John Kenny's World Cup Diary
Entry 15 - 1 April
It has been a busy time for the Irish journalists who are now left here in Georgetown, Guyana.
Most of us have been following the world cup for a month now and some have left leaving the likes of Emmet Riordan (Irish Independent) and Ian Callender (Belfast Newsletter) behind.
There are a couple of TV documentary makers in Paul Davey and Ed Leahy (who also writes a blog for www.rte.ie) still with the press as the original press corp that was in Jamaica and here for the England game has shrunk - perhaps indicating that the interest back in Ireland is waning
It also means that the amount of work for us is cut back somewhat, though we are still busy and I hope that we are still bringing you all the news but it's not as intense.
Which is why it was a delight to finally have our first day off in Guyana, and what a day it was.
Sean McGrath, an Irishman who owns the Cara Lodge Hotel here in Georgetown, was contacted by the Minister for Tourism here to ask the remaining journalists to visit the Kaieteur Falls which is an hour's seat of the pants air journey from the capital to the interior, over the rain forest.
It is indescribable and boasts the longest single drop waterfall in the world at 741 feet straight down, which is mind blowing in its beauty.
Our guide at the falls has spent two years working in the Kaieteur National Park, is passionate about the place and his hatred of the logging firms that come in and strip his country and kill its indigenous species is real.
When you see its beauty, it's hard not to agree with him. The next time you are thinking of buying hardwood, think long and hard because it is us in the west that is driving this trade. The rainforests of Guyana and South America need to be preserved for future generations.
We also got a boat trip up a tributary up the Demerara River that day and it was amazing as we got to paddle canoes up the river and we spotted Caymans, the close relative to the crocodiles. Stunning. It was all in the cause of research you understand.
It's hard in this short piece to explain just how well things have gone for us here. For a country that only gained independence from the British in the mid 1960s, it is still trying to emerge. Much of the houses bear the mark of colonialism, wooden in structure and many rotting from decay, its people, nevertheless are inviting and welcoming for the most part.
There are still pockets of crime and the Amerindians, many of whomstill live in the rainforest, are the victims of racism to some degree.
Guyana is a country still coming to terms with its past but it's a beautiful hinterland, even if its capital Georgetown still leaves a little to be desired.
