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It is a lush, green ride through the Iwokrama forest. As you travel along there is a plethora of sounds. Some of it comes from insects and some it is clearly calls from birds, but some of the sounds could come from animals, but the vegetation is so dense that you rarely see the sources, including when it is from birds. There is some bird in the forest which goes through a series of different screeching calls. I am sure some automotive engineer came to Guyana and heard it and it became the inspiration for car alarms. | |
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 There
was a time when, if you spent a night at Canopy Walk you tied up a hammock under
a shed and slept along side the wardens. The preferred bedding in the forest is a
hammock that keeps you well off the ground (yes, there are poisonous snakes in
those woods), covered by a mosquito net that falls heavily on to the ground. |
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  Gone
are the days when you can arrive at Canopy Walk and sling a hammock between a
couple of supports for an economical. A partnership of investors have cleared a patch of the
forest, erected some gloried shed and now charge first world prices to spend the
night. To their credit the clearing is very modest, carbon footprint of
the operation is minimal and the overall environmental practices of the
institution are good. It is just too bad that they don't have some
flexibility for less than high end guest -- the might sell a few additional
meals and collect some addition fees for admission to the Canopy Walk. |
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The booklet says "Red Brocket Deer - Size = ~22 kilograms. Medium-sized deer with distinctive hunched posture with the rump higher than the shoulders or head. Ears and legs relatively short compared to the Grey Brocket. Most often seen in morning, at dusk or at night while foraging. Distinctive split hoof prints tapering smoothly to narrow tip." That works for me. This one is a regular morning visitor to the clearing around Atta Lodge. | |
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 These
black
curassows (there are multiple spelling for the name of the bird, including
curacaos) are resident and part of the entertain on the grounds of Atta Lodge.
A couple times a day they come prancing through the clearing and pose for
pictures. |
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 On
the theme of wildlife, these to insects are two of the most unusual I have
ever seen -- they seem to be a happy couple..The cross-section of a purple heart tree. The wood in the heart of the tree turns purple when exposed to light and darkens with age. |
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 The
canopy walk suspension bridge is an impressive work of engineering and the views are beautiful,
but after several visits to the walk and listening to the guides and rangers talk, it not
clear how much wildlife there is to be seen -- certainly very little on a regular
basis. Most of what there is to see and experience is the scaffolding
itself. If your expectations are too high you may be disappointed. Bird
watchers with high powered binoculars seem to have the highest feelings of
success. |
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Out on a night walk we spotted this snake on a tree. Fortunately, it was not aggressive. I am yet to be able to determine the kind so I can't say if it is poisonous or not. |
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| Guyana Bibliography | ||
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Guyana
Cultural Tour: Iwokrama
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