The Wrap on Suriname

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We knew this would happen. I've been planning to put together and share some information and observations on our two weeks in Suriname. But once we got home, we got really busy, and it has been very hard to get to do the blog. To make up for the delay, we're delivering an extra load of photos with this blog entry.

Suriname is on the South American continent, but belongs to the carribean by culture. The mix of cultures is amazing, and it frankly took a while to get used to everybody speaking dutch (although when the Surinamese speak English to you, they sound like they could be from Jamaica).

We had the pleasure of staying with our friend Astrid MacDonald outside the capital city of Parimaribo. Astrid had this home built on a large lot, providing her the opportunity to grow a big garden. Because many of the neighbouring lots are not developed, we had a lot of wildlife right at our doorstep. The commute of a large iguana through her yard is a daily event. At night, the number of bats flying around over the road is amazing, as they hunt the many bugs in the air.

Funny thing about bugs though. Very few of them cause any hassles for us, and Astrid's house doesn't have screens on the windows. A few friendly tree frogs patrol the walls and ceiling at night eating the few small bugs that come in through the windows.

When she is not working in the garden, Astrid has a pretty important job leading a team that trains teachers in delivering a World Health Organization curriculum on AIDS/HIV awareness. Sadly, Suriname has a big challenge in that area.

Astrid made a point of ensuring that we had every opportunity to visit interesting places in Suriname, and she was excellent about indulging our need to swim everywhere we possibly could in order to cool off. We went to popular swimming holes south of the city, visited a very nice lodge called Beghendahl, among many other sites.

If there is ever a campaign for Canada to donate a beach to Suriname, it will get my full support. A mile long sand beach either on the Suriname River or the ocean within a ten minute drive of downtown Parimaribo would be just excellent.

Downtown Parimaribo is a really interesting place. Many old buildings have been preserved, with shops and restaurants at ground level. Very few buildings over two storeys. Just as the buildings in Latin America reflected the Spanish influence, the buildings in Parimaribo reflect primarily dutch architecture from the last century. Particularly impressive is the wood cathedral in downtown. An interesting switch from the 100 or so stone churches we saw on the other side of the continent.

We've come to realize that despite the amazing places we visited on the trip, the people we've met were the real hilight. Suriname was no exception. Visiting Astrid, and getting to know her parents Hank and Florrie, sisters and their families been a really big hilight of the entire trip.

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Photos

Weekend House
Astrid's brother-in-law Frank has the opportunity to rent this house from his workplace, so the family gets together here a few times each year. We were lucky to be invited along. The house slept 17 people the night we were there.

Abbey
Abbey got the braids from Astrid's sister Marjorie on a sleepover with Marjorie's daughter Priscilla. It took over 200 elastics. Sadly, Marjorie didn't have time to do my hair.

Cultural Walk
This is like a blend of a parade, and walkathon walk. It started years ago as a fitness walk, but now the music, dancing and costumes are just as important. Tough people these Surinamese. The day we watched it, they were walking (while dancing and singing) for 13 kilometers in 30 degree heat.

Cathedral
The CAtholic Cathedral in downtown Parimaribo has just come through a 22 year restoration. It is unique for the wood construction.

Parimaribo Cathedral
Pretty nice. This was worth breaking our 'No More Churches' rule.

Hank and Charlie Pride
His other birds are Buck Owens and Ernest Tubb

A visit to Kola Creek
Mercifully, Astric planned a lot of swimming opportunities for us so we could stay cool in the daily 35 degree heat. Here we are at a popular swimming creek on the way to the interior.

Comawene (sp) Museum
At a former prison that is now a museum, there was an excellent display of black and white photos of day to day life in Suriname. Better photographer than me, so I am borrowing a couple of their photos to share with you.

More food
Everywhere we went, Astrid had lined somebody up to feed us local food. I regret that I didn't keep a better diary of the different stuff we ate. It was all delicious.

Casave Chips
Just like potato chips, but WAY harder. They don't get crushed in the bag on the way to the beach, and they crunch in your mouth like you are chewing eggshells.

Green Beans
When we went to the market, we probably recognized anly about 1/2 to 2/3 of the available fruits and vegetables. I thought that this type of green bean was really unique, then I saw them in Safeway last week.

Spicy Peanut Butter
I regret not trying the Wippy hot peanut butter.

Huge Anteater in Parimaribo Zoo
They don't call it a giant anteater for nothing. This thing was huge. In the next cage was a Capibara (using the Spanish name), which is the world's largest rodent (also huge).
We had seen these in Quito as well, and took to calling them ROUS's for Rodents Of Unusual Size (from the movie The Princess Bride).

Comments

[Leslie]

Well, your post was like the last satisfying sip of morning coffee.
I sure have been missing your daily adventures. I was delighted to see a Los Smith email alert pop up. From the photos, I could see that Suriname was really steaming hot. The wooden cathedral is amazing, they accomplished such complex architecture with wood. Astrid and her family look like great people. The Roti!!! Oh my god - they were gigantic. Yummmmm! It's really heart-warming to see all the people that you connected with along the way. Thanks for sharing with us. It was great to see you guys in Gimli, exhausted though you were. Take care, have a great summer.