My Return to Guyana

On April 6, my husband and I arrived at Cheddi Jagan International airport in Georgetown, Guyana.  This was my husband's second visit to Georgetown and my fifth return after my first departure on April 17, 1974.  This time, I wanted to spend a longer period than in the past but as I got off the plane, and felt the heat and humidity, the memories of my last four visits came flooding back.  How will I survive this heat!

This was, I soon found out, the least of my concerns.  After waiting for what seemed like eternity, we realized that our luggage did not arrive with us.  United Air did not transfer our luggage to Caribbean Air in New York and there was no knowledge of when we could expect to receive our luggage.  We completed the necessary documents to report the missing luggage then proceeded to our waiting cab which was sent by Ariantze Hotel to collect us.

The luggage-less drive to Georgetown was comfortable in the fully air-conditioned taxi. We finally arrived at the Arizante Hotel which, I must say, was not what I expected.  Nevertheless, we proceeded to the registration desk as we observed the bright orange-colored walls in the lobby.  The receptionist was extremely helpful and friendly but I kept looking at my husband for a comment which I could normally see on his face.  There was none.  I then asked whether we could look at the room that we were assigned. To our surprise, there was no water.  That did it.  We could not stay here.

I must say that the staff were very nice and apologetic.  They offered to get us some buckets of water to help us freshen up until the water was restored.  Of course, there was no way we would want to use the bucket brigade so we asked them to recommend a hotel nearby.  To our pleasant surprise, the receptionist recommended the Cara Lodge and the El Dorado Inn and booked a taxi to take us there. 

I give Arizante Hotel credit for making these recommendations.  Between the two hotels, we chose the El Dorado Inn.  The ambiance at the El Dorado is welcoming and the staff are exceptionally efficient and friendly.  As we walked in, the receptionist greeted us with a wide smile.  We liked what we saw in the lobby but decided to view the rooms before making a firm commitment.  We were not disappointed.  Our room was very comfortable, equipped with two air conditioners and a fan. It was such a relief to finally find a comfortable spot where we could stay put for a few weeks.  We were very pleased.

Our Stay At the El Dorado Inn

The staff, coupled with the general surroundings at the El Dorado,  truly contributed to an enjoyable stay in Guyana.  Every morning,  breakfast was served in the intimate dining room on two elegantly dressed round tables with combined seating capacity for about 8 guests at each seating.  This worked well because most of the guests did not turn up for breakfast at the same time.  If, for any reason, there were more guests than the seating could accommodate, one could always read the newspapers in the the wicker furnished lounge area until there was availability or opt to have breakfast outside on the terrace.

Breakfast was always a surprise.  During our stay, we were served salt fish and bakes, toast, danishes, brownies, omelets, sausages, fish stew, bacon, tea, coffee, and always a variety of fresh fruit juices, pineapple and water melon.  Most mornings, we would sit with the other guests and recount what we had done the previous day.  This was a truly hearty start to our day.

The staff is very small but they are all dedicated and hard-working.  Our room was always immaculate.  The bathroom was spotless - they have a serious love affair with bleach.  We had no problem with the bleach because we know that bleach kills germs.   It was always a pleasure to come back to the El Dorado after a jaunt in the sun to find our room ready and waiting.  Added to this was the free high-speed Internet access and cable TV. Besides the local channels, we had the option to view US channels.  The other big hotels charge a fee for Internet access so this was a great advantage since I had my laptop with me.  If I felt like sitting on the balcony to get on the Internet, there was a hard wire provided there just in case I could not access Wi-Fi.  The one caution I would give is to make sure that if you use a laptop and need to charge the battery, do not plug the charger directly into the wall, use a surge protector at all times.  I learned the hard way and had to buy a new battery charger from Stars Computer on Brickdam.

Unfortunately, Georgetown still has periods of intermittent power failure.  Businesses and some locals do have generators that kick in when these interruptions occur but this can also damage electrical equipment when there is a surge in power.

By now, you must be wondering where all the mosquitoes were.  Luckily, mosquitoes do not survive in cool areas so we were fine at the hotel but outdoors at nights posed a huge challenge - especially for folks who are not accustomed to fanning the little pests away.  We did very well and came away with just a few bites.


Things to do in Georgetown