"End of the road" Lethem by DSwede

After Georgetown, the next stop was Lethem. Good luck trying to find where that is. I was there and barely know where it is (on southwest boarder with Brazil). There is about 300 yards worth of paved road there. Obviously it is a big thriving metropolis. I willingly chose to take a ~19 hour teeth rattling bus ride down a ~350 mile dirt road to enjoy the views of the untouched jungles and savannas in the south.

Lethem's side streets

After collecting my wits and seeing the highlights, I turned right around and boarded another van/bus that took me back into the jungle. The bus dropped me off at 4:30am and I had a nice walk through the pitch of dark through the jungle to where I was to spend the next 24 hours in the trees with the birds and animals (Iwokrama Canopy Walkways) before intercepting the same teeth rattling bus on its return journey to Georgetown (all told, round trip was 4 days).

If you find yourself here, you come from one of the following groups:
1) transit traveler coming from Brazil, bound for Georgetown.
2) Long term ex-pat here for the annual Rodeo (held near Easter)
3) Volunteer (Peace Corp, Red Cross, etc.) or missionary
4) true wondering traveler

For more general comments on my trip here, feel free to visit my Guyana page.

(for more pictures, feel free to visit my Guyana Gallery. If you enjoy the pictures, please leave a comment.)

• Pros:If you find yourself here, you are a true traveler in my books. There are not many more stones to overturn.
• Cons:Besides waiting for your ownward journey, there is not much to do in the town. Its at the end of a long bumpy road!
• In a nutshell:Most people who come here are transiting through to/from Bazil on the budget bus instead of flying.