15 Things I will NOT miss about Guyana

As much as we volunteers plan for most things, sometimes things come up outside of our control. I came to Guyana to volunteer for a year. That was my intent. But, life calls... and I have to go back home. Good or bad, here are some things I won't miss...

1. Eating with a SPOON (especially a plastic spoon for take-out!)
2. Honking car horns - especially outside my bedroom throughout the nights
3. The hazards of walking down the street
4. The garbage around town and at the Sea Wall
5. The canals with the dirty, mucky water and overgrown flora (and rats)
6. ROADKILL - Toads and rats
7. Mini-buses with BLARING music
8. All night parties - outside my bedroom window
9. The roosters, horses, donkeys, dogs, and whatever else lurks beyond my bedroom window in the early mornings
10. Frequent power cuts
11. S-l-o-w internet
12. The Sizzling HEAT
13. The rainy season and the floods 
14. The mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies, frogs and mice Critters that make me miss Toronto
15. The cold water showers!!!  The rainy season brings colder water

Next I will talk about what I WILL miss...

Living in Guyana's houses

Did you know that the walls in the houses in Guyana don't go all the way to the ceiling? Okay. Maybe that's not the case for EVERY last house, but that's the general style. Now I may have mentioned this in a previous blog, along with the fact that the houses are built on "stilts" in Georgetown since Georgetown is below sea level. (Hence the Sea Wall as seen in early posts).

When I was coming to Guyana I first heard about this phenomenon of dividing walls not hitting the ceiling. I immediately thought of those cubicles in washrooms that don't hit the ceiling or the floor. Hmmm. Talk about lack of privacy. I was maybe 40% concerned. After all, I wasn't moving here with my husband so there would be no hanky-panky with a house-mate next door, but I still worried about it. And what about the bathrooms???  But, I decided not to worry about it too much, as there was NOTHING I could do about this. So, I just hoped for the best.

I was fortunate. Very fortunate. The house I moved into was a regular house with full height walls! Of course, that probably also means my house is HOT since the walls that don't meet the ceiling are designed for better air flow and to keep the houses a leeeetle cooler. I've also seen some houses where the bathroom walls stop short too. VERY WEIRD. I think. Good enough I don't have to deal with THAT. But, here are some pictures of different walls as I've seen them since I've been here...

   No pun intended, but don't you think it's COOL? :-)

Packages and such

I KNOW that all of you wanted to send me care packages. I just do. Is it that you've been waiting for me to tell you what to send? I don't know for sure, but I'm going to tell you about my experience so far with the Georgetown P.O.

On June 18th a friend in Toronto sent me a book.....             .................             ......................


Yes, there was a looong wait. And wait. And there was more waiting. Naturally I figured, there was probably something amiss with the address. So, I decided that the book was lost forever more, and I moved on with my life. It came somewhere around the end of July. Finally. The address was correct. What was the hold up? I will never know. So, does it take SIX weeks for mail to come from Toronto to Georgetown? Hmmm.

One last experiment. (And at this point I do  mean LAST). I asked someone to go to the dollar store and buy me two light items. Some headbands. These I did want, but figured that if I never got them, I wouldn't die. They were mailed to me on the 26th of July. One week later they were in Georgetown. ONE week!! The only thing is that this time I received a slip to come and collect a parcel. GROAN. I'm way too lazy. Did I need this? The slip also indicated that the handling charge was $500. Now, at Gy$200:Cdn$1, the package value to me was about $400. And it was a gift. And now I had to pay more than the price of the gift just for HANDLING??? I shook my head and groaned.

Someone also mentioned that was not the final price and taxes would be added when I got there and they assessed the goods. Sigh. Anyway, I finally made it to the post office because I was told that if it stayed more than a week they would likely charge me Storage Fees as well!!!  I was beginning to think this was a BAD experiment. Whose idea was it anyway?

So, I made it to the main P.O. in Georgetown yesterday morning. (I was afraid to take any pictures lest I was arrested). The place has no "front door, but rather just an opening into an "arcade-type" building. I found the section where Parcels were delivered. there were a few people there. I waited. I noticed a couple of people handing in slips. I waited. And then I noticed a sign that said parcels delivered 8:30-10:45a.m. Or something like that I can't remember the other times that were on it. I wondered what that meant. Did that mean the delivery truck was out at during those hours, so if you're expecting a package that's the time they would come to your house? I looked at the clock on the wall. 10:40a.m. A moment of panic. I had to get back to work. This would be a BAD story if they closed at 10:45 and I didn't get through. Oh boy!

