Fine Arts and Sweet Treats in a Lush, Natural Setting
Georgetown may be the largest urban center in Guyana, filled with government institutions and fascinating colonial wooden architecture, but don’t expect to experience a soulless, concrete-laden city center. The capital fully embraces its natural surroundings and the constant rainfall ensures that the colors you will most often see are green, green and more green. Of Georgetown’s many city parks, I will highlight three that you shouldn’t miss: Promenade Gardens, The Botanical Gardens and National Park.
Beauty isn’t only to be found in the natural world, but on canvases, street corners and restaurant plates as well. The culinary and fine arts scenes of Guyana are on display throughout the city; the National Gallery will be the starting point for any art-loving traveler and the strong influence of Guyana’s Indian immigrants will have vegetarians rejoicing at local eateries. But don’t take my word for it- I present to the court of public opinion my photos of Georgetown’s man-made and natural works of art.
The National Gallery of Art (Castellani House)
The Castellani House is one of the most beautifully-preserved examples of wooden architecture in the capital, and one of the few that is freely open to the public. Built by its namesake family between 1872-82, Former-President Forbes Burnham used the Castellani House as his personal home until his death in 1985. (During Burnham’s presidency, the house was nicknamed “The Residence,” and you will hear some older people still refer to it as such today.)
After Burnham’s death, the property was refurbished and transformed into The National Gallery of Art, which unsurprisingly contains the largest collection of Guyanese art in the world. Like most museums in Georgetown, photos are forbidden in the exhibition areas. This makes me rather sad as I not only can’t share images of the amazing art with you, but I also don’t even have the ability to privately reminisce over the paintings and sculptures I so admired, except for one…
Winslow Craig
During my visit, The National Gallery had mounted an exhibition celebrating Winslow Craig, one of Guyana’s premiere sculptors. Due to the abundance of lumber in the country, most early endeavors into the art form employed the medium of wood. Craig was one of the first to branch out and really incorporate various metals into Guyanese sculpture. He even created his own unique technique called “sawdoue,” where he mixes (Craig is still living) sawdust with a clear glue and layers it over steel. The curated exhibit, titled “A Journey and Exploration of Forms in Metal,” commemorated Craig’s developments and advancements in sculpture.
There was a moment when I found myself alone with the security guard in one of the exhibition halls, and I don’t know if he could sense how moved I was by Craig’s art, but he said to me, “You can take one photo quickly if you like while no one is looking,” for which I was very grateful. Aside from Winslow Craig, The National Gallery has a permanent collection of modern and contemporary paintings that examine subjects such as the lingering effects of colonialism, national identity and environmentalism. One perk is that a visit to the museum is completely free; unlike most museums which are closed on Mondays, The National Gallery is open, opting instead for Sunday as its off-day.
Street Art
I alway have my eyes peeled for street art on my travels, but I didn’t find too much of it in Georgetown. I have read that the scene is growing and during the pandemic the government hosted a street art festival to encourage people to get out of their homes and walk the streets again. The piece above is right around the corner from the The National Museum and is quite the impressionistic work, capturing traditional instruments, dances and costumes. If the online reports of Georgetown’s street art campaigns are true, then I find myself even more tempted to return to Guyana in the future.
Hungry for more?
Puri shops are ubiquitous in Georgetown, but Shanta’s always had a line of locals (always a good sign) and was the best I tried in town. On the left in the above photo, you see the puri, which is deep-fried bread made from unleavened flour. You use the bread to scoop up bits of whatever curry you prefer; the most popular vegetarian option is curried pumpkin, which you can see in the bowl on the right. Don’t be wimp and try some of Shanta’s homemade hot sauce to complete the meal!
Agriculture is an important part of Guyana’s economy and fresh fruit and vegetables are not in short supply. No need to go to a grocery store- produce can be easily found and cheaply purchased from street vendors all over the capital. I took refuge from the rain at this stand run by two brothers near my hostel. Some of their items were known to me, while others were not.
These gourds are not indigenous to Guyana, but rather were brought over from Asia by indentured servants in the late 19th Century. They are most commonly sliced up and added to stir-fries or soups. As you can see, the melange of ethnicities in Guyana contribute not only politically and culturally to the nation’s identity, but in the culinary world as well.
“What are those?” I asked one of the brothers, pointing to two giant pieces of fruit in the stand. “You’ve never tried jackfruit?!” he asked, clearly alarmed. “Well, I’m not letting you leave this stand until you taste some. Here, let me cut one open and we can eat it together.” (This is just how the Guyanese are. Be prepared for a warm welcome and A+ hospitality wherever you go!)
Jackfruit is delicious, somewhat like a mango in flavor, but stringy and often barbecued and used as a meat substitute in vegetarian pulled “pork” sandwiches. I attempted to pay for the jackfruit, but the brothers insisted they wanted to spend a nice moment eating it with me and making sure I got the full “Guyanese experience.” (Don’t worry, I bought large sacks of oranges and bananas that I shared with the hostel kitchen.) I’ve since tracked down jackfruit back in NYC, but none taste as sweet or fresh as the jackfruit in Georgetown.
