By Michel Outridge

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the countryside community of Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo and spoke to residents, who highlighted their way of life.

The small village is bordered by Hydronie and Parika and is home to about 100 residents, who are farmers, fishermen, small business operators, public sector employees and some self-employed.

Among the villagers are two small business owners who operate their businesses by the beach area, where chairs, table, washroom facilities and changing rooms were erected for visitors. Customers pay a small fee to utilise the services but use of the beach is free.

Bushy Park has a long stretch of beach which overlooks the Essequibo River and is visited by hundreds on weekends and holidays.

It is touted the ideal place for recreation and family picnics and outings, it is very breezy and once there a sense of serenity envelopes you, capturing a feeling of peace and quiet to calm the nerves of the everyday hassles of life.

The hub of businesses is in Parika, which is a walk away to where the Transport and Harbours Department TH&D) Ferry Stelling is located, at the end of the road and many small businesses lined the shoulders of the main road including, vendors, who ply their trade around the clock.

Bushy Park has two streets apart from the main road and is home to Kares Engineering and has a hotel obliquely opposite the beach.

Bushy Park can be accessed via Hydronie Market Road or Parika Junction Road.

The Pepperpot Magazine met Mark Smith, a resident, who resides on the beach with his family and operates a small shop and manages the beach front.

He told the team that 30 years ago, he and some had nowhere to go on Mashramani day, because they didn’t want to go to the city and decided to visit Bushy Park beach.

Smith explained that it they had a good time even though he was young he realised it could become a place of business because there was a lot of people there.

“So the following Sunday I brought an old fridge and got some ice with some beverages and began selling on the beach and I decide to make it my living,” he said.

He now lives here with his wife and three children. Smith constructed a greenheart cottage which sits on the beach and made the place comfortable with wooden chairs and adjoining tables under large trees and washroom and changing room facilities.

It is the perfect recreational facility to unwind after a long day or week and the right place to gaze at the shoreline into the Atlantic Ocean.

While visitors have to pay to use the tables/chairs and washroom and changing room facilities and it is a cosy family setting atmosphere.

Smith, a speed boat operator told the team he has a license to operate the business, it is legitimate and he is against all lewd behaviour at the beach because it is a place for children, as well.

The father of three stated that presently the business is closed until further notice of the coronavirus (COVID-19) but once open people can bring their own foods and beverages.

“This place is nice, always breezy even when the sun is out in all its glory the trees provide adequate shade and depending on the dry weather the water in the Essequibo River is both fresh and saltwater at times,” he said.

Smith related that taking care of the environment is a tall task because many visitors would use the place and leave behind all their garbage and the onus is on him to keep the place tidy and refuse-free.

“I never feel good working for others because the returns are small and can’t suffice so it is always better to work for yourself, that way you can earn and still make a small profit,” he said.

Smith added that despite it all, life in Bushy Park is good because the village is small and people know each other and the place is quiet and people ‘hustle; for a living.