A few minutes later a gentleman who had noticed me standing there came up and asked if there were anymore slips? I quickly handed him mine. He took it and promptly picked up a big standing sign and placed it atop the desk. CLOSED!  In Your Face! They were not playing!

Phew. Lucky. But, do they really do that? They do. I watched an argument with a man from Europe who told them not to open his parcel because he had diplomatic immunity.

"You've signed a convention he said. You can't open it". 

The girl went and checked with Customs. Came back. Apologized and started to tape the box back up.

My turn. The girl looks at me. Cuts open my package. Indicates to the customs officer that it's hair stuff and goes away. Eventually she comes to me and tells me I have to wait while they "assess" the taxes. hmmm. worry. Ay Caramba!

Finally I get called and handed the slip back to go and pay. $200 in duty and another $200 in taxes!!!!!!!!  I'm now paying $900 for a free gift worth $400. WTF?!!?!?!?!?!  I had more waiting at the very meticulous cashier who was taking his time spelling the words and dutifully stamping everything! Then I had to wait on the same girl who had served me before to go collect my package and examine it, examine my paid slip, Stamp that, give me a paper to sign that I'd received the package. Some more stamping. Finally it was in my hand!

Are you still thinking of sending me a Care Package????!?!??!!!   ]:)

More about Guyana!

There are many many things I find strange about Guyana. Some I still have yet to share. Did you for example know that the languages in Guyana included English, Hindu, Urdu, Amerindian and Creole? Did you know that the 2002 census indicated that 57% of Guyanese were Christian? Okay, so 2002 was a long time ago, but still, in Guyana, the more things change the more they remain the same. The numbers are not necessarily far off. Other religions here include Hinduism, Muslims, Rastafarians. And everyone gets along like one big happy family.

Now, remember that Georgetown, Guyana hosts the St. George's Cathedral, one of the tallest wooden churches in the world. And I know I've driven through areas where I've been told that there's a church on EVERY street. So, churches and religion have definitely made their mark here.

I, however have been to church on more than one Sunday morning and seen less than a dozen people in the church. Yes, eventually the numbers swell to a whopping 25 or so (yes, I counted), but where are the masses? Who to tell, but I do know one thing, I've sat in amazement and watched cars go by everyday with some declaration on them... They're quoting scripture, They have pictures of the bible, praying hands, crosses, wreaths with bible verses written inside. Anything you can think of that gives the impression that Christians abound!  I guess they don't go to church, they just pray in their cars...

5 months in Georgetown!

Hard to believe that I've been in Guyana this long! Who would've thunk it? I don't feel like it's been five months. Do you? LOL. I remember when the opportunity arose, telling everyone, packing to come here and being slightly nervous. I remember thinking it's just a year - not forever, and I remember wondering if I'd make it for the year! Could I be an International volunteer? Would I like Guyana? Could I survive on a stipend? Would I be bored, lonely? Would I hate it?? And now, it's been FIVE MONTHS! So, take that!!

So, I ended up going out two nights in the past week. Once to the Hotel Tower for Karaoke/Happy Birthday party, and once to Night Cap Cafe for goodbye drinks. Both for VSO volunteers. Seems like a lot of VSO volunteers are saying goodbye these days. There are a lot of changes at VSO Guyana, one of the main ones being that they're about to become CUSO Guyana and so they are not taking in a lot of new volunteers this year until the dust has settled. So, we're dwindling in numbers... :(  Lotta "goodbyes", but not a lot of "welcomes".

These guys sell CDs from their karts

In any event, I continued with a lazy weekend (does it have to rain every sunday?) and watched the music cart go past again. I hear him long before he goes by, and I can't help but look through the window when he does. He's louder than the cars that cruise by booming music!!!

In Georgetown, there are a lot of guys selling pirated dvds too. And they're cheap. $100 each (about US or Cdn $0.50). They set up on the roadside and just literally stack them up like they're in a dvd store. I've even seen one guy just lay them down on the "sidewalk". It's not really a sidewalk, just a dirt patch on the side of the road. Imagine them doing that in Canada!

