THERE are many reasons Guyana has been mentioned in many publications in the last year as one of the places you must visit. I recently experienced one of the places that contribute to that ranking, the IWOKRAMA reserve. Last week I shared my hiking experience up Turtle Mountain and I must thank you all for messaging me and expressing interest to visit and I recommend strongly that you do soon. Iwokrama is in the heart of the Guiana Shield, one of the four last intake tropical forests in the world (The Congo, New Guinea, and the Amazon rainforest are the others). Vacationing in the forest which has exotic animals and land that expand to over 1,000,000 acres (one million) which is the size of a few small countries together. It was not just the size, but the significant oxygen contribution to the land of the living. My very good friend and a woman I admire had invited me there a number of times over the past decade. Why did I take this long to embark on the best adventure of my life? I strongly believe that this happened at the right time, at the right place with the right people and it is a plus when it is doing the right thing.

It is the beginning of a new decade and I am intentional to have my mind decluttered to be in alignment for my assignment and it was necessary to be in the right place. I had a great feeling from the beginning as I sat in the front seat of the land cruiser next to Colin Jarvis, who turned out to be a very competent driver. I was so confident that I was in safe hands that I fell asleep after spotting many spectacular sights along the way that will be perfect for my new collection. I found a creative spot in the river at the Sherima crossing. We were welcomed by enthusiastic staff who were waiting with scented cold towels and lime drink/ swank. After dinner, I was enjoying the full moon at the eco-lodge with Raquel, who is one of the directors; Tangerine Clarke, travel agent Kay Ramdat and professor Adam. He had us laughing with his experience on the Guyanese Critic show. Critic was in Iwokrama and thoroughly enjoyed going down the rapids (I will try that on my next visit) just a couple days before us and we passed him on his way out. Adam is such a free spirit and a great photographer. We converted the canopy walkway into a catwalk and the rainforest provided a perfect backdrop for my resort collection. I got the opportunity to visit the Bina Hill Institute, Surama Village and the famous Rockview and the legend, Collin Edwards. The environment there was so relaxing that I fell into a sound sleep in the hammock.

One of the highlights of my trip was my interaction with the children at the Kurupukari school in Fairview. I was happy the shy young men and women were chatting with me and sharing their future plans. I promised them to return soon with and I can’t wait. Meeting Michelle Frederick of Michelle’s Island was great and she invited me to explore her island and I will take her up on that soon.

One of the things that stood out as I interacted with the villagers is the significant contribution Iwokrama is making to the livelihoods of families in this area.
My foundation has great plans to collaborate with Dr Raquel Thomas and Iwokrama for some projects in the various villages.

We are entering the last week of the first month of 2020 and I trust things are going as planned as we continue this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.