The ‘Scaramouche’

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA) -- Tales of the fabled El Dorado -- the City of Gold -- have for centuries dazzled explorers around the world, assuring Guyana, (then Guiana) of being engraved in the pages of history.

This South American nation’s rich historical background has brought many for various purposes and so it is with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), no stranger to Guyana, returning to again be captivated by this country.

The team sailed into Region One on Saturday, via the Waini River, and immediately began filming a 10-part series titled ‘Serious Explorers’, to retrace the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous English explorer who came to Guiana in 1595 in search of the long sought-after and mythical El Dorado.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad led a delegation to the Waini River to welcome the team, which includes eight children ages 12-15 years, who came via the sail boat “Scaramouche”.

Prashad said, “A lot of people talk about the gold in the Rupununi, especially the Karanambo area, where Sir Walter Raleigh and those who were with him on that voyage claimed they saw the El Dorado. Since then, so many people came to Guyana to look for this golden city.”

The much acclaimed TV series focuses on adventure for kids, and has won awards from the British Association of Film and TV.

It will be aired in October 2011 on the BBC in the United Kingdom and in over 150 countries around the world, reaching an audience of over 60 million viewers.

The tourism minister said that the opportunity would provide amazing coverage for ‘Destination Guyana’ and will also help to create more demand for the Guyana tourism product.

Filming will be done in areas including Waini, Kaieteur, Rupununi, Mahdia, Mt Roraima, Surama, Rupununi and Rewa.

The BBC also shot the “Lost Land of the Jaguar”, the three-part series which gave the country tremendous exposure and was a huge success in Europe.

This ten-part series, of half an hour each, will be an investment in, and an endorsement of the Guyana tourism product, and will provide and boost credibility and confidence in the country’s tourism product and experience.

Prashad added that it would have cost the country approximately $10 million to pay for exposure of this magnitude and expressed much satisfaction over the fact that Guyana was chosen among the other Amazon countries.

“This can be a major boost for our eco-tourism, adventure- tourism and nature tourism,” he said.

The captain and members of the crew said that that they have travelled around the world but the welcome they have received in Guyana is by far the warmest.

Producer/director of the series, Ros Edwards described the scenery in Guyana as authentic, beautiful and stunning.

Expedition leader, Ben Major, expressed gratitude to the president and the tourism ministry for extending the government’s support in the execution of the project.

There are eight young explorers in the team and they were in awe of Guyana’s natural beauty.

“It is so green and beautiful with bright, vibrant colours and lovely places, I love it here,” one of the explorers, Shanell said.

The Serious TV series is an observational documentary series made by the BBC and broadcast as part of their children's programming.

It encompasses Serious Jungle (2002), Serious Desert (2003), Serious Arctic (2005), Serious Amazon (2006), Serious Andes (2007) and Serious Ocean (2008/09). Serious Ocean consists of ten 30-minute episodes, while each previous series were six 30-minute episodes.

Like Raleigh, the team sailed across the Caribbean from Trinidad and Tobago to the coast of Guyana.

They are expected to spend five weeks, during which they will trek in unspoilt rainforest, explore the country’s wilderness, and experience the life of the Amerindians.