And then there's the other guy who goes by, not sure what he's selling, but his music is JUST as loud!

Selling food? Not sure

What I'm trying to figure is... can I just order my meals from this guy below and have him bring it hot everyday???

Just another dog day

What can I tell you about life in the tropics? Well, maybe not in the tropics, but in the developing world. People of course love their pets. In Guyana, no less. And, we have enough exotic animals here that I'm sure pets come in all shapes and sizes. Here, there are a lot of people who have birds. How do I know this? Well, because they "sun" their birds regularly. YES, they take them out for a walk. So, people are out walking, cycling or climbing into a boat with their birds in one hand as they go merrily along their way. :)

I've also seen a few people out on the Sea Wall with their toy dogs. But very few. For the most part, dogs are kept in homes - and unlike the need in North America to have your dog inside - particularly because of the climate, here, there is no such NEED. Toy dogs and a select few others may be inside (along with the birds), but many dogs are kept outside in the yard. And the atmosphere surrounding "keeping the dogs inside" is quite casual. Dogs may roam the street and visit the neighbours often. Not many care. So, it's not unusual to take a walk down the street and pass a dog or two lounging outside.

Yesterday, on her way to work, my housemate had one of these dogs out of nowhere run up and take a bite out of her leg. 

Yes, she's fine. And the dog is probably still alive somewhere... but it just goes to show that when the Travel Doctor advised us to "Stay away from dogs and Stay away from men!" he was probably right.

You could get bitten!!! 

Hope you recover soon SF! ;)

Entertainment in Georgetown

Now, I'd heard before I came to Guyana that there were lots of concerts in Georgetown, rum bars and dominoes. But, where does everything come to life? Seriously. I don't know. It doesn't appear that there's a whole lot to do in Georgetown. And this may be true of lots of places, but I guess if you already have lots of friends and are truly established with car, TV, DVD player, XBox and whatever else you need to make your fun, then you probably don't notice it. If you're home with your family making dinner, doing laundry and playing with the kids, then you're probably too tired to wonder where to go on a weekend.

For the rest of us, we've been getting by going to potlucks whenever another volunteer is saying "goodbye" and heading back home from Guyana. THIS has been the main source of entertainment for us volunteers. Yes, there are fish shops and rum bars, but I haven't had the good fortune? to visit one of these yet. And I surely haven't seen any domino games being played. I did glimpse a pool table in one rum bar, and I do know there's one entertainment complex on Sherriff Street. But, really? Where to go???

A couple of weeks ago there was a European Film Festival and there were films being featured for maybe 5 nights a week for two weeks. One night featured two films from Guyana. Sadly, I missed it all. :( And it was important for me to go to that, because there's no real cinema in Georgetown to frequent. Your best bet is to buy pirated DVDs cheap on the street. Because many people set up shop on different corners with rows and rows of dvds being offered.

Ready to go Welcome Jamrock!

I do know that Tanya Stephens has performed here this year (I can't believe I missed THAT, but nobody bothered to tell me about it until AFTER she'd gone).

Last Saturday however, was Independence Day here. This was celebrated by a Food and Family Festival being held just outside the main town. And guess who performed? Damian "Junior Gong" Marley! Oh ye! It was interesting as the night went on to see the crowd that gathered for his performance. Oh! 

What A Night! 

What's a volunteer to do?

Have you ever thought about volunteering? Have you ever volunteered? I remember when I worked in Government back in the day and you would never step forward to volunteer for anything because it probably meant you would get saddled with all the work - for NOTHING!

Then I did a little volunteering here and there where it didn't require too much effort on my part. As long as it was something I could do from home, that was fine. When I worked with the NGO sector however, there were always volunteers around. The work couldn't get done unless someone was giving from their heart. We always had volunteers from the community, from the Peace Corps and also from CUSO. At church, there were always volunteers coming from somewhere to help out with something. It was interesting how these people came to Jamaica to help out. Schools/classrooms were built. Toilets were introduced to some places that never had. We learned new crafts and new skills and made new friends. Some lasted a lifetime (or close).

And now, it's my turn. Now I've left Toronto to come to Guyana to share with others here in Georgetown. Who knew? Was this always a plan? Not really. But it certainly was an opportunity. The good thing is that with all the preparation we had from CUSO International before leaving Canada, you didn't feel like someone just opened the plane door and booted you out. You will never be TOTALLY prepared, but you kind of felt like you had a good idea of what you were getting into.

