LAST week I did promise that I will amplify on my magnificent time in Bartica. I know I am not the only person who feels a special place about his/her respective place of birth.

The trip before this one was for the funeral of my foster dad. Certain moments came back, and it reminded me how much I miss him because I will never see him walking into that yard again or hearing that contagious laughter. I am not surprised that not only the family misses him, but also many of his colleagues and fellow boat captains. I believe the river misses him too. I was having a conversation with Mr Ward and he was sharing his experiences with the great Allan John Aka Kaikuchi (tiger), who was a daredevil in the Mazaruni River.

I heard a few weeks ago someone remark that he was the only person to go to certain high-risk areas without fear. I had heard many stories when he was alive, but even more after his death. One of the goals on my vision board is to create a short biography of his journey. It is hard to be at the river and not see a boat that resembles the ones he captained over the years.

I love the river and feeling the sand from the Bartica Golden Beach enjoying the spectacular sunrise. I turned to my right to watch the Regatta Pavilion and remember some of the moments there from the countless regattas I attended over the years. I was also first Runner Up in one of the Bartica Regatta Pageants. One of my fondest times at the river with my siblings would be swimming for hours, then sailing to the beacon with the blown-up tyre tubes from the garage.

Most of the younger relatives with me that day were nowhere in those memories from decades ago. Only my aunt Brenda and maybe my younger brother Chris whose children Tandy and Terrel were with us. Also my gorgeous niece Moesha, my cousins Shenela, her husband Shawn and daughter Erica and Sheneva and her children were with us. The boardwalk certainly enhances the ambience at the beach. We had a delicious breakfast at the beach from Upper Level Restaurant.

We have lots of talent in Bartica, and that morning a young man with whom I was not familiar but knew his mom performed for hours. He went from reggae to gospel to oldies, and my brother joined him with his original songs. Samuel Medas had performed the night before and he was at the beach having a blast and they joined in the singing too. It was wonderful and if I did not have other things to do, I could have easily been there all day.

I was looking forward to strolling down First Avenue (front street) and chatting with people I had not seen for a while. The stories that come up are always interesting because they cause the memory to be very active. Even memories of two years as a teacher at the Bartica Community High School. When I hear “Teacher Sonia” or “Miss” it has to be from my former students and I ran into three of them on this trip. One of the things they often say is, “Miss you not getting old” or “Miss, my kids would like to meet you.”

I promised them at some point we will have a reunion and I will see all the families. I think that will be fun because I will have many stories to tell about their school days. I decided to walk down some of the avenues and reminisce about the many times I walked those streets and avenues selling cakes, pastries and buns, unconsciously starting my entrepreneurial journey from a young age.

I was part of my first box hand before I was a teenager and the money went towards buying things for the new school term for us. When I encounter children selling, I always support them, even if I don’t need the items, because that was once me. I met some adorable children at Mora Camp and experienced one of the best sunsets as seen in the picture.

I promised the community to host an event for them later in the year. Some of the residents there benefited from the Bread Basket project that weekend and I plan on visiting some of the other outlying areas on every trip to do some work with the communities. Pastor Ivor reminded me about the confidence programme we hosted before the pandemic and how effective it was.

Although we are hosting many virtual programmes, the internet in Bartica is not effective. I would love to spend more than a weekend, but I need to have access to a strong connection. I hope this is sorted soon because we live more in the virtual world now.

I plan to do some significant projects, God’s willing, to add value to many in my hometown Bartica and the environs. Going down memory lane reminded me how of much I have grown. I thank my family, friends and all the persons who supported my journey as we continue this beautiful journey called Life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.