Dutch Holiday

Brian the Bus promises his minibus will pick us up at 3am. It turns up at 4 and then does a tour of the grottiest parts of Georgetown picking up various strange people to share our journey to Suriname. By the time we get going we are so late that we drive at a suicidal rate to catch the ferry.

Another mad drive gets us to the border ferry at 8am. It leaves at 11am. It always leaves at 11am. No one can explain why we had to get up at 2.30 and risk our lives when we had 3 hours to spare.


The drive to the capital, Paramaribo, takes for ever down roads that are more pothole than road. Just as we get to the city outskirts we get caught in a police block. They are looking for Fineman the guy on a murder rampage in Guyana but catch our driver instead. He hasn't got a licence so the bus and passengers are impounded until a driver with a licence can be found.

This quick trip turned into another 19 hour extravaganza.


George Town was dangerous but exciting. Paramaribo is very safe but oh so boring. Its also full of Dutch holiday makers enjoying one of the few places in the world where they can speak their own language. The funny thing is they all look so incredibly Dutch - tall, hiking boots, socks, and often wearing orange.



We had a great trip to one of the Indian villages and to see Greenback turtles laying eggs - a very moving site
CashewNot all turtles make it back to the sea

Met some Peace Corps volunteers who are working with Bush Negroes in the interior. One of the them was trying to undo the damage done by missionaries and to help them get their culture back. The Bush Negroes were originally escaped slaves and their language still reflects the slave culture. They don't have a the word ´or´ or a word for choice.

Suriname is incredibly poor but is one of the richest countries in terms of natural resources. It has oil, gold, bauxite, minerals and is one of the worlds major eco tourist centers. Quite a feat of Government to have all this, a population of less than 500,00, poverty and crap infrastructure.

When it came to leave we couldn't face another long bus ride and decided to fly. The plane was cancelled and we had to spend an extra night in Paramaribo. We joined forces with the Peace Corps volunteers and a Dutch couple to get the airline to refund our hotel costs. The eventually paid us but refused to pay the Dutch couple. Apparently there is still a lot of,unfounded, resentment against the old colonial power.

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