Georgetown is an irresistible jamboree of afro-Caribbean, East Indian, and European cultures. And with British Airways' new flight, it's never been easier to visit. Here's how to see it like a local...
South America’s problem is … it’s massive. Hence journeys combining nature, culture, and beaches, can be long and expensive. Yet tucked away in the continent’s far northeast is Guyana, a little nation with a Caribbean vibe and few long journeys. Blanketed by unspoilt forests, superb biodiversity and Amerindian cultures, its beating heart is Georgetown. An irresistible jamboree of afro-Caribbean, East Indian, and European cultures, that is about to find its way firmly onto travellers’ radars with the launch of British Airways new twice-weekly flight in March 2023. Here’s how to enjoy Georgetown through local eyes.
Items on sale at Georgetown’s largest market may verge on the prosaic – household goods and clothes, electronics and watches, plump fruit and veg, and fish delivered freshly from the Demerara River. Yet it’s a lively introduction to the city – at its loudest early mornings and late afternoons either side of torpor-inducing midday heat. Conceived during British rule in the 1880s, the only vaguely Victorian thing about it nowadays is a rather splendid clocktower. Otherwise, duck under colourful umbrellas, get blasted by soca music, and feast upon the hustle and bustle of Stabroeks’ hubbub.
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Formidable fusions of Afro-Caribbean, Dutch and East Indian influences ensure Guyanese cuisine is heavily spiced and may kick like a mule. Pepperpot is unctuous and if you fail to try metamgee duff – a light and airy type of dumpling cooked in coconut milk – then you simply haven’t lived. But how does one find truly authentic fare? Well, skip breakfast and don’t make plans for dinner and join the foodtastic 7-curry (a special occasion dish) tour created by the ‘Singing chef’. This brilliant belly-bursting tour starts by purchasing local ingredients before designing an Indian thali-style dish of seven curries with a fusion of ingredients that may appeal differently to the palate compared to the traditional 7-curry meal that has significant cultural and religious references in the Guyanese community. The Singing Chef’s mix of a 7 different curry experience includes: a masala mash of spices, peppers, okra, papaya and pakoras, eaten off a lotus leaf. The singing chef serenades as you digest slower than an anaconda swallowing a capybara whole.
Yes, the singing chef again, talented cook, tv personality, and musician, Eon John. When I overlanded the 3 Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana) a few years back he conjured up the best meal I enjoyed along the way. The multi-coursed dinner is served in his back garden. It’s candlelit and you’ll soon get the vibe with his opening rum and mango cocktail. He infuses international influences on local dishes with natural ingredients including herbs from his garden. Expect lively conversation and song during an unforgettable evening.
Queen Victoria’s statue had its nose blown off by a bomb. Such are the quirky yet unforgettable details that bring history to life when engaging a local guide. “It was before Queen Elizabeth visited so they hastily put the statue back together again but couldn’t find Victoria’s noise,” said Salvador, showing me around historic Georgetown on foot. Among the tree-lined streets and sluices (canals), a local tour is an illuminating way to understand the city’s architectural highlights fashioned during British and Dutch colonisation. Not least the imperious St George Cathedral constructed partly from English oak in 1893. There’s some debate, Salvador explained, whether this is the largest free-standing wooden structure in the world as the Guyanese claim. You can ponder this on the promenade, possibly to the joys of a fish cutter sandwich and El Dorado rum. A truly local affair.
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The most surprising exhibit I recall from touring Georgetown’s pleasantly old-fashioned museums is a 20 foot-high sloth. More like Godzilla wearing a fur coat it set me thinking just how big the trees were 10,000 years ago to be able to support this behemoth. They disappeared long before humans began to shape Georgetown to as it is today, an evolution nicely encapsulated in a treasure trove of homely museums. Our sloth is located in the excellent national museum, established in 1868. It guides visitors back through a colonial history dating to 1781 through British, French, and Dutch occupation, to independence in 1966. To better understand Guyana’s indigenous cultures, head to the excellent Walter Roth Museum for its engaging collection of the arts, weapons, jewellery, and idols of Amerindian cultures.
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If time prohibits heading into the interior to purchase vibrant Amerindian craft, fear not because Georgetown’s sizeable indigenous minority sell their craft inside the city. They’re best-found during Guyana’s Amerindian heritage month held in the month of September, when arts and crafts – from hammocks and woven basketweave to jewellery and ceramics – are prominently displayed. You may even catch a demonstration of how tibisiri straw is used for weaving. Threads are stripped from palm and air-dried in the sunshine before being boiled for a few minutes and dried again and dyed. Hibiscus Plaza located in central Georgetown, obliquely opposite the National Museum has several craft shops featuring exquisite items. Although purchasing souvenirs in-situ from Amerindian villages is a more direct way of generating revenue for these economically marginalised communities.
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Even if the thwack of leather upon willow bores you senseless, the old cricket club is the best place in town for a sundowner and you’re not required to wear a tie. Guyanese cricketers represent the West Indies cricket team. The ground established in 1884 has seen better days. But even if you have no idea who legendary local cricketer like Lance Gibbs or Rohan Kanhai are, there is a terrific open-fronted bar to chew the fat with Georgetown Cricket Club members and peruse the memorabilia from times when West Indian cricket ruled the world. As the sun goes down faster than your G&T prepare to start debating who really did possess the best googly in world cricket.
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