Suriname

From French Guyana my friend Carolina and I crossed the huge Maroni River by boat to make it to Suriname. After making it through passport control we hopped into a van to make it to the capital of Suriname, Paramaribo (“Parbo” for short).












Caroline caught her flight to Mexico and I stayed in Parbo for a couple of days at a guest house. It was a cool city with a lot more life than sedate French Guyana. Suriname, and especially the capital, are known for a rich diversity of cultures with lots of Dutch, Chinese, Javanese, Indian, Afro-Caribbean and indigenous cultures all mixed together. Suriname is a former Dutch colony so they spoke a mixture of Dutch and English on top of their family language. It was an interesting place with lots of unexpected sights to see in a South American country. All of the mosques and Hindu temples were particularly impressive and seemingly out of context in the overwhelmingly catholic continent. Parbo was an energetic place with the most craziness emanating from the massive central market. It was good fun walking around and watching people do what they do. Sitting in the market it felt more like a version of Jamaica than anything in South America.















































From Paramaribo I caught a bus to the border with Guyana and stayed in the small town of Nieuw Nickerie. The next morning I would catch the ferry across the huge Corentyne River to Guyana.











Bora beans at market