Flying with Aggers
Maybe my answer was inspired by the second book I'm reading on this tour. I'm about half way through 'Yes Man' by
In it, Dannyâs downtrodden life changes when a complete stranger on a London bus tells him that he should say 'yes' more.
His life had fallen into a rut, so he decides to take the advice very literally, and says yes to absolutely everything. Obviously, the results are hilarious.
So, perhaps it was the book which inspired me to offer an immediate âyesâ when Jonathan Agnew, a newly qualified pilot, asked me if I'd like to join him in a very small on a journey across Guyana.
My answer remained 'yes' despite several enquiries from Aggers in the hours leading up to the flight over whether I was absolutely sure that my answer was 'yes'.
Iâm not sure producer Adam was absolutely sure about the venture however. If anything went wrong, heâd be two thirds short of a full commentary team for the next match. So after we'd dealt with that morning's press conference, Aggers and I arrived at a local airfield on a steaming hot and humid afternoon.
We were eventually greeted by a chap named Mr Khan, who not only owned the airfield, but also a packet of 20 cigarettes, which sat in his shirt pocket. At least five were chain-smoked in the hour we spent in his office, checking a map, and plotting our route.
Mr Khan introduced us to Peter, our young looking co-pilot. Heâd be alongside Aggers for the flight to help out, and take the controls in the event of an emergency. He was a Georgetown resident, and a fairly laid back character.
And so it came to take off in our tiny plane. To me, the uninitiated, it looked like a Mini Metro with wings. The interior also resembled a small car with the two seats up front, and two in the back.
I strapped myself in, slightly worried by my complete lack of, well, worry. I had every faith in the rather impressive lisence that Aggers had shown me, it was leather bound and looked more official than my passport.
Aggers completed his pre-flight checks and clambered on board. The ground crew member on Aggers side of the plane surprised him as he was about to shut the door. "Sâcuse me sir" he said. "Are you the Cricketa Jon-a-Tan Agnoo, played fa Leicestershire an' In-gland?". "Err yesâ said Aggers, a little taken aback, "but it was a very long time agoâ.
Suddenly, and with a roar louder than 17 Mini Metros lined up alongside each other, the engine and front propeller whirred into action. It was loud, and I was thankful for our commentary style headphones and microphone.
We accelerated down the runway, and as smooth-as-you-like, we were airborne. The Atlantic Ocean became visible, as did the thousands of Georgetown roof tops, and the water-filled dykes that run along every street, as we climbed steadily to our flying altitude of around 1,300 feet. We were a couple of hundred feet abover a field where kids played Cricket, and could see women hanging washing in their lines in tiny gardens.
In flying parlance, Aggers probably instigated a complex manoeuvre that involved longitude, latitude, degrees and knots. To me, he just turned left.
So along the coastline we went. We passed over I pointed out the huge wooden St George Cathedral and then the Georgetown lighthouse, with its red and white striped tower, which has been guiding ships from the Atlantic since the early 19th century.
We then arrived at the enormous mouth of the mighty Essequibo River. It is 21 miles wide (sounds like an ocean to me), and we turned âleftâ again, to follow itâs chocolate brown path (its distinctive colouring comes from the sediment washed into it from the dense rain forests, and not pollution).
Now the terrain was turning into river and rain forest. The Essequibo is so wide Iâve been told it contains an island the size of Barbados. As we looked down, we could see densely forested islands dotted around the water. Co-pilot Peter pointed to one, and told us it was the former home to a penal colony, and that Henri Charriere was once incarcerated there. Charriere was later played by Steve McQueen in the film
About half an hour later we came across the settlement of Bartica, at the very point of a peninsula. That was our queue to veer to the left again, and head in land to the east. Now the rainforest was dense. From our height it looked like someone had placed thousands of sticks of broccoli on a tray. In the distance, little plooms of smoke billowed into the sky, there was somebody out there.
We were soon coming up to Guyanaâs International Airport, which concerned Aggers a little. He couldnât quite believe that there was no radar in Guyana (or âSquawkâ in pilotâs parlance), and that the tower at their biggest airport were guiding us over the runways simply by sight.
Once weâd avoided any commercial airliners, the terrain changed again. We found ourselves flying east over the country, and it looked a bit like East Anglia. The dense rainforest had become flat agricultural fields, all divided into perfect rectangles. More smoke rose spectacularly into the sky as rice or sugar cane crops were burnt back.
We soon reached the end of the line again. The Berbice river signalled the border with Suriname to the very east of the country. So, it was another left turn, and back along the coast to Georgetown, over little towns, and tiny wooden boats tied to rotting wooden piers.
With dark and menacing clouds approaching from out to sea, it was time for Aggers to put the plane back down onto terra firma. I could just about hear the instructions he was being given from the tower.
There was obviously another plane approaching, and both of us had been given the go ahead to land. A worrying moment. Aggers seemed momentarily concerned, which prompted Peter to have a word with the tower himself. Seconds later, I heard our rivals being sent away with the words "Permission to land withdrawn, permission to land withdrawn".
Aggers brought us down with great skill, and our adventure was over. âHow did I doâ he asked Peter, âVery wellâ Peter replied, âan eight out of 10â. Aggers was highly chuffed.
Weâve spent so much of our time here trekking the 45 minutes to and from the National Stadium to cover matches and press conferences, it was wonderful to get above it all and realise what a spectacularly beautiful country Guyana is.
Once in the hangar, both I and Aggers went our separate ways with our mobile phones. We both phoned our wives to ask them if they minded if we went flying over Guyana!
