It is home to the world's second largest waterfall, Kaiteur falls, based in Kaiteur National Park.

Rich in oil, diamonds, gold and overflowing with other natural resources, this is the country of my parent’s birth.

Guyana is roughly the same size as the UK, it's the only English speaking country in South America and is part of the Caribbean.

Currently having a total population of about 700,000 people, less than the entire city of London.

Discovered by the Spanish in the 14th century, the indigenous Amerindians told of the legends of El Dorado and the cities of gold located in the interior.

Word got out and the English courtier and explorer, Sir Walter Raleigh, came to the country.

His quest was to discover El Dorado in order to gain favour with Queen Elizabeth I.

This was in 1595 and he failed to find the legend.

Governed first by the Dutch, fought over by the French and British it was subsequently divided into three separate countries.

British Guiana (formed in 1814), Dutch Guiana (to become Suriname) and French Guiana. The capital of the then British Guiana, Georgetown was named after King George IV of England.

Thousands of West African slaves had been brought over to work on the sugar plantations from around 1657 by the Dutch.

The two main players in this were Forbes Burnham and Dr Cheddi Jagan in the early 1950’s.

The Guyanese people gained their independence in May 1966 when British Guiana formally became Guyana (an Amerindian word meaning 'land of many waters') and adopted the Golden Arrowhead as its flag.

Bordered by Venezuela to the left, Brazil at its base and Suriname to its right, Guyana’s motto is ‘One people, one nation, one destiny’.

It is part of the West Indies in the Caribbean and maintains strong links with its fellow South American nations.

The bulk of the population consists of people of mainly African and Indian descent in roughly equal proportions followed by Amerindian, Chinese, European and mixed race.

It was given the name ‘land of many waters’ because of the large amount of rivers running throughout the country.

The capital Georgetown is the economic and political heart of the country.

Stabroek market is a lively area full of life famed for it's hundred year old clock tower and the Botanical Gardens is another site that has to be seen.

The majority of the population live around the coastal areas with the interior still relatively undeveloped.

Recently gaining it’s first stock market this will be a future emerging market to watch and invest in.

One of Guyana's most famous exports is the Demerara Sugar brand.

Guyana is actively seeking foreign investment and skills from many countries to help build itself up and improve the lot of it's people.

Running water and plumbing systems are still not widely available in the country, blackouts (power cuts) are frequent.

It’s not uncommon to see cows and even donkeys strolling along in the hot sunshine.

The local wildlife is very exotic and hawks and snakes are regularly seen.

The relatively small population means that most people’s living areas are very spread out.

The temperatures are always in the low to mid 30’s (centigrade) so very hot most of the year round.

This heat is countered by the cooling sea breeze, which is most welcome.

Mosquitoes are very common and can give quite a bite. Guyana has two main seasons, the dry and the rainy season.

Many of the roads have trenches to either side of them some of which can be 6ft wide and 6ft deep.

In the rainy season these can fill up so driving is best done slowly.

One of my greatest memories is being driven from the airport to our house at night.

Waking up in the morning to see the width of the side road to the house was the just larger than the width of the car and the trenches full to the top was quite a shock!

Guyana - as part of the West Indies cricket team - plays host to visiting cricket teams from around the world including England, Australia and India.

The country will be hosting some of the games in the 2007 Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies.

The vibrant colours that surround you just blow the senses and the greens of the open spaces contrasted with the deep blue skies provide a magnificent backdrop.

It is also one of the world's newest emerging markets with plenty of investment opportunities.

Guyana's traditional export products of sugar, bauxite (used to make aluminium), gold and timber continue to see growth while non-traditional exports like wood and agricultural products, seafood and light manufacturing are also seeing growth.

If Hollywood or even Bollywood is reading this, Guyana is home to some breathtaking cinematographic scenery and these would be ideal locations for films.