More of Georgetown

Now then, I was a little gloomy as I ended my last post.  Yes, the old colonial buildings are a little ratty looking in places, but they are still beautiful exhibits of the architecture of the era.  Amazingly, many have been preserved and are still in use.

City Hall

The Supreme Court, or Victoria Court

These are a city block or two away from St. George's.  It's in an area called Lacytown, which was part of a sugar plantation in the earliest (Dutch) settlement days.

A Cattle Egret, completely intent on hunting, not the least concerned with people on the sidewalk.

Modern Parliament Building

Stabroek Market.  Stabroek was the Dutch colonial name of the town.

We didn't go into the market itself, for a couple of reasons, safety being one of them.  The crowds outside were a little intimidating and police presence was high.  We found out later that a grenade had exploded in a market stall a day or two before.  Many of the street/sidewalk venders had been told to shut down their operations.  Everyone was pretty tense about the situation.   

We had a couple of errands, such as finding a cambio to buy some Guyanese currency and, of all things, cigarette lighters.  It was suggested by our tour company that we bring cigarette lighters to light candles.  In the interior, electricity is supplied by generators and solar panels.  There may or may not be electricity in the rooms after dark.  So, we went looking for lighters, since none of us smoked.  Apparently the good people of Guyana aren't supreme smokers, as a rule.  Cigs aren't sold in drug stores, general stores, grocery stores or any other little variety stores.  They and lighters are only sold by special street vendors. 

This is about all the sight-seeing I accomplished in the city, besides whatever was along the various routes to and from birding places, as well as the Botanical Gardens. 

I will probably post photos taken from airplanes at a future time.

For some more information about Georgetown and Coastal Guyana, visit http://www.coastalchange.ca/georgetown_caribbean.html