New Year 2012

     Happy New Year to all my intrepid readers!  Some of you will already have had New Year emails which are more flamboyant but to those not on the ’funnies list’ we wish you all a Healthy and Happy ’12.  Those of you in the UK will no doubt be looking forward to the Olympics this year…?
  Our Year started in style.  On New Years eve we took Ottos’ motor boat into town to watch the Firecracker Extravaganza.  It started around 12.000 midday and continued in earnest until 15.00.
We watched with our hands over our ears as each shop in the High Street competed for the longest and loudest run of flashes and bangs.  Sensible people had ear plugs face masks (for the smoke) and umbrellas for the ash fall out.  The city was grid-locked as pedestrians followed the exhibition.  We took lunch on the ’Waterfront’ and generally chilled out while the mayhem cooled down.  On returning back to the launch we met with Esthers’ friend Maria, who, is out for a spell freelance teaching to young lawyers who need English ‘legalese’ to contend with their jobs.  Maria joined us for the rest of the day and the evenings frivolities.  We drop by at ‘Piano’ to pick up supplies etc then go on to the house to begin our own entertainment. 
  The evening is spent eating drinking and being merry.  We had a fantastic BBQ on the patio, from where we could see wall to wall fireworks all night.  At 24.00 we drank Champagne and toasted the New Year, each other and our combined absent many friends.

Fireworks and bangs continued for the next 2 days...

Christmas 2011

The Christmas Holiday

  The preparations for Christmas are well underway throughout Paramaibo.  Otto & Esther have a dinner dance to attend and we go shopping for new shoes, Christmas lights, food and decorations, not to mention new furnishings for the guest bedroom!
On our return to Domberg, we meet Peter & Louise from our neighbour ‘Passagemaker’ and are invited for sundowners with them.  There boat is very interesting– it being the first of it’s type—basically a boat which can be motored anywhere and sailed when there is sufficient wind. ’Passagemaker will be 50 next year so celebrations are being planned.
  On Christmas Eve we join twelve other people from the yachts around at Ritas’ Eatery. Louise has cooked 2 turkeys and all the other boats have brought some accompanying item. Plenty of alcohol with nibbles, next smoked fish pate, some sumptuous salads with the turkey and finally chocolate cake to finish.  A memorable Christmas Eve.
  Christmas Day and Esther picks us up mid morning.  Coffee and home-made biscuits followed by the opening of little gifts. Ottos’ son Wicher makes a sandwich selection and we have a game of Suramanese Monopoly.  Then Esther & I prepare the Christmas dinner.  Five hours later we sit down to smoked salmon salad with whiskey dressing, then roast turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes sweet peppers, runner beans, pumpkin mash, cranberry sauce (with port) and gravy.

  Replete we sit down with coffee and I teach them all to play Mexican train Dominoes!
  After breakfast on Boxing Day we drive to the other side of the river to Commewijne area.  Here we pass through Frederiksdorp and Pepperpot to Nieuw Amsterdam where we tour an open air Fort. After coffee we continue  Here we use a local Ferry to take us across the river Commewijne to a refurbished plantation for lunch.  We narrowly miss seeing resident Caimans here. The drive home is through the local villages with not very much traffic.
  Turkey Curry with vegetable side dishes after dinner , more Dominoes.

Brownsberg

Sunday we all had an excursion to Brownsberg.  This is an area about 100 km from Domberg where the boat is anchored -in the Brokopondo District – so we started off early to give ourselves a full day.
  The Park is 500 metres above sea level and occupies an area of 8400 h. which was obtained by STINASU on a long-term lease basis from the Suriname Government.  Established in 1969, STINASA is mandated to, as a semi-governmental organization, "stimulate, coordinate, and finance scientific exploration and exploitation of the Nature Reserves".

Howler Monkey or did it jump?