Getting to Georgetown and meeting other volunteers like yourself, the staff in the VSO (soon to be CUSO) office here and getting further orientation here certainly grounded you a little more. Everyone had to meet, greet, ask questions, laugh together and help each other. It took only a little time to figure out where everything was and what to do. Remember, we had orientation. And company. And you do meet people from here - who are mostly quite nice! ;) And we didn't start working for the first two weeks.

So, what do we do here? We're all doing different things and working with different organizations. All that was decided a long time ago after the first application and before the first interview with CUSO. You fit in where your skills fit, and where you have a comfort level. And the rest you figure out as you go along. If you're lucky (like me) you'll come to a nice tropical country with exotic animals and things to do that will also give you a nice escape when you're not working.

Volunteering overseas has it's challenges:

...leaving your home and your family and friends behind. :(  

...leaving your job and your salary behind. :((

...leaving all the familiar things and comforts that you know :(((     (hot water)

but, it's not all bad,

and has many rewards:

...expanding your horizons

...making new friends

...learning new customs and culture

...expanding your resume and skills

...contributing to international development

...seeing new places

...learning to appreciate home more

for what it's worth....... PRICELESS!                       (Stay tuned for more on volunteering)

The start of the rainy season...

Rainy season in Georgetown. 

In Jamaica, I hated the rain. Hated it. Rain meant that everything was not only wet and sloshy, but traffic slowed to criminally slooooow speeds. What is it about the rain that makes everyone drive like they have nowhere to go? Of course the roads are more dangerous, but standing still in traffic with one car going at a time, inching forward every 10mins??? Maybe a slight exagerration, but you get the picture.

I also hated the rain in Toronto. Loved the snow. Well, when it was just falling. Isn't it pretty to see the white flakes and feel the coolness on your face? The moments before it actually hits the roads and then becomes brown, disgusting slush!!!

I thought I would hate the rain in Georgetown. Why wouldn't I? It's the same wet stuff falling from the sky and making a mess on the ground. The first rain a couple of months ago that ended in the unexpected flooding made me cringe. (see earlier post - When it rains in Georgetown) http://bjanice1.blogspot.com/2012/02/when-it-rains-in-georgetown.html
I wasn't sure I could survive the rain here. And you know what happens when you're anticipating something in a negative way??? It's almost sure to go badly. BUT. Now that I've been fortunate enough to be armed with my rain gear....

I've realized something. I don't care about the rain. BRING IT ON!!!!

Furthermore, now that my fan has died and gone off to some cemetery somewhere, I was HAPPY it's the rainy season, because, guess what?  It's a heck of a lot cooler most days!

Sea Wall at Easter

Kite flying on the sea wall at Easter is supposed to be one of the big things in Georgetown. Now, I know in Jamaica that we'd be flying kites at this time, but we don't have a sea wall with breeze ready and waiting. So, apparently this is the place to be!!!  AD and I had a loose plan to go, and I even thought, maybe we'll buy our own kite!!!!

The funny thing is, I keep forgetting I'm not in Jamaica where the enterprising young would've been lining every street leading to the sea wall and selling kites all along it. So, on our walk to the sea wall... there were NO kites to be seen. We realized quickly enough that if' we wanted a kite we would have to hike it down to the market or something to get a kite!!! So, forget THAT.

We were also quite surprised that the sea wall wasn't packed with people flying beautiful kites in the wind. I don't know if we were too late, or more than likely too early, but, it was a HOT, windy day and would've been perfect for kites... if you could stand the heat. As it was there... without a kite in hand, sitting in the heat waiting for more people to come was only an option for a very short while. It was simply TOO hot to wait!

Another super-hot weekend with no move to the market. BUT, I did manage to get out on Sunday afternoon after all. Played a little football with some guys and girls. My big question was why they chose to play at 3 o'clock on a Sunny afternoon??? Turns out however that

1. there are no lights on the field so you can't play too late and
2. if you snooze, the cricket enthusiasts would've taken over all the fields and you'd just spend the time watching them play cricket.

So, I get it. We have to play in the sweltering sun. Still, we managed to knock the ball around a few times and run wildly around which means maybe I burned some calories.

Then we stopped and played some dominoes before heading home for the evening. Now, aside from the new style that I learned... (3 people playing with 1 sitting out and us taking turns), I also did a few other new things.

