This is Ann’s Grove.
Annsgrove, Guyana, at dusk.
This is where I spent the better part of a month. Ann’s Grove (like most of the coast, including Georgetown,) is actually bellow sea level. In fact, the only thing that separates this tiny suburb from the sea is a wall of rubble and some wild mangroves. Otherwise, the place would no doubt flood out. (I’m told it often does.)
When I first arrived, I wondered; Why are people building their houses on stilts. The answer, is of course, obvious.
Built on stilts
Not everyone builds their house on stilts. More modern homes require a strong foundation of sand. Land is built up using dirt that’s trucked in before a foundation can be built. The houses look something like this:
Clonbrook Post Office, Guyana
Sometimes they have two stories, sometimes they don’t.
The entire community rests on a series of man made trenches. This might be for irrigation. It might be to stop the flooding (probably the later.) To be honest, I never asked. People fish in the trenches. Some people swim, but not so many. Most Guyanese can not swim.
Mosque overlooking a trench.