After the drive there ( making fine use of the 4-wheel drive we had coffee and watched Orange Howler Monkeys in the Canopy layer of the trees. The park has three major Vegetation types. The hydrophytic vegetation (typified by the Pina Palm) grows in creek valleys at the base of the mountain. The Mesophyphytic vegetation is found on the slopes and is characterized by the number of different tree species including the Groenheart, Ingipipa, Letterhout/Snakewood, Cedar and Purpleheart.
 We engaged the owner of the café in conversation and he told us of the animals he has seen and showed us a pickled snake as a visual aid.  We know to look out for Puma, anteater, various snakes and other animals.  We decided to hike to Irina Falls. There was a good track which has obviously seen quite a few hikers.  Thank goodness there was, I certainly would not have enjoyed walking through the Rainforest in it’s natural state.  We were stopped almost immediately by loud noises which turned out to be some Howler Monkeys chasing a Tapir away.  This all happened far too quickly for any photos.  Next was a terrific view point where we had a cool drink of water.  We continued on mostly downhill, stopping to look and listen frequently.  We arrived at the Falls and decided to cool off in the spray before our picnic lunch.
  The return journey was mostly uphill but even so quite pleasant.  When we arrived back at the reception area we had cool beers, fruit and Cassava crisps while we watched the wonderful vista afforded by the Brokopondo lake.  This piece of land has been flooded since 1965 ish, to provide water for the country.
Second visit after Christmas...

After a brief stop at Akaribo to check on the repairs to an engine we set on our second visit to Brownsberg.  This time Ottos' son Wicher is driving and all goes well until we reach the off road section which is far wetter than last time.  Even 4 wheels in low gear make difficult work of the mud and ruts in the ‘road’ eventually we arrive.  We have coffee and set off to Leon Falls and then after a picnic lunch hike on to Irene Falls again.  It seemed a faster walk than last time but just as tiring.

 After sundowners once again overlooking the lake we check into our overnight accommodation then eat at the restaurant on site.  This is a choice of local food ,  namely chicken, rice,  noodles salad and coleslaw.
  Next day we hike to Witit Creek this is 4 km mostly downhill which makes it moderately easy on the way out.  The trail is signposted at intervals showing distance and ribbons of orange  and yellow where the trail has been moved.  We arrive at picturesque pool complete with fish and have a swim before lunch.  The trek back is more arduous but not so bad as I had expected, we had a slight rain shower so have walked in real ’Rain Forest’ now.  We also saw a frog snake.

 Otto and Wicher managed to walk straight past it but Esther gasped and backed away until we called the two back to have a look and take pictures.  Yes, it is only small but we didn’t know how dangerous it might be until we got back.  I told everyone I thought that snakes are blind but have good hearing and taste.  We gave it plenty of space as we passed around it. After a quick shower ,beer and crisps we loaded up the jeep and set off for home.

Wicher

 

Briefly stopping to dump the luggage then out to the Squeezy In.  A Chinese restaurant where you have a steaming cauldron of stock one side spicy and the other not quite so. Then you have plates of beef, chicken, pork, fish, squid, prawns, vegetables, seaweed, mushrooms and noodles. Rather like a fondue you cook whatever you please to eat and finish with a wholesome soup.  We took in the Christmas lights around Paramaibo on the way home.

Paramaribo

Monday 20th.
Both Otto & Ester are without transport so we took the local Taxi (Robbie) into Paramaribo to have a look round and do the tourist stuff.

