Explorations of an Ecologist: Guyana, Trinidid and Tobago: Part 1 (Introduction)

Introduction
January 25-27, 2018 - Rupununi savannah, Karanambu Lodge
January 27, 2018 - Karanambu Lodge, boat cruise on the Rupununi River
January 28, 2018 - Rupununi savannah, Rock View Lodge
January 29, 2018 - Rock View Lodge and surroundings
January 30, 2018 - Rock View Lodge, drive to Atta Lodge
January 31, 2018 - First complete day at Atta Lodge
February 1, 2018 - Second complete day at Atta Lodge
February 2, 2018 - Cock-of-the-rock lek, drive to Surama Ecolodge
February 3, 2018 - First complete day at Surama Ecolodge
February 4, 2018 - Second complete day at Surama Ecolodge
February 5 and 6, 2018 - Georgetown Botanical Gardens, Kaieteur Falls
February 7 and 8, 2018 - Tobago: Cuffie River Nature Retreat, Gilpin Trace
February 9, 2018 - Tobago: Little Tobago Island
February 10, 2018 - Trinidad: Caroni Swamp

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This past January and February Laura and I escaped the cold temperatures for a few weeks by traveling south to Guyana, with a stopover in Trinidad and Tobago for several days during our return trip. About a year ago while we were planning our wedding, Laura and I decided that I would plan the honeymoon, as Laura was happy taking on the bulk of the wedding planning. That sounded great to me and I immediately began to think about some possible destinations. Due to the wedding taking place in early September and with lots of family and friends visiting from out of town during that period, Laura and I did not exactly feel like it would be a good idea to fly south immediately following the wedding. Instead we planned to embark on the honeymoon several months later, during the depths of winter. We also decided that I would plan the honeymoon to be a complete surprise for Laura. With the busyness of the wedding as well as her job as a veterinarian, not having to think about planning a trip was an added bonus for Laura.

White-bellied Piculet - Georgetown, Guyana

We planned on being away for two weeks so naturally that narrowed down the list of destinations. Far flung places like Australia, Asia and Africa were likely off the table, given the long flight times to reach them. We will visit Australia or Uganda sometime when we have a month or more to travel around, but for two weeks I did not think it was justified this time. I turned my focus to South America for a few reasons. Ultimately I wanted to visit somewhere unique - there would be no lying on beaches at resorts in the Caribbean for us. There would have to be areas of high quality rainforest to explore; an ecosytem that Laura had never visited. Herping opportunities would have to abound (Laura loves salamanders, snakes, lizards and other herps), and there would definitely need to be a variety of possible new birds for myself. I'm not sure the exact process I took to settle on Guyana, but something about the wildness of the country drew me in. With a handful of decent quality lodges located deep in the forested interior, Guyana had the infrastructure to support ecotourism, though it would still prove to be a bit of an adventure. After all, only a few thousand tourists visit the country each year.

Guyana is located in the northern part of South America, nestled in between Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the south, and Suriname to the east. Around 800,000 people live in Guyana, with the vast majority living along the Caribbean coastline to the north. Guyana is often considered part of the Caribbean region as it has strong cultural, political and historical ties to the region. It is the only country in South America where English is the primary language, though most inhabitants speak Guyanese Creole (which sounds like a heavily accented English and is not too difficult to understand with some practice).

Banded Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira annulata) - Surama Lodge, Guyana

Despite its strong ties to the Caribbean, Guyana contains areas of true wilderness in its green interior. The southern reaches of the country are located within the Amazon Basin, and many areas have yet to be properly explored. The Guianan Shield region encompasses all of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, as well as portions of Venezuela and Brazil. This old and stable portion of the South American Plate is considered one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the world, containing many endemic species throughout its tepui highlands, grasslands, and rainforests.

Trans-Guyana Highway near Atta Lodge

Wattled Jacana - Georgetown, Guyana

When it was all said and done, the rough itinerary included:
-flying from Toronto to Georgetown, Guyana
-taking an interior flight to Lethem, Guyana, near the Brazil border in the center-west of the country
-ten days spent at four different lodges in the Rupununi savannah and tropical rainforest in the Guyanese interior
-internal flight back to Georgetown
-day trip visiting Kaieteur Falls (fly-in only), the largest single-drop waterfall in the world
-fly to Trinidad, internal flight to Tobago
-3 nights in Tobago, exploring the island with rented Suzuki Jimmy
-1 night in Trinidad, visit Caroni Swamp
-fly from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad to Toronto

The following maps illustrate the route we took during the trip. Green lines indicate flights, red lines indicate transport by vehicle, and blue lines indicate transport by boat.

Our route in Guyana

Numbers two through five correspond with the four lodges we visited in the interior. In order, they are Karanambu, Rock View, Atta, and Surama.

Our route in the interior of Guyana

Our route in Trinidad and Tobago

Despite being an unconventional honeymoon destination, Laura and I had an incredible trip. There were no major incidents, illnesses, theft, disruptions to our the itinerary, or other issues. And the wildlife and ecosystems we had the pleasure of visiting were nothing short of spectacular. All told we finished with around 350 species of birds, nine species of snakes, a wide variety of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and many more during the trip. We saw many of the iconic species found in this region, including Guianan Red-Cotinga, Dusky Purpletuft, Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, Jaguar, Giant Anteater, Giant River Otter, Silky Anteater, and Bumblebee Poison Frog.

Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock - Kaieteur Falls, Guyana

I'll be making around a dozen posts or so detailing the trip in chronological order. Stay tuned!

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Saturday, 21 April 2018

Guyana, Trinidid and Tobago: Part 1 (Introduction)

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