1. I ate tamarind straight from the tree. Yes, you may all wonder why I hadn't done this before since I grew up in a country that actually HAS tamarind trees. But, I hadn't. And I not only now ate ripe tamarind, but also tried the green one as well. (Not so hot on that one).
2. I had the famous Gun Oil. See previous link http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2557674867574491801#editor/target=post;postID=7170093129934827018   And now it has been somewhat explained to me. Yes, it is supposed to help men in their quest for "greatness". And it is actually boiled corn in cocnut milk with a variety of things including callaloo at times. The one I had was home made and had no callaloo but boiled corn is always good, and this was no exception. Thanks L!!

Living under a mosquito net...

When I was a very little kid, I have one or two memories of a mosquito net. I don’t know if my mom was just being protective of me as a baby, but, mosquito nets seemed to disappear from my life. Until now.

Tied up above bed

During prep to come to Guyana, I was told I’d be getting a net (Dengue Fever and Malaria, remember?). I remember hating them before and I thought of this claustrophobic feeling I could possibly have. So, I was not looking forward to it. I got here and of course there was one at the guest house. It was tied up in a knot above the bed, hanging from the ceiling.  Much like this===>

THe first night, I untied it and let it drop around the bed, and my room-mate coached me and let me know that I had to tuck it in under the mattress. Otherwise, mosquitoes fly up under it… and other creatures crawl, slither, slide… need I say more? So, lesson learnt. Tuck tuck. But, I still didn’t like it. L

How round net hangs from ceiling

I moved to my house and discovered that the net still was not working for me. I was awaiting a new one, but even so, it just wasn’t working. First of all, I realize, I was trying to fit a square (relatively speaking) bed into a round net. Now you know what they say about the pegs and the holes. They’re right. It doesn’t work. But, nevertheless, I was trying to make the best of an awkward situation. I finally got my new net and tried to get it prepped for installation. I had to soak it in an insecticide that was to prevent bugs, etc from even wanting to “knock” on its door. Goodie! I let it dry, then looked at the one that was hanging, to see how I was going to get this one up. Now, there was a hook in the ceiling, and the net had a round top – reinforced by some kind of wire. And four strings equidistance around the circumference of the wire that came together in a knot and then hung from the hook.

Square net. Yay!

My new net didn’t have any wire, so I just grabbed the four ends of the strings and fashioned some knots and tried to now take down the old net to put the new one up. But, there was a little bit of a vertical challenge. Hmmm. Needed help… So I called in reinforcements from my bredren and he took one look at my handiwork and was literally on the floor laughing. Apparently I had tied it wrong. I couldn’t understand what was sooooo wrong about it – a knot for a mosquito net is simply a knot!!!! But, it seemed… I had a square net at last. Now, I’d never seen one, so had no idea how they worked. He advised, organized and soon enough (several weeks later), my new net was UP!!!  He thought it was pretty cool, and I didn’t understand why… but now I GET IT. Man, whoever designed a round mosquito net was trying… phase ONE. The square net is the REAL DEAL. Love it!!!!  Now I don’t have to deal with any skewing and touching me in the night.

I’ve learned (thanks Roomie) that I can’t just barely put the ends under or the net will sag and touch the bed.

Sagging net. No good. :(

It has to be taut. Standing on it’s own like my own little castle around me. MOSQUITOES be gone! 

Net tucked right. :)

But, with all of that, I still have some questions. If I soaked this thing in insecticide, then why do mosquitoes still laze around on it like they’re on the Sea Wall lyming? The second thing is this… Imagine me tucking in 3.25 sides of the net. I have to leave a little crawl space on one side. I duck under, and while in bed, try to grab the ends of the loose side to tuck them in. This is easier said than done. And, imagine lifting this everytime you want to get in and out? And no matter how much I tuck, when I awake, the net is t-r-a-i-l-i-n-g on the floor. Why is this? Are there some super creatures lifting it out? WORSE if I have the fan oscillating around me. It does not stay put!!!  So, what’s the point? How do I get it to behave???

And finally, if we’re worried about dengue and malaria, and supposed to apply SHOO (our famous body insecticide here – not OFF) every evening, and reapply, and reapply… but, I haven’t been doing so, and have many bites on my arms and legs anyway… THEN WHY AM I FIGHTING THE NET AT NIGHTS???? I’ve already been bitten!!!!!