Fort Zeelandia Courtyard

   In 1613 the two Dutchmen Dirck Cleaszoon van Sanen and Nicolaas Baliestel founded a trading company near the Indian village of ‘Parmirbo’. This settlement on the west bank of the Suriname river, 23 km from the Atlantic Ocean, was the basis for the present Paramaribo, capital of the Republic Suriname.
  Our first stop was the huge downtown market, by far the biggest we have seen on our travels (no I didn’t get up at 06.30 to go to market in Trinidad!)  Here in Paramaribo there were stalls for all manner of home produce.  Masses of vegetables, herbs, fruit, salad items, then fish, meat (all chicken) and then crafts such as table linen, and fabrics.  Nearby fast food stalls with drinks and so on.
  We then wandered along Keizerstraat to the Tourist Information area and picked up a map.  We fully enjoyed the downtown area .  It has a number of old  Colonial buildings including the Presidential Palace.  Most of the architecture is wood since the only bricks available were those which formed ’ballast’ in the ships arriving to trade. The rest the wooden buildings have only their foundations made from the bricks   consequently, some are in ruins and some refurbished but all mingled with new.  There is a palpable aura of a rich Dutch heritage. It’s a real melting pot of a second world country trying to catch up with the first.
Paramaribo has World Heritage Status and is billed as the ‘Beating heart of South America’ so to give you a taste of what we saw:
The photos include the Hindu Mosque and Jewish Synagogue next to one another, this is the only place in the world where the two religions are found so close!
The Military Police building where we spent a few hours the other day on a wild goose chase.
St Peter & Pauls’ Cathedral on Wulfinghstraat which we visited with Esther the other day.  This is reputedly the largest wooded building in the Americas.
 The Ministry of Justice and Politics on Henck Arronstraat.
  Indepence Square.  The most prominent building here is the presidental palace. Which is a white building constructed in the early eighteenth century with later additions. The building and the private garden behind it are only accessible to the public on Independence day: November 25.
In front of the Ministry of Finance is a statue of Suriname's most famous politician Johan Adolf Pengel, a prime-minister of the sixties.
  I include Fort Zeelandia here but we had a separate visit with Esther, hence the long blog entry.  It was built by the French, improved by English  and later used by Dutch colonists. In 1667 it received its current name. In the twentieth century the fort was used as a museum. From 1981 to 1992 it was used by the Surinamese army as a military base. Now the army has withdrawn and it is a fine tourist attraction.
   Next the Waterfront Boulevard.  The buildings here are all ’modern’ A great fire in 1821 did for most of them and those that survived got wiped out by another fire in 1832. The rebuilding was down to the rich merchants and plantation owners. Duplessis House or the House for the Environment (Govnt Secretariat) According to the Tourist information board this underwent restoration 2000-2001.  The name Duplessis House refers to Suzanne Duplessis owner of the plantation Nijd en Spilk, who lived here from 1783-1795. She was allegedly one of Surinames' cruellest women.  After her death the government bought the house and from 1796 has used it as the secretariat for over a century.
  Further along are the remains of a later fire at the old Police building which was claimed by fire in 1980 when the army overtook the government.

Neo Tropical Butterfly Park.

Pre–Christmas Butterfly Farm.

  This week has been hectic!  The poor & Intermittent wi-fi has meant that emails have piled up and I have decided to implement a strategy to cope, only sending the odd one or two.
  That said we have also had plenty of action ashore.  Esther is preparing for Christmas and also has a works function to dress up for on Thursday.  With this in mind we have a girlie day shopping for house decorations, Christmas lights, evening shoes and matching bag, etc etc…  In the heat we didn’t stress out but had leisurely coffee & cake to see us through ’til we remembered our rumbling tummies at 4.30 and had a late lunch.
  Friday we went to the Neotropical Butterfly Park on the outskirts of town.  On the way we noticed ’noise’ from the car and stopped to investigate. We didn’t find the cause but did find an oil leak so stopped for an oil top-up and verbal confirmation that we could continue to drive.
  We arrived at the Butterfly Park just on lunchtime so had a snack and joined the tour. The Farm has been trading internationally for 16 years and has recently opened the Butterfly Park, which caters for ’Public Interest’ and ’Eco-Tourism’.

Allowing the public in means that the whole process of fulfilling the orders is seen to be clean tidy and efficient.  They deal with a number of  Butterfly species and each needs an enormous quantity of the specific host food.  They have netted fields to produce this vegetation.  The reason being that there are a number of escapees from the butterfly houses and these cavaliers would make straight for the ‘larder’ and decimate the supply for the others inside.  The rest of the tour took us through the Reptile house where we saw very happy Pythons.  Most were digesting their latest meal but others were snuggling up to procreate.  When they give birth to live young these are then sold.   I’m satisfied that the wild population is not being threatened.  Another area held Tortoises (which the Dutch call Land Turtles)  again this means that the wild Tortoise population is not threatened.
  I’ll finish by telling of the trip home.  The car rapidly went downhill making the most awful noises, which we tracked to the nearside shock absorber.  We limped to Ottos’ workplace and left the car with the mechanic, while we took  Ottos’ car home.  Otto finished work and got a lift home, only to be called back for an emergency just as he was about to eat dinner!  With only one car this meant that we were stranded ashore (in real comfort) overnight.  What bliss!
 Remember to look at Picasa after Christmas when I will have uploaded the images. - I hope!

