Day #1 (October 30)

I think that today can be summed up into "why, I never!"

Why, I never had less nervousness on a takeoff.

Why, I never have seen so many bright, delicious-looking Carib/European houses.

Why, I never...But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me do as my mother so lovingly says whenever I relate a tale, "start at the beginning, and when you get to the end, STOP."

Day #1: 10/30/15

Our flight was at 7:40am. JFK is a cool 2 hour drive from our home in Wallkill. This would entail arriving at the airport at 4ish, THEREFORE leaving at 2ish. NOT WORTH SLEEPING! The whole clan stayed up, to quote Mr. Lionel Richie, "ALL NIGHT LONG!" Between the last minute suitcase checking, blanket hauling and transportation finalization, we kept ourselves quite busy!

The drive was relaxing, quietly savoring the final moments with the family. Two hours flew by in no time. My tummy was jumpy in excitement. Jonatan (who will now be referred to as Ribz for the rest of this adventure) was equally as antsy in anticipation.

Off to a happy, sleep-deprived start!

Upon  arrival, after hauling off our luggage and saying the final goodbyes,we were off! If it isn't obvious already, my brother and I are quite the novice travelers, so all the minor details are made to be a big deal. Extremely nice check-in lady? WONDERFUL! Easy breeze through security? AWESOME! Granted, we had to wait a tad to get on board, but this mattered not considering the trip that lay ahead of us.

We were in the air about a good 5-6 hours or so (JFK to Trinidad). In that time period, Ribz and I (mostly Ribz, because I was asleep during parts of that flight) got to witness to our seatmate. Marvis, a resident of Linden, was a very sweet-natured quiet young man. He works and lives in New Jersey, but was heading home to visit family. Apparently, during the flight, he mentioned to my brother that his grandfather was/is a Witness, which sprung a long and productive conversation which included sharing the Why Study the Bible video.

At 12:30 on the dot, we landed in Trinidad. Unfortunately, we never got to explore the Trinny airport, due to the fact that the plane would be the same aircraft taking us to Cheddi Jagan Airport in Guyana. At least we got free in-flight breakfast (spinach frittata, sausage, potatoes, wheat roll, fruit cup and orange juice) to keep us satisfied. The remainder of our travel was very pleasant, only a few jolts in the air and upon landing in Guyana.

WELCOME TO GUYANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived in one piece, overjoyed to have made it! After the usual formalities (passport stamping and customs and luggage retrieval), we met up with our fantastical host Josh Westfall (for more incredible Guyana adventures, check out his blog at nutso42.blogspot.com ) and our ride, Daniel Adams. Daniel is a brother who also is a taxi driver by trade and was willing to take us the 3 hour drive from Georgetown to Corriverton/Skeldon (where we would be staying a few days until our boat to Orealla). Instead of just merely taking us from point A to point B, however, they showed us a few local sights and made the ride extremely pleasant.

Example of the lovely architecture of Georgetown

Gorgeous seawall at Georgetown

We got our first taste of typical Guyanese food in the form of chicken and potato curry with white rice. Absolutely delicious! The drive consisted of plenty of conversation, singing, laughing, star-gazing, picture-taking and general happiness. By the time we arrived, we were wired and tired. Great end to a most exciting day.

Stay tuned for Day #2!

Love,

The Adventurous A.