Enough with the fruit and vegetables- let’s get to the most important course: dessert! Salara, or Red Cake, is the ultimate Guyanese pastry. This sweet dough is rolled out and then covered with a layer of sweet and spiced coconut filling. Brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg are added to flaked coconut; the red is simply from added food coloring and not from any fruit or jam. A slice of Salara and a cup of coffee can be enjoyed morning, noon or night in the capital.
A popular spot to grab this treat is right on the street from a shaved ice vendor. Unlike American snow cones, which are ice and syrup, the Guyanese pour sweetened condensed milk over the ice before adding the flavor syrup of your choice. This makes for a creamier (and sweeter) shaved ice than what I am normally used to. (I once sold snow cones for a summer in my youth, so this one brought back some memories.)
Promenade Gardens
Smack dab in the center of downtown Georgetown, you will find the small, but enchanting Promenade Gardens. Established by the British in 1853, this is one of the oldest-standing green spaces in the city. A bandstand was added in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubliee and is often rented out for parties and weddings; don’t be surprised if the gardens are closed for a private event on the weekends.
The garden was only a few blocks from my hostel and it was a nice place to swing by after lunch to do a little journaling before heading back out into the city for afternoon adventures. There’s a lot to keep you busy in Georgetown, but it never hurts to slow down and really appreciate the beauty that surrounds you too.
The Botanical Gardens
I already mentioned the sprawling Botanical Gardens in my previous post as it contains the Place of the Seven Ponds monument, as well as Forbes Burnham’s tomb, but this immense garden in the eastern part of town is much more than these two famous landmarks. The land was once Plantation Vlissengen, a Dutch sugar estate that was abandoned after slavery was outlawed in the colony. The gardens were established in 1877 and the adjacent Georgetown Zoo opened in 1952.
The gardens are home to the largest collection of Guyanese flora (outside the rainforest), with trees and flowering plants amassed from every region of the country. I’ll show you some of the wondrous flowers I saw here, including the giant water lily, Guyana’s national flower. (These can actually be found in canals all over Georgetown in both pink and white varieties.)
The rear portion of the green space has been turned into an open-air bird sanctuary. As you can read on the sign above, there are almost 900 species of birds in Guyana, with almost 200 of them making their home in The Botanical Gardens. You can scan the QR codes on these placards around the park to get more information about the various birds you may see.
One tip I can give: the gardens are very popular with families, and their children will naturally be making noise, which in turn will scare many of the birds deeper into the surrounding wooded areas. The best time to visit if you actually want to see the birds is right after breakfast before the park gets too crowded.
The Georgetown Zoo
The neighboring zoo is small; everything can easily be seen in an hour or so, but if you’re not planning on visiting the rainforests of Guyana, this is the next best opportunity to see some of the nation’s fauna. The path through the zoo goes right up to the animal enclosures, allowing you to have a more intimate experience with the animals than in some other zoos I’ve visited.
The zoo’s most popular animal is easily its jaguar, the national animal of Guyana. There are two jaguars on the country’s coat of arms symbolizing the strengthen and endurance of the people. Jaguars can still be found in the wild, living in the protected areas in the southern region of Guyana.
National Park
Despite the name, National Park is not an actual “national park” in Guyana. This led to some confusion when people at the hostel asked if I had been to National Park yet and I replied that I wasn’t planning on visiting any of the national parks in Guyana. National Park is just the name, so don’t let it through you for a loop.
National Park was originally a British man-made golf course that was converted into a public park in 1965. There’s a jogging track and several football fields where you can find kids honing their skills after school. The hostel staff were very insistent that I go to the park and approach the lake near the entrance. They refused to tell me why (not wanting to spoil the surprise), but they told me I cannot leave Georgetown without doing this.
In the spirit of the hostel workers, I will tell you not to continue reading this post if you plan on visiting Georgetown yourself- and I hope you do! Guyana receives the least amount of tourists of any South American country, and yet it really packs a punch and provided me a great introduction to the continent. From the wooden architecture to the numerous history museums to Winslow Craig’s sculpture to the green gardens and flavorful meals, Georgetown has so much to offer.
And for the record, the workers at the hostel were right. The surprise at National Park is unmissable and was my favorite part of my stay here.
SPOILERS BELOW******************************
Manatees! These adorable creatures will come to water’s edge and let you rub their noses. If you really want to become their best friend, feed them a few blades of grass and they’ll never leave your side. There must have been ten or twelve of them and everyone loves them. I think I inherited my love of animals from my dad, who would probably have camped out in National Park all day, watching the manatees play. As they’re the real stars of Georgetown, I will turn the spotlight on them and let them steal the show.
