village! Though I did not spot any jaguars or anteaters, I still found the area extremely fascinating. And of course I was able to find a few animals (see photos below).

Colombian Four-eyed Frog (Pleurodema brachyops) being fat and cute.

Gabrielle's primary pest issue was this big Cane Toad. When it was not hiding in shoes (as seen here) it was leaving unsightly dumps on the floor.

This caterpillar wagged its "tail" back and forth as it moved. I love silly insects.

From Lethem I rode on a typical Guyanese bus: no concrete schedule, tons of people packed inside, and the front passenger seat reserved for the tallest guy around (me!). The ride was long and super bumpy, but the views of the Rupununi were tremendous. I saw tons of amazing waterfowl, huge raptors (birds, not dinosaurs), and even a small snake. Still no jaguars or anteaters (or harpy eagles), but these things take time.

The bus brought me to the abode of Cara, another Peace Corps Volunteer, based at the Bina Hill Institute in the northern Annai area. Bina Hill is an agricultural school for students of high school and early college ages. Because Cara had recently taught an introductory lesson on amphibians, she thought it would be fun to have me come and expand on that a bit. Thus I was there, with no internet, a hammock on the back porch, and some apprehension about what I could possibly teach these kids about amphibians in a place I had never visited previously.

Before any teaching took place, Cara was kind enough to lend me her bike and get in touch with fellow Peace Corps Volunteers Steven and Connor so I could do a little exploring by bike with them. They took me to an awesome viewpoint south of Bina Hill, from which you can get a good feel for the vastness of the grassland (see pictures below). In addition, they brainstormed ideas of things for me to do because, admittedly, there is not much to do out there besides walking or biking on the road.

Eventually my super helpful Peace Corps hosts came up with a good plan for me: catch a ride on a motorbike and head north, stop at the Atta Lodge Canopy Walk (in the rainforest), and come back in the evening.

I gripped the back of the motorbike tightly as we flew along the dusty road. I had made the mistake of packing my camera away, so I was unable to capture any pictures on the way to the canopy walk. Suddenly the environment was much different. Grassland gave way to forest. We had reached the pristine Iwokrama Forest! It felt strange to be humming along through the interior of such a natural place. Surely there were tons of amazing animals biding their time near the road margins. I did not see much wildlife, but I was happy to marvel at the scenery alone. We reached the Atta Rainforest Lodge after maybe an hour of cruising in the forest. I met and paid a guide, and so we walked along a short trail to the famed Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. I will be completely honest now. I picked the absolute worst time of day to do this experience, so I knew I would not see many animals. In fact, I saw zero animals! But I barraged my guide with questions, to the point that I could visualize all of the monkeys, toucans, and wild cats that he had seen from the walkway. The walkway was composed of a few long bridges anchored to platforms around sturdy tree trunks. The ground was far below, and the upper canopy was well above, so I would say I was at mid-canopy maybe. I enjoyed the views for 30 minutes or so, but I accepted the reality that I needed to head back before dark.

I never would have expected this, but the drive back really quenched my thirst for wildlife viewing! I also made sure to have my camera handy. In tree after tree I watched toucans take off and land. I saw at least ten of them! Macaws flew alongside our speeding motorbike at close range, and an akuri (agouti) scuttled across the roadway too. Parrots were squawking with their horrendous voices. It was evening, and the forest was waking up after the hot afternoon. I began to wonder what frogs I would miss out on seeing and hearing that evening. But then it happened. As we crossed one of several small bridges, the tires slipped, and we slammed into one of the wooden slats with a bit too much force. We had a flat tire. The ride was over. The real adventure had begun...

Much like rural Wyoming, the interior of Guyana does not boast widespread cell phone reception. We needed to find someone to help us. We had to walk. The junction with the road to Surama (a big eco-tourist hotspot) was not too far away. We walked for a couple kilometers and reached the junction, which featured a little snack shop, some hooks for hanging hammocks, and a few small homes. I had been warned that Guyanese transportation is known for its delays, but this one seemed particularly tricky. It was gettung dark and my ride back to Bina Hill did not have a headlight on his motorbike. He also seemed unphased by our bad luck. He spoke to another guy on a motorbike and told me we were staying the night there. As the sun went down I started hearing frogs. And so I ventured off toward a roadside wetland. I need to cut this blog post short, but I will say that I heard and spotted a multitude of frogs at Surama Junction! It was awesome! And fortunately my motorbike driver's sons showed up a couple hours later with a patch kit for the tire. We headed back to Bina Hill on a ragtag tire; my driver wearing my headlamp to guide us out of the rain forest and back into the Rupununi. Jungle mission complete.

 

My final day at Bina Hill was amazing. I never had to teach a class of students, thanks to the unexpected celebration of Youth Week, during which students watch movies and do nothing. So that afternoon Cara and I lounged around. During the heat of the day she opted to take a shower. That was when three students came knocking on the door... "Can we borrow some binoculars? There's a Giant Anteater ouside."

WHAT??!!??!! I put on some flip flops and gathered binoculars before sprinting out the door. Cara trailed behind, not even remotely dry, but carrying her camera. That was a good call. We ran and ran, catching glimpses of the weirdest mammal I have ever seen. One of the students grabbed a big stick and boldly (stupidly?) corralled the animal toward us. It was unclear who was chasing who as the student and anteater approached. I felt bad for tormenting the poor creature - BUT WOW! It passed by us at close enough range for me to make sense of its weird body. It ran with the front claws tucked under, almost like it was sprinting on its knuckles. The back end was a big plume of wispy hair. I saw a wild Giant Anteater from maybe 20 feet away! Cara got several quality photos and videos (see her blog: http://mindthepiranhas.blogspot.com). Happy Youth Week indeed.

To wrap up my time at Bina Hill, Cara and I took anyone who was interested out on a "frog walk" that evening. Many students showed up, which was encouraging, considering that many people are afraid of frogs (weird, right?). I tried to explain the differences between the species of frogs we found, and how those differences were important. The students excitedly presented me with their findings as we walked the trail. It was a resounding success (see below)!

The Rupununi was an amazing place to visit. On my bus ride back to Lethem I was fortunate enough to see a roadside rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) as I pondered the crazy side trip I was concluding. The mishap as Surama had turned into a fun frog night, and I somehow managed to see a Giant Anteater by pure luck. Of course I cannot thank Gabrielle, Cara, Connor, and Steven for all of their help in making my Rupununi adventure possible. It was truly a memorable one!