A Girl in Guyana and Suriname

My last two weeks in a little more detail… maybe too much detail. PHOTOS TO COME SOON!!!

I spent my last few days at the resort soaking up as much sun as possible. One day I walked the 4-5 minutes over to the restaurant where the girls, Anne and Lieke, were working hard. I went out to sit on the end of the dock to wait for them to finish up. Them and another co-worker came out to watch the sun go down. As it set behind our backs, we watched the orange rays bounce off the shipwreck in front of us across the river. And as it started to get darker, we watched the moon rise above the boat. I couldn’t believe it had taken me 3 weeks to realize what a great spot the end of the pier actually was.

Another night Gwen, one of the girls from the laundry, stopped by the house on her nightly run. We played a few games of Yahtzee with her, and then she started speaking in Dutch. I heard my name, and I asked Gwen what she said about me. She said she had asked the girls if someone would run her home because now it was dark. Lieke had said, “Well, I can’t run you home.” And Gwen told me she said to Lieke, “Well, if you can’t run me home, Katie can’t either.” EXCUSE ME? It’s about a kilometer (0.6 of a mile) to her place, and I could definitely run it. In Suriname and Guyana, I had come to realize that weight is discussed very openly. They believe that a bigger person has no muscle, and therefore cannot do any physical activity. People had even made comments to Lieke about her weight, and she’s tiny compared to me! I felt like it was a challenge to run Gwen home. I stood up and told her I damn well could run her home, and after about 10 minutes I got my running gear on. Of course, Anne and Lieke didn’t want to miss it, so they decided to come along too. We started running and at the half-way point, Gwen told me she didn’t think I’d make it that far. By the time we ran into the yard at the staff housing where Gwen lived, she really had to eat her words. She told me she took it back, that I really proved her wrong, and that she was impressed. HA! The girls and I walked back to the house, and we were all so excited that I proved I could do it. It was such a great feeling to make one person realize they can’t label someone because of their size. Now if only they’d stop making comments about Lieke, I’d really feel like something was accomplished.

Anne and I were delivered breakfast on Valentine’s morning, and Lieke wasn’t included since she was off working or something 😉 That night was my last night at the resort, and since we had finally tracked down the volleyball (we had bought it in the city a few weeks before but left it at the leather guy’s house by accident) I wanted to play! Kleine and Pato came to play with Anne, Lieke, and I and we had a blast. After an hour and a half of volleyball, we jumped in the river right next to us to cool down. We swam as the night got darker, and then the boys walked us home.

On the 15th, I packed up my stuff, and the girls and I went to the restaurant so I could say goodbye to everyone and they could tell the manager we were leaving. A few of their co-workers came to tell me goodbye, and I went up to Silent, their 70-some-yr-old deaf/mute co-worker to tell him I was leaving. I pointed to myself and made a motion of a plane taking off and flying away. Silent looked shocked and pointed at me with a questioning look on his face. Then he gave me a big hug! I always looked forward to getting a wave from Silent every day when I would walk to the restaurant. The girls and I packed into the front of the truck and drove the hour and a half to town. We stopped at the leather guy’s place as he was supposed to have my things finished. Of course, he said they would be finished tomorrow and we should stop back. That night we went out to a few different drinking establishments. Our last stop was Broki, my favorite watering hole, because there are hammock chairs and hammocks hanging all around inside for customers to get comfy! We actually sat outside on the patio along the water and chatted.

The next morning, Anne headed one direction do a bunch of research on the internet for her dissertation she has to write to finish her bachelor’s degree. And Lieke and I took the truck to be repaired at some guy’s house. We got his name from the guy who ran our guesthouse. The guy told us everything would be done in 2-3 hours, so Lieke called Brian, our favorite taxi driver, to see if he could take us to run some errands. I needed to go to some office on the edge of the city to get a stamp in my passport because even though my visa was issued for 2 months, after one month you need to get your passport stamped. We went to this office, but I didn’t have my airline ticket saying I was leaving Guyana in a few days. So the woman wouldn’t stamp my passport. Instead of going back into town and getting my ticket and coming back to the office, we asked if I would need it or not because we didn’t know if I had 28 days or from the 18th of Jan until the 18th of Feb. She said if I was leaving on the 18th (which I was planning on) I wouldn’t need the stamp, but if I left any later than that I would need it. Good deal. Brian drove us back into town, and on the way we passed Evelyn, the other student from CHN doing her internship in Suriname, standing on the street. Lieke had just been teasing me that morning about how we should call Evelyn so I could say goodbye. I didn’t really care for the girl much. Brian, however, stopped because he thought we were happy to see her – lucky us. She rode with us into town, so I got to spend a few minutes of quality time with her. We met up with Anne and went to pick up the truck. Then we stopped over to Mickey’s house to see if my wallets and things were finished. Surprise, surprise… they were still not finished, but Mickey promised to deliver them to me the next day in the city. Anne and Lieke took me back to the guesthouse, and we said our goodbyes. It really didn’t feel like we were separating since I’d been with them for over a month. It didn’t sink in until they were driving away, and I was crying at the front gate of the guesthouse.

