Flying into Georgetown was only the beginning – we stayed in an old colonial hotel with wooden floors and shutters, fans and air conditioning which helped combat the heat and humidity – straight into our first rum punch and boy was it good. Made the most of the air conditioning because from then on it was candlelight and mosquito nets and sounds of the jungle.

Straight to the local airport at Ogle on the first morning after trying to reduce our luggage to a 10kg back pack for our trip into the interior. The hotel stored our suitcases for the occasional night back in Georgetown along the way. It seemed extraordinary to have to go through Immigration again for a trip into the interior but we needn’t have worried, as the officials were more interested in our views on the cricket tour. We boarded a Cessna Caravan and the pilot was happy to have my husband up next to him (he learnt to fly in Guyana 42 years ago and has been a pilot ever since – my husband that is) and having been issued with a plastic bag full of juice and some unusual looking green biscuits on the way out to the aircraft, took off over Georgetown (actually we spotted the brand new cricket stadium from above too) and the surrounding cane fields, over the café au lait coloured Demerara River and then the endless rainforest. It looked like tightly packed broccoli from above and there was a lot of it! After a couple of hours we started spotting some clearings and small settlements and ahead of us a dirt landing strip appeared – this was Annai airstrip in the Rupununi district - Savannah. Here we were met by the Amerindian staff (the indigenous people of Guyana) of the Rock View Lodge, which is adjacent to the airstrip. It was only after landing that we dared to open our wobbly bag of orange juice for fear of drenching fellow passengers in the confines of the aeroplane. We passed on the green biscuits. We were transported by well-used 4 x 4 to the Amerindian village of Surama, about an hour away. We had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be a delight.

Surama is an Amerindian village situated on the edge of the rain forest beside the Pakaraima mountains, inhabited by the Macusi tribe – they proudly run a small settlement of Benabs, basic circular walls huts with straw roofs with a central Benab for a dining room and upstairs veranda with hammocks strung at every available point. We were the only guests staying at that time. The village of Surama is a short walk from our huts and a village councillor called Veronica welcomed us and we met our guide, Milner and Clarice the cook and her helper Marvella. Having walked our socks off on the first afternoon we were quite ready for a 6 pm dinner. We were the only guests and to say we had personal service would be no exaggeration. Dinner was locally cooked food and Clarice and Marvella did a splendid job without electricity and in candlelight (they did have a small gas cooker) Most of the food was cassava based but it was all tasty and most interesting. We had chicken and bora beans and rice as well. Helped by a tot of rum and limejuice. My husband and sister-in-law’s Guyanese accents were fully revived by now and I think our children would have been a bit surprised by the stranger in their midst! By 7.30 we were wilting and thinking of heading for an early night when Milner reminded us that we were down for an educational night hike! We plodded into the nearby rainforest following Milner’s steady tread and watching out for a rare sighting of a Jaguar. The jungle noises were deafening and it was exhilarating to walk in the dark in such surroundings and with such a giant starlit sky above us. We fell into bed exhausted and wished we had laid out our clothes and bits for the morning’s hike up PakaraimaMountain, leaving at 0530! Tricky to find things in an unfamiliar place in the pitch black. That night I awoke to a bat flying into my mosquito net – terrified by this I had to untangle my way out to the loo only to catch sight of a small frog in the toilet bowl – this put me off for a while but needs must and all that….

Morning arrived and the trusty Milner was waiting loaded up with rucksacks and provisions to provide our breakfast during the hike. We set off and sighted an amazing array of colourful birds and marvelled at the noise of the howler monkeys in the distance. It sounded for all the world as if a strong wind was approaching then it disappeared and reappeared in waves. We entered the rain forest again and entered a different planet, the incredible number of trees and vines and ivy growing on the trunks of trees, nuts and berries, all with a purpose. The Amerindindians had a use for everything. One of nuts was used for contraception but when we learnt how many children our guide had and many others we met we got the feeling it wasn’t totally effective! The trees towered above us huge and completely vertical to upwards as far as the eye could see. We found a humming bird nest under a leaf with two babies inside only visible by their long, pointy, but still miniature beaks. We stopped for a delicious breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, short, fat bananas (called ‘full mouth bananas’ locally as they are so thick), ‘bakes’ and guava jelly and peanut butter washed down with tea or coffee. Poor Milner had carried all of this up the mountain for us. The viewpoint was worth it even though the so-called stroll was anything but. We spent the last half hour scaling rocks and sweating up a near vertical climb. We learnt from this that when the Amerindians say a short walk they don’t mean it! A two-hour walk to school or work is nothing for them! We got back to Surama by lunch time and just feeling like a siesta we suddenly remembered it was time for a trip on the river by dug out canoe called a Corriol. A short walk to the river first! An hour and a bit later and we had a marvellous trip on the Burro BurroRiver where a 15-foot caiman (crocodile to you and me) lived and numerous kingfishers, humming birds and capybara were lurking. We returned to our Benabs again, exhausted but loving everything we had done and seen. Dinner was Peckory Casareep stew – bush pig! It was delicious despite a moment’s hesitation at the thought.. We really didn’t want to leave this wonderfully peaceful and natural place. The Macusi tribe made us feel safe and looked after. They opened our eyes to nature and how to live a simple life. We enjoyed talking to the villagers and finding out about their way of life and their surprisingly modern views. They even had solar powered Internet set up in the village resource centre and were justly proud of their achievements. We were made to feel very welcome.

