STOP! HAMMOCK TIME! (Day #4, November 2)

The long-awaited Monday arrived. Only a few hours away from making it to our new home for the next month. The atmosphere was quite abuzz, given the last minute preparations that needed to be done prior to our boat ride. Ribz and I were introduced to a Skeldon staple:

THE MARKET.

Only in videos and pictures of other countries had I ever witnessed the systematic chaos of an outdoor town market. The cacophony completely encased all your senses. The pungent scents of freshly caught fish,  ground spices, and sweaty humanity stewed in the air. Creolese flowed as freely as the multitudes, greetings and  sales pitches blended in the mix. We knew what we came for, but in all truth and honesty, market on an empty stomach is probably not your best bet. We made our way out of the market to grab a bite.

After indulging in some fish curry, roti, and mauby (very refreshing drink made from buckthorn bark, even better with rum in it 😉), we returned to market with the goal of buying hammocks. In the case of Guyana, hammocks are as much a social necessity as they are a comfort. Gaffing and liming (see "Wem Bai? Wem Gyal?" post for definitions) would be terribly impeded without hammocks. Hammocks are the very breeding grounds of fine conversation, hours of peaceful studying or book reading, and plenty of laughs. With the purchase of said hammocks, this would be somewhat a rite of passage into the very lifestyle of the Guyanese.

Ok MAYBE I'm exaggerating, but still! You get the point.

Post hammock buying, we walked out to the dock to set up our luggage in the Orealla boat. Generally, the boats stay at dock enough time for all passengers to put their belongings in safely. Our ride wouldn't be leaving till around 7 ish, so we had time to kill.

Gaffing, or epic beatbox competition? You decide...

The time period between is a blur in my brain, just due to all the excitement. So much excitement, in fact, that when it came time for the boat to leave, I didn't even bother with laying down in the hammock. Josh,  Charlie and I scrambled to the roof of the boat and laid our heads back for an epic night of star-gazing while Jonatán stayed inside chatting away.

(Check an upcoming post for more details regarding that gorgeous night.)

5-6 hours simultaneously felt stretched out and quick as we traversed the Correntyne River past Suriname. Sleep escaped the 4 of us as we beheld the beauty and serenity of the best boat ride I've been in yet. We finally made it around 1 AM to the Stelling (Orealla dock). There, a couple named the Frances awaited our arrival and patiently assisted us with moving our stuff to our accommodations. Whilst Josh and Charlie would be retiring to their usual home, Ribz and I would be staying the night at the house behind the Kingdom Hall. The coordinator of the congregation and his wife (Sigmund and Amanda Mckenzie) generously opened their downstairs apartment for us to bed in.

What, you think that's it? WRONG! In typical Camacho fashion, some sort of odd adventure was bound to crop up, right?

After the couple went back to bed, Ribz and I made the bed and got ready to finally go to sleep. Except.....there was a third party present in the room. A good-sized  spider decided it would be nice to have a sleepover in the corner. Naturally, my initial reaction was pull out Ki-Ki (my constant companion camera) & immediately start taking pictures of it. My brother's reaction? Not so gracious. 😂 in an attempt to rid the room of the unwelcome roommate, Jonatán struck valiantly with a flip flop, but alas it dashed away into the night. This rendered me in tears of laughter and my brother quite awake for next 3 hours or so.

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

No worries, the spider reappeared and was promptly "taken care of."

So much for a calm first night in Orealla!

Stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.