First Published: 12th of May, 2022.
Last updated: April 27, 2023 at 17:13 pm
Three adventurous Guyanese women took an impromptu weekend away from Paramakatoi to our southern neighbor, Brazil, using just one ATV. They share their story.
Jillyne, along with her two friends, who sat at the back of the ATV, claim to be the first three women to have braved 80 miles of rugged terrain through the Pakaraimas in Region 8, Guyana, South America to neighboring Brazil. They share their adventures on this journey.
Jillyne’s Story
Since we were having a long weekend, my coworkers and I had planned on traveling to Uiramuta in Brazil to spend the weekend. Our initial plan was that a male coworker of ours transport us after work on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, this did not happen due to multiple reasons. So late on Friday afternoon, my coworkers approached me at my residence and asked if I can ride, so we can go by ourselves.
My response was, “I can, but I do not know the road, and I’ve heard horrible stories about the condition of the road.” They both began to identify and describe the horrible parts of the road and from the description, I felt that I could handle it. Further, they were confident that I could as well. And they both added that they knew the road and could direct me.
I told them that I had to get enough fuel for the ATV and also a pump since one of the wheels was down and needed to be pumped. One agreed to buy fuel and the other said she would borrow a pump. After a few minutes of planning and discussion, we got ourselves organized. I do not know much about ATVs, but I know the basics.
Before we left, I checked the oil level, the coolant, the fuel, and the brakes to ensure that everything was intact. We then strapped our luggage in the front of the ATV and we all sat one behind the other to balance the weights. We left Paramakatoi at 5:25 pm and headed for Kato.
Departed: Paramakatoi at 5:25 pm on Friday, 29th of April, 2022
Arrived: at Kato at 7:08 pm
Distance: 12 miles
On Saturday we departed Kato at 3:30 am
Arrived at Kanapang at 7:15 am
Distance: 28 miles
Animals seen during the night ride: snakes, frogs, and a fox.
Animals seen during the day ride: cattle, sheep, hawks, eagles, and birds.
Challenges: steering the bike through steep slippery mountains, steep rocky terrain, slush, riding through the rain for about 45 minutes at night, not being able to communicate in Portuguese in Brazil. We had a few interpreters.
After we arrived to Kanapang, we crossed the Ireng river on a pontoon and were picked up by a Brazilian guy who transported us to Uiramuta in his pickup truck.
We spent Saturday and Sunday touring around. On Monday, we returned to Kanapang where we would have left the ATV since we could not have ridden over because we did not have helmets. I did have my drivers license but all of us did not have helmets, so we had left the ATV at Kanapang.
On our return to Kanapang, we loaded the ATV with our luggage and departed at 9:35 am. On our way back, we took a detour to Chiung falls to have some snacks, to refuel with the gas we transported in a bottle and pump the wheel. We arrived at Chiung falls at 12:40 pm and left at 13:40 hous.
We spent an hour at the falls. We stopped by at Kato for a few minutes then left at 1:49 pm
We arrived at Paramakatoi at 3:10 pm.
The fun parts: making girl jokes throughout the ride as we go through some very rough patches.
The amazing part: after we arrived safely back to Paramakatoi, we could not believe what we did and what we went through, and the challenges we overcame. We felt inspired to make another road trip to Lethem and Mahdia.
I had learnt to ride an ATV since I was 14 years old. I am over 30 years now
. I used to practice riding around in Paramakatoi and further out the village about 12 miles’ distance in the company of other riders on other ATVs. As I got older, I rode further. I like adventures and love to challenge myself. So I’ve actually been riding for years.
I have already ridden to a few villages in the region including Taruka, Monkey Mountain, Tuseneng, Kato, Kurukabaru, Itabac, and Kanapang.
There are a few other villages I have not yet ridden to, but I have been to them by aircraft. I’ve seen and been through alot. The terrain is really rough. To all those drivers and riders, great respect to them. We could not take photos of the really rough parts because we had to be on the move and the girls had to hold on.
For the few years I was away from Paramakatoi. I did not do any riding. First was for 3 years when I was attending college and then another 4 years when I was attending university.
Story by: Jillyne Bell
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Jylline congratulations fr you and the girls. Well done!
I am really proud of you girls. Happy you are back in Paramakatoi.
I hope some day will go to visit.
Wow! I love this story so inspiring. I hope more girls get to read it and be inspired. You’ll be telling your grandchildren about it. Bravo!