As a companion volume to my planned book Portraits of Extraordinary people, I intend to add Portraits of Extraordinary Places. One such portrait follows.
Someimes my wife and I go up the great Essequibo to stay at the beautiful river-home of my brother-in-law and his wife. Not far away we share with friends a river-home of our own. In these lovely places we have spent many of the most contented hours of our lives. We also can say we have lived in Arcady.
It is a long way from the island-scattered mouth yet the river here is like a sea miles across and the waves wild as an ocean’s when storms come and you cannot see the other shore so far away. This is one of the things I love about the Essequibo. It is a mighty force of nature. Strong currents tug islets of sand into being for a while then pull them down again. Dredged up on these surprising banks gleam coral sand and prehistoric shells which archeologists would find of greatest interest. Tides rise and fall like ocean tides moving tremendous weights of water. Dangerous big rocks underwater can smash your boat if you are not master of the safe ways.