Weekends in Georgetown, Guyana

It's Friday, Friday, Friday. And you KNOW how I love my weekends. Doan care if I have anything to do, I LOVE my weekends. So, I'm fixing up some chicken and black beans (and fried ripe plantains) for dinner, and going to settle into a night of pc games and maybe a movie. I will make sure to put some clothes to soak (apparently they forgot to install my washing machine so I have to hand-wash). Now, the thing about washing in Guyana, is the brown water. Did we speak about the water before? I don't recall, so let me just tell you... water coming out of the taps is BROWN. Now, truthfully, from what I'd heard before I came here, I expected it to be a tad browner, but, nevertheless, it's BROWN. Is water supposed to have colour? Is POTABLE water supposed to have colour? So, we boil and filter our water for cooking and drinking, but what am I to do with the wash water???

So, I'm going to soak my WHITE clothes  in brown water? How can that possibly make sense? A lot of bleach, and a little blue soap, and a lot of work, but it seems a pointless exercise to me. Might as well just sun the clothes! Probably better results.

Tomorrow after I've washed and hung them to dry (and collect dust that's blowing around), I will probably go to the supermarket. Now, every Saturday so far I've had a plan to go to the market. Sigh, but you know how your friend is lazY I mean tired? So, when the sun is hot like it is on weekends (Did I not tell you it's hotter on weekends?), I definitely don't feel like going all the way to the market. But, I will try to pick up a few things somehow, and maybe I can get some curry chicken or shake n bake going this w-end. MAYBE.

Yes, the vow to cook seems to have burnt up. I guess I like cooking too much to just abandon preparing meals totally. Plus, some things just aren't the same here. For example, I get fried plantain here, but, in Guyana they seem to fry it when it has just turned ripe. In fact, what's more popular is green fried plantain. Also yummy, burt for a different purpose. That reminds me of the fried green bananas grandma used to make. And, in fact, since her birthdate is coming up soon, I guess I'll try frying some green plantains the way they do here that weekend. But, back to the ripe fried plantains. In Jamaica, we tend to wait until they're RIPE, and then fry them when they're sweeeeeeet. You know what I mean, right JS and PD??? ;) So, if I want it like that I have to do it myself. Some time soon I will expound more on the food here.

On Sunday I've been invited to the National Park to go play some football. Now, I'm not going to get into much detail except to say, maybe it will be fun??? and at the very least, remember those dratted ten pounds? Maybe I could drop one up there. It's a big enough park. So, that's my weekend PLAN for the mo. What's yours?

Mashramani - My first public holiday!

 February 23, 2012 marked the 42nd Anniversary since Guyana became a Republic. Mashramani celebrations commemorate Republic Day. I went out to see for myself and caught a bit of the parade. Many of the Ministries participated along with people from the Regions outside of Georgetown. Great to see how the country comes together for this. Even though there were a couple unfortunate incidents that took place, here are some of the pics of the scenes I saw along the route...

 Old and young...

I temporarily lost some of my files, so these are the only pics I have right now. Sorry, there isn't more variety, but maybe another time...

And, finally... Here's looking at YOU kid!!!

The past days...

So, I've been suffering from power cuts, internet black-outs and HEAT. Especially when there's a power cut. After only having one? in the first week, or maybe the first one didn't come until week 2, I thought, okay, maybe these will be few and far between. Nu-uh. Apparently not so few. I noticed this particularly after I plugged out my emergency light one day, and the power went the next day. Hmmm. I now keep it plugged in at all times. :)

In any event, we didn't let the lack of power stop us from going to explore. Next stop.

To start off we had a little misadventure. I know it may be a little hard for you to see, but that break in the grass in the first picture is ....          

yes, SF's shoe almost "ankle deep" in the mud. What a way to start off the day. Fortunately, she was not hurt and able to get cleaned up so we could be on our way to view the animals... :)

Flip flop after the rescue...

I'm not going to show you all the animals, but one or two are important. First off, who remembers Prep/Primary School History? This one is for the Caribbean folk amongst us... Remember the Agouti? Well here he is...


Agouti - The famous Labba? Remember him from the previous post at Madewini Gardens?

  WHAAAAAAAT? Whoever heard of a snake neck turtle???