Although the bus never arrived at Surama junction (they sent two buses the day before instead), I was lucky and towards the end of the day, a travelling salesman stopped by in his pick-up truck. He was heading south, but we had to wait another couple of hours until Bradford Allicock arrived in his (breaking down) mini-van with fellow villagers heading back to Fairview from a shopping and banking trip to Lethem. He was the chief of the village and this would allow us to pass through the Iwokrama reserve gate-post at night.
From friend to friend in Guyana, I stayed with Bradford (Madonna's brother) and his family, slinging my hammock up in the downstairs part of their house. In each village I stayed in during my time in the Amazon and Guyana, I was always unquestionably welcomed and very well looked after. It seems an intrinsic part of Amerindian culture to accept strangers into the house as if they were part of the family.
In this photo, Bradford, Rita and their six children, a typically-sized Amerindian family. Bradford wants more, Rita thinks six is ample (and girls especially expensive as they tend to want clothes and accessories, whereas boys are happy in a pair of shorts!).
Weaved back-packs used for carrying mandioc roots from the fields back to the house.
A typical local house, made of wood and thatch, in a clearing surrounded by forest.
Putting on a new thatch of dried palm leaves.
Handmade basket made of liana fibres from the forest.
Along the path through the forest by the village, there are great tall trees with large buttresses.
Vine climbing up a tree trunk.
Close-up of a village house. Planks of wood are cut within the forest and then brought to the village.
House under mango trees by the river. Note the upturned canoe. The owner is the village's best canoe and boat builder.
Bradford and children in the afternoon outside his house.
He put on the generator and the children watched in awe music videos from India.
Friends of Rita in her kitchen, who came over to cook dinner for a BBC film crew.
A local farmer at his house.
He returned from northern Brazil a couple of months ago and was clearing land in the village to settle on.
Cut and burn is the typical method of clearing the land, adding ash to the soil and keeping the roots of the trees intact. Once the land is left uncultivated, the forest re-establishes itself in a couple of years (albeit as a secondary form with smaller trees and more undergrowth). Note the still charred trees (some were still smoking) and that palms are always left standing as they bear edible fruit and nuts. Mandioc, sweet potato, corn, citrus trees and peppers were being planted, with a few helpers from the village, who were given a pink wine made out of red sweet potatoes. I tried some- very good infact, refreshing, light and slightly sparkling.
Kids going down to the river.
Walking back to the village as the sun sets.
Palms in the sunset.
A tall tree behind Bradford's house.
Leaves of the breadfruit tree.
Toucans are one of the easiest birds to see here- sitting on branches high in trees in the late afternoon.