Later that night I met up with Kleine, a co-worker of the girls at the resort. We shot pool at one of the local pool halls. After our second game, I looked around and realized I was the only girl playing pool. There were 2 female bartenders, but no girls were there to play pool. It was a little strange. I started to wonder if it’s just not accepted for a girl to go out and play pool with the boys. I still don’t really know.

The next day was my last day in Paramaribo. I did some emailing and last minute planning for the European leg of my trip, and Mickey delivered my leather goods at the internet café. In the late afternoon, Kleine had to get his laundry from his mother’s place in Paranam, and he invited me to come along. He warned me before we arrived there, that his mom lives in a ghetto. A real ghetto. We first had to cross the trench in front of the neighborhood by balancing across some wooden planks. I was introduced to aunts and a sister and his mother, and none of them spoke English. I greeted them all with, “Fa waka” which Kleine had told me meant “Nice to meet you.” I wanted to say one thing in Sranan Tongo to them. All I knew before that was how to count to ten and how to say goodnight – nothing useful. Kleine went to get his laundry and left me to sit in his mother’s house (more like a 3-room shack). Luckily a group of 8-10 kids had gathered on the floor of the room (not to mention the 6-7 adults outside). Someone like me must be a rare site in their neighborhood. I tried to think of something I could do to entertain the kids. “High 5” seemed to be the easiest thing to teach them. I started giving rounds of High 5’s and even the littlest girl who couldn’t have been more than 2 or 3 figured it out. Then I taught them “Give me 5, on the side, up high, down low – too slow!” which they thought was a riot! Soon Kleine came back and we went to leave. He told me to look back, and I turned to see most, if not all, of the kids coming out to say goodbye to us at the waiting taxi. One last round of high fives, and we were off. It was one of the most memorable moments of my trip.

On the morning of the 18th, I took a bus to South Drain. Luckily, Mickey the Leatherman, knew a guy who did this 6 days a week. For 45 SRD (about $15 US) the bus picks you up wherever you’re staying in Paramaribo and drives you the 4 or so hours to the Nieuw Nickerie/South Drain intersection. At the intersection, there is a bus waiting to take you to South Drain and it doesn’t cost any extra. Another hour or so on the bumpy dirt road, and you finally arrive at South Drain (aka the ferry terminal). Purchased my $10 US ticket to cross and went through immigration without a hassle. Started talking with the 3 women who had been in my bus since we left Paramaribo. They were Jehovah’s witnesses traveling to Guyana to meet up with some colleagues. I had a great conversation with one of them named Loretta. She’s lived in Miami for 30 years but had 6 months time in Suriname and Guyana. When we arrived in Guyana, I found the guy who’d been on the ferry drumming up business for his buddy who was waiting with a minibus. The guy had told me $2000 Guyana dollars for the trip from Moleson Creek to Georgetown – that’s about $10 – and they’d drop you off wherever you’re staying too. I spotted Shanna’s house as we passed through Crabwood Creek, and I told the two Argentinean backpackers about the tapirs – the weird vehicles made only in eastern Guyana.. I got to chatting with one of the guys from Argentina, and he told me they’d been traveling since October and should be home in another 2 weeks. They’d been planning their trip for 6 years, and both of the guys had studied literature at university. They were hoping to catch a night bus towards Brazil that night… good luck getting any sleep. At the ferry crossing in New Amsterdam, we unloaded out of the minibus to get some food. The older woman sitting next to me went to the first Chinese shop she found and ordered us both a half order of chicken and chow mein for $2 US a piece. We got back on the minibus, and after eating only half of my order, I was stuffed. I ended up giving it to the girl in front of me, who the older women in the minibus decided must be really poor. She seemed a little off mentally and her hair was very messy. I didn’t mind giving her my food, and she must have been really hungry because she polished if off in about 2 minutes. She looked so happy after that. The minibus was loaded onto the ferry and as we sat with the windows open, people came around trying to sell us things. There were older men, teenage boys, and even an 8 or 9 year old boy selling everything from “cold drink” to posters to candy. I bought a “snowball” from one guy which is similar to a snowcone, but then they pour sweetened condensed milk on it. I skipped the s.c.m. as I had already tried it when I was with the Canadians in Bushlot. I was also able to exchange money with one of the “salesmen”. I figured out my budget for that night and the next day and realized I had way too much Suriname and Guyana dollars, so I was able to get $20 US for it.

The women on the minibus started into discussions of all topics. Finding a good man, living in Suriname vs. Guyana, sex education in schools. They were very nice to me, and I enjoyed listening to their thoughts on all of these topics. One thing that really surprised me was when the older woman next to me finished her Chinese food, she handed it to the woman in front of me who had a seat next to the window, and that woman chucked the Styrofoam box over the side of the ferry and into the water. Reminded me of when we were headed to Kaieteur Falls, and I saw a guy on shore throw his used flashlight batteries into the water. And shocked me just as much.

While we were on the bus, the driver came around to ask everyone where they needed to get dropped off. When he got to me, the only Caucasian woman on the bus, he asked if I was traveling alone. Yes, I told him. He said, “Why don’t you take me with you, and then you won’t be alone anymore?” You’re my bus driver!!! Just take me to my hotel!!!!!