We Guyanese love to exagerrate.
Glad to see you enjoying Guyana. Maybe you should have taken our friend Martin Gough (we call him Marty now that he is one of us - we love him). Come to think of it, good thing you didn't. The rain would probably follow him.
Now there are facts and then there are Guyanese facts. Seems like the employees at our Ministry of Tourism (both of them) are always inventing new facts to attract visitors.
Here are some facts that you may have heard that are perhaps.. well not so factual.
1. Kaieteur Falls has the single highest drop.
2. St. George's Cathederal is the tallest wooden building in the world. (we know of no claim to the contrary, so we are sticking to it).
3. The Demerara Harbour Bridge is the longest floating bridge inthe world. (It also used to me a mobile floting bridge).
4. Henri Charriere was incarcerated at a penal colony in Guyana.
For numbers 1, 2 and 3, well, since no one actually measures them, we will stick to our version of the facts. Number 4 is a new to me. The penal colony refered to here was in Guiana - FRENCH GUIANA. When Henri C. escaped, he did stop in Georgetown Guyana for sometine before heading to Venezuela. But shhhh, please don't tell anybody. These are our claim to fame and we are sticking to them.
Can you do us a favour and start a rumor that they will move the remainder of the Australian super 8 matches to Guyana. I know that the Guyanese public would love to see the eventual champs play at Providence and besides, it's a win win situation for all, especially since it's likely to sell out in Guyana. Hey, I hope Malcolm is reading this. I heard about a hurricane threat to Grenada, can't play cricket there...
Complain about this postGreat account, brings back many memories of a trip 12 years ago. One point, I think your guide was a little mistaken. Although there might have been a prison at the mouth of the Essequibo, Henri Charriere's island incarceration took place off French Guiana
Complain about this postHello Jon and Breado,
Right you are chaps, it seems the Charriere anecdote I heard was a little off the mark, thanks for correcting me. The terrain we flew over was magnificent though, and Breado; the Falls are awe inspiring (we flew to Kaietuer yesterday on a day off). Whether they're the worlds largest single falls or really five times higher than Niagra or not, they are truely amazing.
Cheers,
Arlo
Complain about this postSitting in Toronto where its cold and snowing I'm going to really miss following the threads of this blog...so the rain in G'town interrupts the cricket the same thing at Wimbeldon when the tennis is happening! I suppose the difference is that the spectators in London don't get up and dance while its raining! I love the account of the plane ride ..remindes me of the time when my mother, aunt and cousin were flying to Port Hampton on our way to the Pomeroon and the three elders crossed themnselves and said a prayer ..yes the flight along the coast up the Essequibo is sublime! and the description of the treetops as 'brocoli like' the same sentiments as my Canadian born daughter on her first tirp to Kaiteur. And you know what? it seems to me that all the world cup visitors will leave Guyana with memories of the most important characteristic of the people of Guyana 'their friendliness and hospitality' ..we don't have the beaches and the oil and all the fancy restaurants of 'the islands' but we have always had and will continue to have the warmest welcomes and hospitality for all who visit our shores!
Complain about this postActually, it is 5 times higher than Niagra. I live in the US and whenever I go to Canada, i usually cross over by the Falls. The view from the Canadian side is awesome.
The rain, ususual as it is for this time of the year, may be a blessing in disguise. Reason is the falls looks even more spectacular when the volume of the water increases.
Your kind words and also those of your peers, about the Kaieteur Falls and the people of Guyana and also the exposure on ±«Óătv and TMS are going to benefit Guyana and eco-tourism for many years to come. So the CWC for us, rain or no rain, win or lose for our beloved West Indies team, will be a success for us in the long run.
Next time you are here, we promise to have the landscaping done (at the stadium) and flowers blooming all over the place. We even have a new 14 story Hotel (Marriott) coming soon not far from Le Meridian Pegasus.
Enjoy,
Breado
Complain about this postgreat stuff!
Complain about this postguyana sounds a specatacular place
impressed by aggers qualifying as a pilot, still a way to be beside colin o'croft.
an ambition of mine would be sit in a plane before take off and an announcement coming over the tannoy '....this is your captain speaking, colin croft...'
shame about the cricket.
why hasnt the wonderful country of Wales got its own cricket team.Geraint, Simon Jones and Robert Croft are a few of the quality Welsh players of recent years.
Wales has a rugby team, Ireland has a united Rugby team, wheres the missing link?.
India And Pakistan have the best Hockey teams also.
The British Establishment could take a leaf out of the Indians and former indians (Pakistan) heritage and give parity to the isle of great britain. It is not fair.
is it a county?> no Cymru The welsh affectionately call it, and westminster disagrees
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Yorkshire and Cumbria are counties. Respect to Joe Calzaghe on a fantastic win in his title defence.
Arlo
I think you commentaries are EXCELLENT. Very relaxed. Very competent as well as informative and entertaining. You really sound like you are enjoying your time at the matches - who wouldn't? In addition to this it is nice to hear a regional accent on ±«Óătv radio cricket.#
Wonderful!
Complain about this postRegional accent?? He sounds like a Southerner to me.
Then again - I suppose in the realms of the cricket establishment anything other than Richard E Grant's plummy tones must resemble Eliza Doolittle impersonating Chas n' Dave.
Arlo, keep up the good work - great blog.
Complain about this postMy comment is for Graham Thorpe.
After listening to Graham on the radio covering the test against India at the oval.
Has his voice changed he is starting to sound like an Aussie does anyone agree?
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