An Englishman in Paramaribo
Groeten uit Suriname.
I've been hearing a lot Dutch this last week, and speaking a little bit too. But I'll start at the beginning.
First, a bit of advice for anyone travelling through Trinidad and Tobago in transit (being a major transport hub and all that). Even though we spent a night in Tobago before flying on to Trinidad, and then on to Paramaribo, if you make sure you say you're in transit when you get your passport stamped on arrival, you don't have to pay the TT$100 each departure tax when you leave. There, who says we're not penny-pinching backpackers. Eat your heart out Lonely Planet.
Arriving in Paramaribo was dark. The airport seems to be in an area where there are no streetlights, no houses and no light of any sort (hopefully the runway had lights, but I didn't see them... just darkness and a bump as the wheels touched down). In common with airports in places like Bangkok or Bali, you're immediately jumped upon by "porters" trying to carry your bags in search of a tip, which can be a disorientating experience at 2am. Fortunately, Esther's friends Stella and Co were there to pick us up, so the whole taxi haggling experience could be put off for at least this flight.
Stella is originally from Suriname and moved to the Netherlands to study. There she met Dutchman Co, and together they met Esther's parents (and therefore Esther). They moved back to Suriname a couple of years ago. And that's why we're in Suriname. A big thank you to Stella and Co for being great hosts and putting up with us in their house for a week!
Suriname is hot an humid, especially at this time of year in the "long wet" season. It rained exciting rain (hard and noisy with flashes of lightning) most days, but only briefly, so there was plenty of opportunity to see the non-flooded (and some flooded) bits of the country.
Almost the first thing we saw on our arrival in Paramaribo the next day was Brazil flags, Brazil t-shirts, Brazil everything. Brazil were playing in the World Cup, and the town was out to watch it. Suriname may be an ex-Dutch colony but the colours here are definitely green, yellow and blue, not orange. All I can say is that if that atmosphere is like that in a country neighbouring Brazil, I'm looking forward to going there.
But we weren't in Suriname for the football (well, not all the time). We wanted to see some of the countryside, the binnenland (interior) or "bush bush". The first complication is that Suriname is not really a big tourist destination, and tours with tour companies rely on enough of them turning up at the same time to make it viable. Plus the aforementioned rains can make large parts of the country inaccessible, and this year's been particularly wet. The second complication (for me at least) is that anyone white is normally assumed to be Dutch, and if you don't specify an English-speaking tour guide, you don't get one. Fortunately Esther makes a very good translator (and I could practice listening it not speaking).
To give you an idea, I asked the tour guide when she last had an English person on tour and she said, "Five months ago. And she was Canadian".
Tours booked, we returned to the house and relaxed in Stella and Co's rather nice garden. I set off exploring the environs and came across some surprising wildlife. Weird dessicated insects, moths that pretend to be wombles, and scarily large variety of wasps that look very little like their european cousins. And of course Tibor the dog, enemy of crickets and frogs.
That evening, we sampled the culinary delights (and they are delightful) of Stella's Surinamese cooking. Suriname's population is a mixture of creole (originally African), Javanese, Hindustani, Chinese, and the odd Dutchman. The food takes elements from all these origins, and the result is very tasty dishes.
Our first taste of Suriname was Paramaribo, the capital. Starting nice and early, we wandered around the old
historic quarter which has some remarkably quaint and Dutch-looking wooden buildings. Those that have been painted recently look wonderful, but there are still quite a few that are in need of repair.
Next we visited the main market, a very large covered area (as I say, it rains a lot here). Downstairs is the area for fresh vegetables (much of which I didn't recognise, but looked nice enough), and upstairs was clothing a shoes. We were on a mission to buy some decent sandal/flip-flop things (being sagely advised by Stella to buy Brazillian). This is the first such market I've been to where I don't feel constantly hassled, and starting a conversation with someone isn't going to lead into an uncomfortable protracted haggling session. All very civilised.