Around 4pm, after 12 hours of traveling (there’s an hour time difference), I was dropped off at my hotel in Georgetown. There was nothing else to do since shops were closed, and I wasn’t about to walk around town on my own, so I went to the internet café next door. Later that night, I ordered chicken nuggets and steamed vegetables from the restaurant in the hotel. The chicken nuggets were big chunks of white boneless chicken meat – I was so excited! I also got a big 1L bottle of water so I could brush my teeth a few times and have some to drink. And I got a Coke, and the whole bill came to $5.50 US. I was going to miss those prices for sure! I was also able to watch some of the Olympics for the first time since they’d started. A nice quiet night.

The next morning, I had asked the front desk clerk to call me a cab at 5:30am. The taxi was there on time, and I asked the guy how much it was going to cost me to get to the airport. He told me $3000 Guyanese ($15 US) which was $1000 cheaper than I thought it would be. The driver was actually a very nice guy, and when we stopped for gas on the way to the airport, he bought a paper and offered it to me to read first. When we got to the airport, I handed him $3500 since I knew I had extra money. It was only a $2.50 US tip, but in a country where nobody really tips, it might have made his day.

The flight was right on time, and I flew direct to JFK in New York. Omar had asked me on MSN Messenger if I was going to wear flip-flops when I flew in. So of course I had to! It was so great to see his familiar face when I walked through customs! We went straight to my friend Heather’s apartment where my winter clothes were waiting for me. Heather was out of town, so she had left my things with the doorman. I asked him if there was a bathroom where I could change, and thankfully there was. It was the first time I had worn jeans in 7 weeks! I was so happy! Omar was cracking up as I announced how long it had been since I’d worn a coat or how long it had been since I’d worn a sweater! After we got my winter things, we went to Omar’s apartment to drop off my things. He told me I could drop my laundry off at this place down the street, and as long as it weighed 8 pounds or less, it would only cost me $6 to have it all washed, dried, and folded! Sold. I loaded up his laundry bag, and when we weighed it, it came to exactly 8 pounds. Omar took me to a great Colombian restaurant for dinner that night.

The next day, Omar didn’t have to work thanks to Presidents’ Day. So we decided to meet up with some friends for lunch and a few beers. Betsy from Madison who just moved out to NYC, met us for Pomme Frites, as did Norbert, an old Aiesec alum friend of Omar’s. This Pomme Frites place was great. Belgian fries with all these different kinds of homemade mayos. I had honey mustard mayo, and I tried roasted garlic mayo. Both were great! Betsy had to get back to work, but we met up with Chantal and her boyfriend Alan and went to the oldest run pub in Manhattan. They serve beers by the pair, and you only order light or dark. You say, “We’ll have 3 darks and 2 lights.” And the server brings you 6 darks and 4 lights. It was great. Omar ran down the street to a bakery to get a dessert for his mom’s dinner party later that night, and while he was gone Chantal and Alan told me I was going to be late for my flight. Luckily, Omar’s family had arrived for the dinner party by the time we got there so we were able to steal his uncle’s van so Omar could drive me to JFK for my flight to Germany.

As we’re driving into JFK, there is a sign that says that all flights to Brussels (where I was to meet my connecting flight) on American Airlines leave from the domestic terminal. So Omar drops me off there. I have about 45 minutes to catch my flight, so I walk up to the first American Airlines woman I see and ask her about my flight. She informs me I’m in the wrong terminal, and I start to mention the HUGE sign outside that told me to get dropped off here. But then I stop myself and decide making my flight is more important than correcting the airport on their signage. Another worker tells me I can check my luggage at the first class desk, but I’ll have to run to the next terminal. Fine. I book it over to the international terminal and finally get through security. I make it to my flight a whole 25 minutes before it departs. Just before I jumped out of the car, Omar handed me a little white bag. He’d bought me an Italian pastry from the bakery for my flight! Once I was settled in on the plane, I busted it out… delicious!

I flew to Brussels, and then caught my connecting flight to Berlin. I arrived at Berlin Tempelhof, and I needed to find the cheapest way to Berlin Schonefeld airport where my flight to Munich was leaving from. I asked at the information desk, but he didn’t really know so I decided to just take a taxi. The taxi ride cost me 30 euro which is almost what I paid for the flight to Munich. The flight was quick, and Christina was waiting for me at the airport when I arrived. I met Christina when we were both exchange students in the Netherlands, and we hadn’t seen each other in 2 years. That night we went out for a typical Bavarian meal. I had a fantastic meal of homemade noodles and turkey with gravy. And we sat up talking until well after midnight.

The next morning, Christina was already off to work by the time I woke up. I think I finally made it out of the apartment around 1pm. I walked into Friesing, the town Christina lives in, and I was able to find a bank right away to cash some travelers cheques. I went to the train station and bought a day ticket to Munich, which included any public transporation I would take in the city once I arrived. It was a quick 25 minutes, and as soon as I arrived at Munich Central Station I found the tourist information desk. I asked the woman what I should do if I only had 2.5 hours in the city. I was supposed to meet Christina when she finished with work. The woman suggested one of those big tourist buses. It was only 11 euro, and that way I’d be able to see a lot of the city without spending a lot of time. When I met up with Christina a few hours later, we set off to do a little shopping. I got a great pair of bright green sneakers for 10 euro ($12 US) and a great pair of gray-colored pants. I wanted a doner kebab for dinner so we headed to the train station and each ordered one with sheep’s cheese and split an order of fries. Another night sitting up chatting and playing a little Sudoku (I got Christina addicted too).