A 4 x 4 arrived to pick us up the following morning and take us to the Atta Rainforest Camp. A hammock camp in the heart of the rainforest with a Canadian built, 90ft off the ground, canopy walkway in the treetops. I can’t say we had a good night’s sleep in the hammocks – they are marvellous for relaxing for an afternoon’s zizz but for a full night it is another matter! We went to sleep with the jungle noises all around a mosquito net and us wrapped around our individual hammocks. I was so terrified I would snore and wake everyone up or fall out at the very least that I didn’t have a very restful night. It transpires that no one else did either for much the same reasons – perhaps it was just that we are too spoilt with our western life style. It crossed my mind that since most of the Amerindians sleep in hammock full time that these might be a better form of family planning than the nuts in the rainforest! The canopy walkway was marvellous though and we watched Macaws and Toucans flying home for the night and scores of other beautiful birds. A lovely experience and a beautiful place.

Off in the 4 x 4 to Rock View Lodge for a couple of nights in proper rooms with proper beds. Nothing was too much trouble for this team. This establishment, owned by Colin Edwards and his family and a staff of Macusi Amerindians made us feel very welcome. The accommodation was extremely comfortable and there was a swimming pool in the rocks to cool off. The food was excellent and varied and usually set up on a large table outside under the trees. We tried many different fruits, lots of which I had never heard of although for my husband it was a journey back to his childhood. He was like a kid in a toy store sampling ginneps, jamoons, sidium, and, cashew pear to name but a few. It was lovely to see the local school children walking through the grounds on their way home scrumping from the fruit trees too! We watched cashews being roasted and ate them from the shell. Now I know why they are so expensive – just one nut per pear! We watched calabashes being prepared – we have always used one of these hollowed out gourd-like shells for baling water in the bath. We were invited into the kitchen to watch the cooks preparing Pepperpot, a Guyana speciality and well loved by my husband – it has a rich cassava based sauce and a taste like nothing else. We went riding with a vaquero across the savannah and at night we would climb up onto the rocks, which gave the ranch its name and gaze at a sky that was so full of stars to be almost unreal. All too soon our stay at Rock View was over and we were off to Karanambu Ranch in the Rupununi, about two hour’s drive away. We were supposed to approach by the Rupununi River but it was low in parts at that time so we made the transfer by dirt road. We crossed bridges where planks had to be laid down to ensure our safe crossing and then we left the red earth road and headed out across the savannah for several miles before arrived at the Karanambu Ranch. This ranch is most famous for a lady called Diane McTurk who nurtures wild orphaned otters there. Along with her nephew and wife who hosted us we had the most wonderful couple of days. Eating took place in the central Benab, open walls and hammocks strung up for general seating. A huge dining table and communal meals with the family and lots of interesting and stimulating conversation. We were introduced to the four resident otters that followed Diane, like the Pied Piper down to the river where they frolicked in the water. She waded in with the otters and swam with them to encourage them. These are large animals with ferocious teeth as my husband found out when one took a bite at his leg as he walked passed. One has to remember that they are still wild animals even though they slept in a dormitory and had their own equivalent of a muslin nappy to nuzzle with! We took boat trips which lasted several hours up the Rupununi River, coming back in the dark, drinking rum punch and eating cookies, looking up at the star filled sky. Our boat trips were like nature programmes – caimans and lots of them, capybara, iguanas, monkeys and snakes. The birds were too many to remember but all exotic and colourful and our hosts knew the names of every one of them. This was paradise if you like nature. Just in case this wasn’t enough we pulled up in amongst hundreds of giant lily pads and flowers and literally watched the flowers opening as we sat there over half an hour. These Victoria Amazonicas were magnificent. The mornings held early hikes to watch birds and see totally wild otters playing with each other and catching fish in amongst the lily pads. There was always a caimen lurking somewhere and they add a little excitement to the atmosphere. Even though we are told they will not attack humans unless provoked – they still look as if they would! On our last morning we took to the savannah to find a giant anteater. We found an enormous fellow loping along looking most ungainly and he really didn’t want company. A vaquero appeared and help round him up in our general direction for a better look before he, the giant anteater that is, went to bed for the day! Our aircraft back to Georgetown was due to arrive some time late morning and we all had to be weighed with our luggage before departure. A little unfair after all the food and rum punch but it was done very discreetly on our verandas with some bathroom scales. We realised our plane had arrived when we heard it fly over the top of the ranch so we rushed in the land rover to the strip and jumped aboard for Georgetown.