Suriname Exploits

The rest of the week we did shopping and some sightseeing spending time with our dear friends and ‘Piano’ in about equal quantities.  The weekend was the next highlight.  We all decided to take one of Ottos’ motor launches up river to a local resort for a picnic.  The trip up river was fast and high tech, we all took turns in driving under the close supervision of our Master Mariner Leader.  We covered the distance in good time for lunch and had a swim in a net protected beach too.  - Yes the reason for the net protection is against ‘Piranhas’! Which have been known to nibble peoples toes.  There are also Caimans—crocodile family– known to live in the river which may also have caused concern…  In all it was a luxurious day—we all slept soundly that night.
  Sunday we set off to Jodensavannah and another river resort.  This time we drove over land, since it was further upstream.  The trip involved a river crossing aboard a ’ferry’.  This was a converted barge with a large Yamaha outboard engine.  It could carry about 6 vehicles and took about 10 minutes.
  The Jodensavannah is an area South of Paramaribo on which some Portuguese Jews settled back in the 17th Century (In 1639 the First Jewish Synagogue was built and the ruins can still be seen in this WHS).  They wanted to be able to practice their faith without being persecuted.  They chose a particularly nice spot on the banks of the river which had a natural freshwater spring and was slightly above river level for good visibility, views and provided dry ground to live on.  These first settlers lived comfortable for a time and were joined by like minded kinsmen from another colony in Brazil.  The new blood enhanced to enclave and soon the community had established some 40 plantations covering a large tract of land.  Even in those days there were slaves and each plantation had about 250 slaves to work the land.   The community survived a fire and the ravages of war for ownership of the country in which they were living.  But the final blow was the return of some escaped slaves who returned to free those still enslaved.  Once the work force had been lost the Jewish settlers decided to move back to the city and become manufacturers.
  Our lunch spot was the ’Black Water’ resort.  This time on a smaller river.  It had tarpaulin covered structures for shade and access to the ’beach’ for cooling off.  The water was barely deep enough to swim and was pleasantly cool– if rather dark coloured water (it reminded me of tea).  We weren’t the only white people a group of airline workers were having a holiday with a friend and they shared their BBQ and coconuts with us.  Everyone we talked to in Suriname was especially helpful and friendly.

1st December 2011

Suriname, 1st December 2011.
After a week sailing against the wind and curents we arrived at Domberg.  After anchoring and having a rest we had dinner, and then Malcolm managed to drop the fridge lid on his finger ooowwwwch and naughty words.  I did first aid and cleaned it with antiseptic, then put healing gel on it and steristrip round it.  It seems to be ok but I fear he will loose the nail.   Today I have been driving the outboard and doing all the stuff he can't do.   Unlike last time I haven't had to  overhaul the toilet system!!! -yet.
  So we went into town to register that we had arrived and were given the usual run around.  Here more than other places since it is a big country and still has a lot of red tape.  We did the police station first where our ‘crew list was given a stamp and we were then told to take it to immigration who would issue a visa.   At immigration wew were given a tourist Visa and sent to the military administration building where we were finally told that we had been given the wrong type of Visa and to go back to change it.  I asked the girl to write down what she had told us so that there would be no confusion when we got there.  Two hours later we cleared this mistake up but were told that the next step at the bank would have to wait ‘til tomorrow since the bank closes at 2 o’clock!   We decided to wait until Otto and Esther gets here so that they can help us.
  Great news , they are home early and will meet us at 8 for a drink tonight!
  Wow what a reunion, we do lots of catching up.  We meet again tomorrow early to make a start on formalities.
 

Monday 5th December.
It’s St Nicholas Day for the Dutch.  Esther meets us at 9 and we begin with passport sized photos, then coffee a side trip to finalize the visas and a fantastic lunch.  We finish with crossing the T’s at the police station ( which is formally closed) but a kindly policeman makes an effort and sorts us out.  We then return to Esthers’ home have Tea and chill out until Otto finishes work.  Plenty more reminiscing, a superb dinner and we return to ’Piano’ fully worn out after such a full day.