When the World Beyond Georgetown visited Perseverance on the Essequibo Coast earlier this month, the festival of Phagwah was being celebrated.
The village is about 13.7 miles from the Good Hope Stelling, but when you take a minibus from there, you are let off on the main road and must walk about 15 minutes to arrive at the actual village.
The driver pointed out the shortest route and a look to the left and right revealed two longer routes bordering rice fields of golden paddy waiting to be harvested. The canals running through and around the fields were dry as the koker from the backdam had been closed to prevent water from flooding the ripe paddy fields. Coconut trees, bent over but still tall as ever, bordered the rice fields. A dried up tree stood starkly in the distance, giving