The next morning, Christina drove me to the train station around 6am to catch a train to Munich so I could catch my train from there to Bremen. I had found a killer deal on a train ticket online so it only cost me 49 euro from Munich to Bremen. I took the high speed ICE and arrived in Bremen at 2pm. My old roommate Sylvia was waiting for me at the train station. We had lived together when we studied in Holland, and I hadn’t seen her in 2 years too. That afternoon she took me around the city so I could see all the highlights. She was a tourism major at university, and last year she did a project on making a tour through the city. Luckily for me, she remembered a lot of details so she was my private tour guide. My favorite part of the day was when we visited the Schnoor, a neighborhood full of tiny houses. We stopped to have coffee at a café in one of the houses. Only 3 tables could fit on each level, so we ended up having coffee on the 3rd floor! That night she showed me all of her favorite Bollywood movies! She’s obsessed with India.

On Friday morning, I took the train to Leeuwarden. Make that 4 trains! I had 3 connections to get to Leeuwarden. When I arrived at the train station, Bert was there to greet me. I threw my small bag on the ground and tackled him. Bert and I hadn’t talked much in the last months, so I was so glad we had a chance to chat. We went to his house to drop off my things and pick up his girlfriend, Yvonne. A little grocery shopping and then we made a quick stop at the snack bar for a late lunch. That night Bert made everyone boerenkool met wurst, which is mashed potatoes with endive and chunks of bacon mixed in it. Then there’s a sausage served with it and a brown sauce. It was excellent! One of my favorite Dutch meals. That night Robert, Sjoerd, and I went out to my favorite bar, De Ouwe Stoep. A crazy night – I don’t remember most of it.

I think we woke up sometime around noon and very hungover. The boys and I went into the city to have lunch at McDonald’s. Sjoerd caught the next train home, and Robert and I wandered around town until Ferdinand made it back to town. He had a hammock of mine from Suriname, and I had some dirty laundry of his. Then Robert and I caught the train to Groningen where his mom met us at the train station. His familiy is soooo wonderful. I just love spending time at their house. It had been a year since I saw them, and they were just as excited to see me as I was excited to see them. After Robert had visited me in December, he met his family in Florida where they spent 2 weeks. I got to hear all about their trip, and they showed me all their photos too. Johan, Robert’s developmentally disabled brother, played some songs for us on his keyboard. He just started taking lessons a few weeks before, but he did really great. We finished the night by having a few beers with Robert’s dad, a tradition Robert does everytime he visits home.

The next day we just lounged around the Stelling house. We had a terrific breakfast of wurstenbrodjes (sausage rolled up in bread). Robert felt bad because we weren’t really doing anything, but I loved it. Later that afternoon, Robert’s mom packed us some food and took us to the train station. The train wasn’t coming for another 15 minutes, so she stayed to chat with us. As the train pulled away from the train station, she ran along side waving goodbye. I love his family. That night we just hung out at Robert’s apartment. Both of us are considering a masters in tourism, and so we talked about all the different options. We looked at photos and listened to some good tunes.

Monday morning Robert had to go to work, so I slept in and that afternoon I caught a bus to the train station. The bus driver didn’t even make me pay for the short ride. I took the train to Utrecht Centraal Station to meet Sjoerd. He was arriving back from work at just about the same time. We walked to his new apartment in the city center and dropped my stuff. Sjoerd and I went to dinner at a nice little Italian place underground alongside a canal. Utrecht has all of these shops and restaurants along the canal… this place was really great, lots of character. That night we looked at photos. Sjoerd had just returned from a semester in Slovenia so he had lots of stories to tell about his time there and his travels in Eastern Europe.

The next morning, I woke up semi-early to get some last-minute shopping done. When I went back to Sjoerd’s apartment, I wasn’t able to unlock the door. Sjoerd had told me that it could be difficult, but I started to panic and started thinking I wouldn’t get it open in time to catch the train to catch my flight out that afternoon. Thank goodness, one of Sjoerd’s neighbors came home and he helped me to open the door. I thanked him a hundred times over, grabbed my stuff, dropped the key in the mailbox, and went to catch the bus to the train station. I made it to the airport with about an hour and a half before my flight was to take off. I had a layover at London Heathrow, but as the plane arrived there, there was another plane at our gate. When the plane finally moved, we pulled up to the gate and the pilot shut off the engines. A few minutes later we were still sitting there with the seatbelt light on. The pilot made an announcement that we were still 12 feet short of our gate, and we would have to wait for someone to tow us in after they shut the cargo door. Super! As soon as I got off the plane, I headed for the next terminal which meant catching a bus. Then I had to go through security again. I finally made it to my flight gate about 5 minutes before they started boarding. Finally arrived at JFK in New York and called Omar. He had complete faith in me that I would be able to make it all the way to his house by myself. First I had to take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station, then I had to take 2 different subway trains. Then I had to catch a bus and remember where the right stop was. The final step was walking the last few blocks to his house. His mother was there waiting for me. Omar came to pick me up and took me over to Chantal’s old apartment. Then we helped move the rest of her things up to her new 3rd floor walk up. Lucky me. Fly in from Europe and help move someone. What a great day.