We had a couple of nights to repack our kit and see a little of the city. We had heard a lot about the dangers of Georgetown and we certainly didn’t take unnecessary chances and were careful where we went. It is however, beautiful with many marvellous old colonial houses, some in desperate need of painting, but many looking fantastic. It was a joy to see my husband’s Grandparents colonial, wooden mansion house, now a government building, looking just the same, his other grandmother’s house still stood with his aunt’s house next door. Another aunt’s house hadn’t changed a bit and so much was still the same. Even the department stores hadn’t really changed inside or out! The magnificent white painted wooden church in the centre of town stands as proudly as ever it did.

After a restful couple of nights, we left Georgetown by car to travel to Parika to catch a launch to go up the Essequibo River. On the way we detoured to visit the last sugar estate my husband’s family lived at before leaving. We were allowed in but unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos. We saw the old house and garden and it looked the same and was in good condition. We even met a fellow who remembered working for the family and it was truly heart-warming. Ever onwards, we continued to the river, stopping briefly to buy coconuts, drink the milk and scoop out the jelly – heavenly. The launch took us up river to a resort called Shanklands, an hour’s trip away. This comprises individual lodges standing on a bluff overlooking the magnificent river. We were able to swim in the river and apart from the strong current it was blissful. Our lodge was a delightful old colonial building with a long veranda strung with hammocks, relaxing bay seats and old Berbice chairs or Planters chairs as some call them. These have extending arms, which cater for your legs to stretch out in front too. It was in the lodge at Shanklands where feeling fully relaxed, I glanced upwards just before bedtime to see what could only be a tarantula and a big chap at that crawling slowly out of his nest on the ceiling! He stayed there all the time we stayed coming in and out to catch insects and generally petrifying me!! The bird life at Shanklands was always interesting and it was easy to spot toucans and macaws. On the second evening while sitting on our veranda, 3 silver foxes came to visit. The stared at us and we at them before they danced off into the night.

The following day, we left Shanklands by speedboat, going up river for a further 45 minutes to an island with a pristine beach and no one else around. We noticed the windsock and a small hut just beside the sand and realised that was our terminal. A small aircraft appeared as if by magic and we transferred our luggage from the speedboat to the edge of the dirt runway. On we hopped, into our Bitten-Norman Islander for the trip to Kaieteur Falls - the largest single drop waterfall in the world at 741 feet. It took about an hour flying over endless broccoli again before we flew up the gorge leading to the falls. We proceeded to circle over the rim of this magnificent wonder. It was awe inspiring without a doubt! We landed in a jungle clearing and as if by magic our Guyanese guide appeared. He had rather surprisingly blue, blue eyes and proceeded to set off ahead with the words ‘let’s rock and roll!’ He turned out to be a great character and he ensured we had a thoroughly enjoyable tour of what isn’t, but should be, one of the wonders of the world. We saw the elusive cock of the rock, a rare and magnificent bird only found in this particular area,. We also saw some of the poisonous yellow tree frogs, no bigger than my fingernail, nestling innocuously in the interior of the palm leaves. What an amazing place and the falls leave you speechless. After a couple of hours we took off again to fly another 40 minutes or so to Orinduik Falls right on the border to Brazil. Again we flew low over the top of these beautiful falls. Quite a different sight as these falls are spread over a larger, lower area with a whole series of falls and pools. We had a delicious curry lunch, which appeared from the hold of the aircraft and proceeded to clamber our way down over the pink coloured jasper rocks to the refreshing green waters and pools. We swam; we sat under falls and let the water pound against our backs acting as a wonderful natural massage. We walked behind the falls along a narrow ledge following our guide until we almost stepped into Brazil. This was pure magic! Soon time to take off again and having dried almost instantly in the hot sun, we flew the 2 hours back to Georgetown once more. Back over the cricket stadium and back through Immigration – they recognize us now but we still have to go through the procedure and names have to be put in the book. ‘How come your name is the same as his? Asked the official. ‘Well, we are married, that’s how!’ Oh yeah man! ‘Who do you think will win the cricket?’

Our last day in Georgetown, we did a spot of sightseeing and a little shopping. The highlight however was to come that afternoon. My husband and his sister still had a Guyanese Nanny who looked after them from a baby. We hadn’t seen her for 34 years and we arranged for her to come by taxi from her village to our hotel. She is 89 and she brought her 92-year-old sister – they both arrived in dresses and Sunday hats – the emotions were high and Nanny spent the whole time reminiscing and thanking God for this moment. She cuddled and squeezed those two ‘babies’ as if no time had passed. Tears were never far from the surface. When it was time for these two dear ladies to leave, Nanny raised her hands heavenward and said, ‘ You can take me now Lord! My dream has come true.’

Actually, our dreams came true because this holiday fulfilled them all.