More to come.....
I've been hearing a lot Dutch this last week, and speaking a little bit too. But I'll start at the beginning.
First, a bit of advice for anyone travelling through Trinidad and Tobago in transit (being a major transport hub and all that). Even though we spent a night in Tobago before flying on to Trinidad, and then on to Paramaribo, if you make sure you say you're in transit when you get your passport stamped on arrival, you don't have to pay the TT$100 each departure tax when you leave. There, who says we're not penny-pinching backpackers. Eat your heart out Lonely Planet.
Arriving in Paramaribo was dark. The airport seems to be in an area where there are no streetlights, no houses and no light of any sort (hopefully the runway had lights, but I didn't see them... just darkness and a bump as the wheels touched down). In common with airports in places like Bangkok or Bali, you're immediately jumped upon by "porters" trying to carry your bags in search of a tip, which can be a disorientating experience at 2am. Fortunately, Esther's friends Stella and Co were there to pick us up, so the whole taxi haggling experience could be put off for at least this flight.
Stella is originally from Suriname and moved to the Netherlands to study. There she met Dutchman Co, and together they met Esther's parents (and therefore Esther). They moved back to Suriname a couple of years ago. And that's why we're in Suriname. A big thank you to Stella and Co for being great hosts and putting up with us in their house for a week!
Suriname is hot an humid, especially at this time of year in the "long wet" season. It rained exciting rain (hard and noisy with flashes of lightning) most days, but only briefly, so there was plenty of opportunity to see the non-flooded (and some flooded) bits of the country.
Almost the first thing we saw on our arrival in Paramaribo the next day was Brazil flags, Brazil t-shirts, Brazil everything. Brazil were playing in the World Cup, and the town was out to watch it. Suriname may be an ex-Dutch colony but the colours here are definitely green, yellow and blue, not orange. All I can say is that if that atmosphere is like that in a country neighbouring Brazil, I'm looking forward to going there.
But we weren't in Suriname for the football (well, not all the time). We wanted to see some of the countryside, the binnenland (interior) or "bush bush". The first complication is that Suriname is not really a big tourist destination, and tours with tour companies rely on enough of them turning up at the same time to make it viable. Plus the aforementioned rains can make large parts of the country inaccessible, and this year's been particularly wet. The second complication (for me at least) is that anyone white is normally assumed to be Dutch, and if you don't specify an English-speaking tour guide, you don't get one. Fortunately Esther makes a very good translator (and I could practice listening it not speaking).
To give you an idea, I asked the tour guide when she last had an English person on tour and she said, "Five months ago. And she was Canadian".
Tours booked, we returned to the house and relaxed in Stella and Co's rather nice garden. I set off exploring the environs and came across some surprising wildlife. Weird dessicated insects, moths that pretend to be wombles, and scarily large variety of wasps that look very little like their european cousins. And of course Tibor the dog, enemy of crickets and frogs.
That evening, we sampled the culinary delights (and they are delightful) of Stella's Surinamese cooking. Suriname's population is a mixture of creole (originally African), Javanese, Hindustani, Chinese, and the odd Dutchman. The food takes elements from all these origins, and the result is very tasty dishes.
Our first taste of Suriname was Paramaribo, the capital. Starting nice and early, we wandered around the old
historic quarter which has some remarkably quaint and Dutch-looking wooden buildings. Those that have been painted recently look wonderful, but there are still quite a few that are in need of repair.Next we visited the main market, a very large covered area (as I say, it rains a lot here). Downstairs is the area for fresh vegetables (much of which I didn't recognise, but looked nice enough), and upstairs was clothing a shoes. We were on a mission to buy some decent sandal/flip-flop things (being sagely advised by Stella to buy Brazillian). This is the first such market I've been to where I don't feel constantly hassled, and starting a conversation with someone isn't going to lead into an uncomfortable protracted haggling session. All very civilised.
More to come.....
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