Wednesday I was able to sleep in a bit, and Omar and his mother had already left for work. I couldn’t leave the house because there wasn’t a spare key for me, so I ordered lunch in from a local diner. Omar’s mom knew a great cab driver who would take me to LaGuardia airport for $10 which was half the price we expected. I caught my flight, and after arriving at Chicago O’Hare our plane was delayed again because of another plane at our gate. I arrived in Minneapolis around 9pm, and my friends Leah and Jason picked me up at the airport right away. By that time, I was sooooo sick of airports. In two days, I had been in 6 airports. Hopefully I’ll never have to do that again.

So that’s how the trip ended. That night I stayed at Leah and Jason’s. The next day I went to work, but Jerry arrived too. I was able to sneak home and surprise the family who didn’t think I’d be home for another week. I was happy to be home. Really happy to stay in one place for awhile.

It’s a LONG one…

Sunday the 29th of January

The trip to Blanche Marie Falls had a rough start. We were supposed to be picked up at the resort since Anne and Lieke had an appointment with their supervisor in the city on Monday morning. The tour operator, Boti, had arranged for a vehicle to pick us up because he was so excited that we booked the Blanche Marie tour instead of the Raleighvallen trip. Boti had told us that our ride would arrive around 5pm. At 7:30pm, we finally decided to load up the 2-seater truck we’re borrowing from Gunno, the girls’ host, and drive into the city. Just as we were about to pull out of the resort’s driveway, our ride showed up. Thank goodness, as I had volunteered to ride in the back of the truck all the way to town (not fun), and Lieke was not happy that I volunteered because it meant she would have to ride in back too.

Our driver, Henk, drove like he was in some NASCAR race. I didn’t even feel the bumpy road because we FLEW over it. Anne really wanted to say something to the driver about how late he was but figured it wouldn’t be a good idea if he ended up being our driver the next day. We had Henk deliver us the center of Paramaribo, and then we had a fantastic dinner at Queen’s Garden. Our waiter was a little creepy. He saw my backpack and started asking me questions about whether or not it had a frame in it. It was very awkward because I wasn’t sure what he was exactly asking so I didn’t know how to answer him. After dinner, we checked our emails and I added the photos to make you all happy!!! Then we took a taxi to the house we stay at when we’re in the city. All 4 of us slept in one room since only one air conditioner was working. It was the best I’ve slept the whole trip. I’ve only had air conditioning one other night on my whole trip, but it broke half-way through the night so I still roasted.

Monday the 30^th of January

Lieke called a taxi, and then woke me, Ferdinand, and Anne so we only had a few minutes to repack everything and head out. First we dropped Anne and Lieke off at their appointment, and then Ferdinand told the taxi we needed to go the bank so I could cash some traveler’s cheques. Ferdinand waited in the car so I didn’t have to attract more attention by walking out of a bank with my huge backpack (I might as well carry a sign that says “I’m a TOURIST! Rob me!”).

Getting traveler’s cheques cashed is always quite an experience. I think I mentioned the last time I tried to do it, the bank had closed at 3pm. This time I was able to find the correct window almost right away, but after I signed and dated the cheques, the girl had to type every number into the computer. Then she told me to wait at Kas 5. I found Kas 5 which was a door on the opposite side of the bank surrounded by 2-way mirror. I had to sit on the bench outside the door and wait for my name to be called. After 3 or 4 people had came and left from Kas 5, a woman yelled “Kat-rin” which I took to be Katherine but only after she yelled it 2 more times. I walked in the room which only had a table and 2 chairs. She counted out my money and off I went. The 2-way mirror thing made me quite nervous. I felt like it should just have a sign on it that said, “I’m walking out of the bank with a large sum of money in my pocket. Rob me!”

Thankfully, I just hopped in the taxi, and within 5 minutes we were at the tour operator’s office so I could give them all my money. Boti told us that the other 8 people on the tour would leave shortly, but we would have to wait for another 2 hours until 11am since our vehicle was in the shop having the brakes repaired and he wasn’t sure how long Lieke and Anne were going to be. Ferdinand and I introduced ourselves to the other people (all Dutch), and then we got directions for the post office since we both wanted to buy some postcards. Two seconds after walking out onto the street, Ferdinand confessed he wasn’t exactly sure where they had told him to go. We had enough time to get lost, but we actually found it right away. On the walk back to the tour operator, we thought we’d buy some bottled water. I went to grab a big bottle of water on the bottom shelf of the cooler but stopped when I realized that the one water bottle had no cap on it, and there was a 1.5 liter Coke bottle with water in it next to it. Hmmm… I think we’ll go with the little bottles, thanks.

Anne and Lieke arrived around 10am, and we decided to walk down to ‘t Vat, a restaurant down the street, for brunch. They surprised us by actually serving our food within 15 minutes of us sitting down (just to get something to drink there, you usually have to wait almost a half hour). My brunch was a broodje kaas (cheese sandwich) which was great! I really miss cheese; I can’t help it – I’m from Wisconsin. You can buy it down here, but it’s expensive and usually not very good. We did a little sightseeing of Fort Zeelandia on the water’s edge and the Palmentuin, a park full of palm trees.

