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CarnetDePassage.com
Guyana
Written by Jerem   
Friday, 05 July 2019

I continue heading north from Brazil to the guyanas. The road from the brazilian border to Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, on the Atlantic coast is called the Lethem - Linden road, by the names of the 2 cities on each side. It stands on the top 3 of bad south america roads along with the BR319 in Brazil. Yet, I am confident as i know there is regular traffic on the road.

rainbow on the savanna rainbow on the savanna

The road up to the border is in a remarkable condition. As a former english colony, cars drive on the wrong (left) side of the road in Guyana. So they built this funny crossroad right at the border to direct the traffic.

road boa vista road boa vista

Right after the border is the town of Lethem in Guyana. Many brazilians come here to shop. Right after the city, the road turns into a track, but still good and dry, that cuts across the savanna.

lethem lethem

Then it passes some hills and goes into the jungle. some bridges are in poor condition and few sections are muddy.

LL road 1 LL road 1 LL road 2 LL road 2

LL road 3 LL road 3 LL road 4 LL road 4

LL road 5 LL road 5

But the track is overall good, the only difficulty being created by some trucks stuck in the mud. Other trucks and low cars have to wait, I can drive along. Along the road are some carbets, hammocks shelters, where i spend the 2 nights on the way

carbet carbet

The drive is still slow and it takes two days and a half to reach Georgetown, about 500 km away from Lethem. I visit the city the next day, not that there is much to see, but mostly to rest from the drive. The documented sights are the Church (said to be the highest self-standing wooden building), the market and the dyke.

georgetown 1 georgetown 1 georgetown 2 georgetown 2

georgetown 3 georgetown 3 georgetown 4 georgetown 4

georgetown 5 georgetown 5

The road then continues east along the Atlantic ocean. It passes a funny (and expensive) floating bridge.

floating bridge 1 floating bridge 1 floating bridge 2 floating bridge 2

I eventually arrive at Corriverton, the last city before the border with Surinam. Here I am said that the ferry that crosses the river and is used for international traffic had a breakdown last week, and there is no information on when the service will start again. Meanwhile, pedestrians crossing the border are allowed to use a temporary immigration office and use small motorboats to reach the other shore.

Corriverton Corriverton

 

Comments  

 
#1 fox 2019-07-17 22:21
I read that in Guyana the majority ethnic group has a north India origin and that Hinduism is the second religion of the country, did you see some Hindu temples in town ?
 
 
#2 jerem 2019-07-17 23:36
yes, lots of hindu temples; especially along the road in the coastal towns. there is one in the next particle