The Guyanas
The Guyanas are the three small countries at the top of the South American continent, bordering Venezuela and Brazil and hugging the Atlantic Coast. Guyana, formerly know as British Guiana is known officially as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and is the only member of the Commonwealth of Nations situated on mainland South America. Its capital is Georgetown. Guyana covers 215,000 sq km of vast rain forests, numerous rivers, creeks and waterfalls, (notably Kaieteur Falls), living up to its Amerindian name meaning "Land of many waters” Guyana’s 770,000 inhabitants are of Asian Indian ancestry (called East Indians) with blacks (Afro-Guyanese) making up almost seventy five (75) percent of the total population. Ethnic Chinese, Portuguese, and Amerindians are also present in lesser numbers. In addition to English, other languages of Guyana include Creole, Hindustani, Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Arawak and Macushi.
Republic of Suriname, formerly known as Dutch Guiana, is the ‘ middle man’, between Guyana and French Guiana with an area of just over 163,000 sq km and a population of around 440,000. Arawak and Carib tribes lived in the region before Columbus sighted the coast in 1498. Spain officially claimed the area in 1593, but paid little attention to it, leaving it open for Dutch settlement in 1616. The capital, Paramaribo is brimming with Dutch colonial architecture and the wild interior of Suriname is a maze of rivers, waterfalls and wildlife. Suriname is an adventurer’s paradise.
French Guiana is situated to the east of Suriname and again is a country of rainforests and rivers, on the Atlantic, with an area of 91,250 sq km and a population of 182,400. The Carib and Arawak Indians were the original inhabitants, with France taking control of the region in 1817. Sugar and rainforest timber were the major resources and slaves were brought from Africa to work the plantations. The French also established penal settlements in Guiana taking around 70,000 prisoners - including the infamous ‘Devil’s Island prisoners, Alfred Dreyfus and Henri 'Papillon' Charrière. The capital city is Cayenne, a charming mix of French colonial architecture, a tropical climate, Creole cuisine, and sidewalk cafes.
Venture into the tropical wilderness of the Guyanas.