Anne and Ferdinand at Fort Zeelandia

Once we were back at the tour operators, Boti informed us that the car was still in the shop and asked if we wanted something to snack on while we waited. We had just eaten, but we all had something to drink. While we waited, we met this really atrocious older Dutch woman who was booking a trip with her husband. She looked at Anne’s Teva sandals and said, “Well, they’re really awful-looking aren’t they? Well at least they’re practical.” And then when she found out I was from America she asked where I was from. I told her Wisconsin. She immediately replied, “Never heard of it” and turned to ask Anne another question. A little while later, Boti asked me if I wanted another Coke but I said no, and the mean woman said, “You’re American. You live off of Coke.” EXCUSE ME?? Wow, lady… thanks for not stereotyping me.

Lieke and Ferdinand waiting at the tour operator

At about 1pm, we were still waiting. Not a big surprise at this point. I totaled all the time we had spent waiting in the last 5 days… over 10 hours. Our joke now is that every wait is 2.5 hours. Finally around 1:45pm, the vehicle arrived (just over 2.5 hours). And Henk was our driver so it really was a good thing that we didn’t say anything to him the night before. Everything was loaded up in our 4×4, and we headed out of the city to meet up with the rest of the group. Henk, again, drove like a bat out of hell because he thought we were really behind. When he stopped at one bridge, he asked the guy taking the “toll” whether or not the group had passed by yet. The guy said no, but Henk didn’t believe him so on we drove. Henk made a stop at Bigi Poika, a village with a telephone, and found out that the group was still 30 minutes behind us at least. We were all able to meet up at the intersection where we came from Bigi Poika and they came from Jodensavanne (which I’ll mention later). A quick lunch of roti and chicken, and we were back on the road for another 3-4 hours. The group in front of us took so many smoking breaks, it felt like we stopped every 30 minutes (a few times we actually did). And once in awhile we would stop in the middle of an old rickety wooden bridge. Not exactly my ideal place to stop, but the view was great! We made it to our camping spot, Alfons Dorp, and set up our hammocks. It was great to be sleeping in a hammock again. My first 7 out of 8 nights in Guyana were spent sleeping in a hammock, and I haven’t slept in one since. Lieke, 3 other people, and I went out walking with Norman, one of the guides, to do a little night hunting. We didn’t see much that first night, but on the walk back I slipped and fell up to my knee in a very deep puddle. My khaki pants are now permanently red from the left knee down. Anne, Ferdinand, Lieke, and I played a few games of Troef Call, and then we hit the sack. We fell asleep to one of the couples screaming obscenities at each other in Dutch because the guy (who was drunk) tried to hang his hammock over the campfire.

Tuesday the 31^st of January

I woke up when everyone kept running into my hammock strings. What a great way to wake up… constantly being bumped into. We left camp at about 9am, and at one point we had to stop because a tree had fallen in our path. Not a problem for Norman, who quickly pulled out his chainsaw and cut it up. Problem solved. 🙂 We arrived at Blanche Marie around 3pm and took the quick hike out to see them. I’ve seen Niagara Falls and Kaieteur Falls which were both great in their own way, but Blanche Marie definitely has the most character of any waterfall I’ve ever seen. It was quite wide across with all of these dark colored rocks sticking out of the water. The photos don’t even come close to how beautiful it really is. I was immediately glad we made the decision to visit this area. We were able to sit in the water right at the bottom of the falls. I ventured in for only 15-20 minutes, but the current was so strong I was sick of trying to hold on to rocks so as not to slip away. When we walked back to the Guest House from the falls, we saw a green-striped frog on the path and two toucans in the trees probably about 80 feet above us. They were super loud!!

group at Blanche Marie

swimming at Blanche Marie

the frog we saw

That night we had a delicious dinner prepared by our cook, Heuwell. At dinner, the old drunk guy from the night before tried to tell us that going to Apura the next day was pointless and that we should all just stay at the falls. We were getting upset because we had been told by Boti that we would definitely go to Apura for the day (as had everyone else). The reason we chose the trip was because there was more to do than just sit at the falls all day. Unfortunately we couldn’t discuss this with Boti because he had gone back to town and wouldn’t arrive until the next afternoon. Norman settled the situation by saying whoever wanted to stay could stay and whoever wanted to go could go.

Wednesday the 1^st of February

Two cars with 9 of the 12 tourists started our drive to Apura (Apoera) around 9am. Our first stop was at a bauxite mine where we were able to get some gas and watch some trucks driving around. My favorite truck was the one labeled “Taliban Crew.” I have been down here over a month, but I’m still shocked when I see someone has labeled their truck with the word Taliban. I was told by some of the Peace Corps people that it doesn’t mean what I think it means. Still makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

