Bartica

Bartica stands on the west bank of the Essequibo River where the Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers join it, a meeting of waters that drew the Dutch long before the town existed. In 1616 they built Fort Kyk-Over-Al on a small island at the confluence; it served as the seat of the Dutch administration of Essequibo until 1739, when the capital moved downriver to Fort Zeelandia, and only ruins remain.

The town itself grew from an Anglican missionary settlement established in 1837 and consecrated in 1843. Its name comes from an Indigenous word meaning "red earth", for the soil common in the area. As gold and diamonds drew prospectors into the forests of the Mazaruni and Cuyuni, Bartica became the launching point for people working in the bush and earned the name Gateway to the Interior. It became the capital of the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region, one of the largest regions of Guyana by area.

On 17 February 2008 an armed gang attacked the town, overrunning the police station, robbing businesses and killing twelve people, including three police officers. The town lies in the territory west of the Essequibo that Venezuela claims and Guyana administers, the subject of a case before the International Court of Justice; the dispute has raised political tension but has not affected travel to date.

Bartica's culture is that of a river and mining town. Miners and traders come and go between the coast and the goldfields, and the town's shops, bars and nightlife serve them. Several Brazilians live in Bartica, so Brazilian restaurants and bars are part of the scene. Several guesthouses and a busy nightclub serve those passing through.

The great event of the year is the Bartica Regatta, held annually over Easter weekend. Around the town, riverine communities along the Essequibo and Mazaruni keep an Indigenous way of life, and visitors reach them by boat. Boats also carry visitors north of the town to the ruins of the Dutch fort of Kyk-Over-Al, a reminder of the area's colonial past.

The town has produced notable figures including the abstract painter Frank Bowling, the West Indies cricketer Ivor Mendonca and the FIFA referee Dianne Ferreira-James. Life here is shaped by the river — boats are the main link to the outside world, and the riverside is where much of the town's business and social life happens.

Bartica had a population of about 8,000 in 2012, and the whole Cuyuni-Mazaruni region about 30,000 at the 2022 census. As the regional capital it holds the region's hospital — which in 2005 introduced Guyana's first electronic health information system — two secondary schools and several primary schools, with more schools in the riverine communities around it.

The economy rests on mining and supply. Gold and diamond miners set off from Bartica for the interior; the speedboats to Parika carry people and goods to the coast. Timber and agriculture are also important in the wider region. The Denham Suspension Bridge, also known as the Garraway Stream Bridge, carries the road inland from Bartica towards Mahdia.

The rhythm of the town follows the boats to and from Parika and the miners passing through on their way to or from the bush, and its nightlife centres on the bars and restaurants of the avenues.

Bartica eats like the rest of Guyana, with some Brazilian additions. Everyday dishes include cook-up rice, the local version of rice and peas; curry and roti from the Indian indentured tradition; and pepperpot, the dark meat stew of Amerindian origin flavoured with cassareep, a bitter-cassava extract, which is eaten above all at Christmas. Metemgee — ground provisions and dumplings in coconut milk — bake and saltfish, garlic pork and a Guyanese chow mein inherited from Chinese settlers are all common, and seven curry, seven vegetarian curries eaten with roti, is the meal of Hindu weddings and festivals.

The town's Brazilian residents have brought their own restaurants and bars, and beef on a stick is the dish they are known for. Local restaurants and fast-food places line the main avenues.

Banks is the national beer, and dark Demerara rum the national spirit. Non-alcoholic favourites across Guyana include mauby, sorrel, ginger beer and fresh fruit juices, and bottled water is the safe choice for drinking.