Yesterday, Director of Tourism, Ms. Tessa Fraser, hailed the coming to Guyana of the cruise ship, which resulted from efforts of the local Evergreen Adventure Tours that coordinated the venture with Zegrahm & Eco Expeditions of the U.S.

The U.S. firm offers adventure trips across the world using small ships and yachts, officials explained.

The voyage would be the first ever by an international passenger vessel up the mighty Essequibo River.

The tourists, aged 50-85 and mainly Americans, flew from Miami to Brazil where their adventure trip began.

They have since sailed through the Amazon forest of Brazil and cruised northward to Devil's Island off French Guiana.

Tourism officials here said that from French Guiana, the tourists moved on to Paramaribo, Suriname and experienced the Dutch Republic's rarely seen region, the Paranam.

And this afternoon, the ship enters Guyana to allow the adventurers an in-depth exploration of the Essequibo River and its environs.

Tomorrow, almost, if not all the tourists will be taken on a river tour of the Essequibo.

The first stopover will likely be at Bartica, where according to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Ms. Sonia Roopnauth, the community has spruced up the place for the visit.

The local craft shops, she said, will bring out their products to a strategic location, offering the visitors the opportunity to buy.

The tourists will then board jet boats and head off for an exhilarating upriver exploration through the rapids near Marshall Falls.

They will also stop at the eco-resort island of Baganara, which offers an opportunity to swim in black water and hike through forest trails.

A highlight of the visit will be a chartered flight into the heartland of Guyana for a view of the majestic Kaieteur Falls.

Officials said that on landing, the tourists will explore the virgin jungle of the Kaieteur National Park to spot orchids. They will also be able to stand on the precipice of the falls to get what every visitor to Kaieteur knows is a breathtaking view of the thundering cascade.

On Thursday, the visitors will be taken to the community of Saxacalli, where preparatory work was also done in anticipation of the visit.

According to Evergreen Tours Director of Operations, Mr. Carl Baldie, the cruise to Guyana was in the making for two years.

He said the local company Caribbean Shipping was responsible for establishing the link between Zegrahm and Evergreen.

He told reporters at the Ministry of Tourism, that Evergreen is proud of what it has accomplished and it looks forward to welcoming the `Clipper Adventurer' and the non-first timer tourists aboard to Guyana.

From Guyana, the tourists will move on to Venezuela and then to Trinidad and Tobago, where their journey ends.