From Iwokrama to Surama

Day 3 – March 5, 2013

Blog Writers: Lauren Sinett and Meaghan Shaw

Waking up to the cries of Howler monkey in Iwokrama forest, we stumbled our way to an early breakfast and packed the van up (again) and started our journey to Atta Lodge. Upon arrival we were greeted by our guides Leon Moore and Jerry Benjamin. Leon guided us on our hike through the rain forest to the canopy walk suspended 100 feet up in the trees! Making our way through the tree tops we came across the infamous Bullet Ant, which is almost the size of Lauren’s thumb. Although the ants were gigantic, they were nothing in comparison to the sights and sounds of the forest. We saw ancient Purple Heart trees that are only found here in Guyana, some as old as 400 years old! Walking across the long and narrow rope bridge (like the ones you see in movies), we observed wild Macaws and heard the chatter of the  black spider monkeys, Holwers, along with the screaming Piah birds. After our adventure in the rain forest, we piled back into our beloved van and continued onto Surama Eco Lodge.

As the rainforest bled into the savanna, most of us rested our heads against the bouncing seats of our beloved van. We  awoke to the red dirt road  as the sign for Surama Lodge came into view. Through no fault of our driver Jeffery, what was a 2.5 km journey turned into 3.5 km journey as he took us on the scenic route. Lost and Dumfounded by the appearance of an air strip that wasn’t there last year, he shouted out the window to a nearby local and we got the thumbs up we were on the right track. Luckily, the road is one big giant circle and we finally arrived at Surama. Starving, we sat down to a delicious lunch of rice, beans and chicken, then went on a walking tour of the village. On this tour we saw a painting by the famed Guyanese artist George Simon, the primary and nursery schools, the largest totem pole in Guyana, sculpture workshop of Ozzie Simon, painting workshop of Victor, the local hangout next to the football field, and then we traveled back to the lodge for dinner where we inhaled more rice, beef, catfish, pumpkin, okra, dahl, and watermelon. Once again finding ourselves in a food coma, we went to bed early in preparation for our morning hike through the Kanuku Mountains.