Taliban Crew truck

Our next stop was at an old abandoned railway station. After the civil war in Suriname, the government received funding from many different countries and organizations to help rebuild the country. They decided to put a lot of the money into building up the northwestern part of Suriname by building a railway and mining bauxite, trying to encourage expansion. After spending 1 billion euros (1.2 billion US dollars) on this project, it was abandoned. I’m not sure why it was abandoned or when they exactly got the funding for it, but it was a HUGE waste of money. The building we visited was supposed to have a restaurant, bathrooms, store, etc. What we saw was concrete pillars, broken windows, and bat poop. The structure is still there, but anything that could be used was stripped out. Norman, our guide, said that that was the story of Suriname… lots of wasted money. And it was the first time one of the guides had made an extra effort to explain something to me in English, so I knew Norman had some strong feelings about this place.

group at abandoned train station

After about 2.5 hours of driving, we arrived in Apura. We stopped at a store to get some beer, and then we stopped at a lady’s house to buy a big chunk of ice for the cooler. All of us “jongens” (kids) hopped in the back of Norman’s truck. Lieke, Ferdinand, Anne, I, and 2 other Dutch people (Marlies and Omar) had a blast in the back! I waved to all the little kids I saw playing in their yards or out riding their bikes.

Anne, Lieke, and I in the back of the truck driving through Apura

We made a stop at some guy’s house for some mangoes, and his 4 little kids (all in their underwear) carried out the mangoe-reaching pole. Then we all peeled the mangoes with our teeth and sunk them in to the orange stringy fruit. They were delicious! After the mangoes, Norman took us to another guy’s house where we were able to see different kinds of trees… breadfruit, cocoa, olive.

eating the mango

the view from the mango guy’s house

Norman took us on a little hike to an AmerIndian village on the water’s edge. I had only worn a pair of flip-flops and kept getting my feet stuck in the thick mud. More than once, we shoe would be buried in the mud after I had pulled my foot out, and I would have to throw my hand in and grab in. Finally I gave up trying to walk with them on and just carried them. At one point, our trail was flooded. And I mean flooded… at least 5 feet deep in some parts. Luckily, Henk and Lieke volunteered to go out in the water and find a path to take. There was a few wooden boards to walk across first and then a log to scoot across. Standing on the log, the water only reached to our knees so most of us made it across half dry. Lieke, on the other hand, fell into the water when she was searching for a path, so she had a nice little swim! We arrived at the village and all the women came running with their crafts to sell. They laid everything out on a bench so we could see it all. The women and children stood on one side and at the end, and we stood on the other side. It was quite the store. They were selling bracelets, necklaces, purses, and other things made out of seeds that they collect from a certain kind of tree around their village. They dye some of the seeds blue, gray, purple, peach, red. And then they use other seeds or jaguar claws or anything else available and incorporate it into their craft. I bought a few bracelets and necklaces, and when we were almost finished buying things I looked over to see that nobody had bought the most beautiful piece of work on the bench. Some woman had strung all these seeds together to make a little square with a beautiful pattern on it. Then she hung the shells of another seed on the ends of it. We were told they wear something like that when they dance. I asked how much she was selling it for. She answered 35 SRD which is about $12 US. That made up my mind… I handed her a 50 SRD bill, but she didn’t know math, and I couldn’t explain in Dutch that I needed 15 change. Finally Norman came over and told her she needed to borrow 15 from one of the other women, and then she would have to pay them back later. Many times Norman had to intervene a bit to explain how much change we would need back… thank goodness he was there. And because everyone was shopping for themselves, I was forced to use my Dutch for the first time since arriving here. Not that I had to say much, but I had to ask how much things cost and I had to understand their answer. It was actually really great. I was proud of myself for not having to ask my friends to buy things for me.

hiking out to the AmerIndian village

wading across the water

buying crafts from the AmerIndians on the western coast of Suriname

After the shopping was finished, we walked over to another part of the village. Norman asked if the group could go swimming there. As we were waiting for him to figure things out, I felt a few sharp pains on my right foot. I looked down to find 10-15 little red ants. Those little suckers can bite! We were able to go swimming, but I hadn’t brought my suit so I just waded into the water to try to take away some of the pain of those ant bites. From where we were, we could see the eastern coast of Guyana. I sat on a bench with Marleen, who also hadn’t brought her suit with. We chatted about how her and her husband Bert had retired from the medical profession in Holland and moved to a little village in France last year. We also watched a few of the naked children in the village walk from thatched-roof hut to thatched-roof hut. They were adorable.

a view from the village

We were able to get a ride back to our vehicles from a guy in the village. He had a boat made out of one piece of wood that fit all of us single-file. I almost sat in some boskip (forest chicken) blood, but other than that we were able to just enjoy the breeze and view.

riding in the boat made out of one piece of wood

That morning Norman had written “DANGEROUS!!!” across the tailgate of his truck in the red dirt. The week before we had watched an episode of Friends on Lieke’s computer where Joey thought “Bert!” was their code word for danger. So we labeled our truck “BIRT” (we didn’t want to offend Bert, Marleen’s husband, by spelling it with an E). Although, Ferdinand first spelled it “BIRD”. So now we use either word as our code word for danger! 🙂

Norman and his warning!

We arrived back at Blanche Marie around 6 or 7pm, and Heuwell had dinner ready for us already. After dinner, we loaded up the trucks and drove out to the falls. They turned on the spotlights for us, and we had a few drinks and admired the massive amount of water floating past us. Heuwell happened to be sitting by me, so I told him that he was an excellent chef and that we noticed he paid close attention to detail by adding cucumber and tomato slices all the time. He was so excited that I complemented him! I hadn’t really talked to him at all yet, but I knew he knew I only spoke English because he would say a few things here and there. Little did I know he sounds like he grew up in the States. His English sounds like mine. I was super surprised. After talking to him for about 10 minutes, I asked him how long he lived in the States. He cracked up… said he’s got family there and has probably spent 2 years in total visiting the States. And he’s got friends at the American Embassy in Paramaribo so he speaks English all the time. We ended up having a fantastic conversation all evening about everything… me being a traveling American, his coming out of the closet in a super-conservative country, cable television, Saturday Night Live, Beyonce. Heuwell promised to take us out in Paramaribo the next time we were in the city, and Norman said he would come too if he was around. Lieke, Ferdinand, Anne, Heuwell, Marlies, Omar and I all went back to our building (everyone else was staying in other buildings next door). This is when the alcohol really kicked in… Lieke, Fer, Anne, and I took about 20 photos but I’m just going to include my favorite… us pretending there was something scary on the veranda.

something scary??

Thursday the 2^nd of February

I spent the morning getting to know the toilet in our guest house while everyone else was able to make it out to see El Dorado falls. I slept until after noon sometime, and Heuwell periodically checked on me to make sure I was still alive. Eventually I was able to take a shower and pack up my stuff. Somewhere around 2pm, everyone came back and we had lunch. Rather, they had lunch and I had 2 bites of rice and potatoes before giving up. Everyone was happy to see me walking around, and they said everyone was concerned about me when they were at the falls. It was nice to know they were still thinking of me. We left the guest house about 4pm and no less than 3 minutes into the drive, Norman (the lead driver) stopped because something was blocking the path. He waved us all up to come see… it was a turtle about 15-18 inches long right in the middle of the path. When he picked it up, the turtle hid in his shell and was passed around so everyone could inspect him. Soon we were back in the vehicles and heading out again, but before we could even get to the main road we had to stop again. Something a little bit bigger than a turtle was blocking the path. A tree had fallen in the middle of the night (sorry, no jaguars or anything cool like that), so Norman again got out the chainsaw and went to work. He even let Ferdinand hold it one time (perfect photo op).

Lieke and the turtle

tough guy!

We were supposed to drive for 4-5 hours, but Henk got sick of the slow drivers in front of him and decided to pass everyone and floor it. This was his craziest driving yet. We were going so fast that one time he turned the wheel too late to avoid hitting a tree trunk that had fallen but was still suspended 3 feet off the ground due to the branches. When we finally stopped to wait for everyone to catch up, Henk told us to notice the time and that everyone else would arrive in 30 minutes. Ten minutes later, everyone else arrived, and I just happened to notice that the windshield had cracked somewhere in the last hour. Hmmm… I wonder if it was because he hit a tree? Henk said it was because of the vehicle, something about a crack in the frame of the window. Yeah, right. And when everyone caught up, we were told that Henk missed the camp we were supposed to spend the night at so we kept driving another hour and a half to the camp at Alfons Dorp.

After a quick dinner that Heuwell had prepared at the guest house, we were sitting around chatting. Someone asked me if I wanted to drive. I said “YES!” I had no idea what I was volunteering for at this point. I think it was Heuwell who explained to me that Boti and Norman wanted to go hunting (the only thing they hunt during the day is bush pig usually). They wanted someone to drive, but they wanted to stay out until they actually got something. Heuwell told me in these exact words, “They want to make sure that Katie doesn’t fall asleep.” And I said, “Well, Katie’s the only one here who slept until 1pm today.” They all cracked up at that one… it was true! Lieke agreed to come with and keep me awake. Omar and Ferdinand decided to join us too. I was super excited as it was my first time ever driving in another country, and the driver sits on the opposite side of the car than we do, and it was a HUGE truck and a stick shift! My night couldn’t have gotten any better!!! Norman gave me a quick course in hunting-speak. Boti and he would ride in back of the truck with their spotlights. If he shined the light in front of me and made a motion up, it meant to drive faster. If he motioned the light down, it meant slow down. If they banged on the roof of the truck, it meant slowly come to a stop, put the truck in neutral, and turn off the headlights but keep the truck running. Everyone came over to wish us luck and wave us off. I got out on the road and started dodging the huge puddles (probably 15 feet across), but Norman and Boti must have gotten slapped by a few tree branches because they told me to just drive right down the middle. Hell yeah! A few of the puddles were 3 feet deep or more… I was LOVIN’ it!!! In the 2.5 hours of driving I did, we probably stopped 7 or 8 times, but all we saw were a few birds, 3 caiman, and a big snake. Just before we turned around and went back, Boti and Norman both got out of the truck and walked down the road in front of me with their lights. Norman told me to keep the lights turned off and to follow them. “Keep in mind the trees on either side of the road.” It was crazy! Pitch black and I’m following two little lights that flash three or four times a minute. Norman had me jump in the back seat so he could drive back to camp. I looked over at Ferdinand who was sleeping in the most uncomfortable-looking position ever. His legs were in the position they would be if he were sitting, but his upper body had fallen straight over to the right and was bobbing up and down. His head was about 2 inches from me, so I couldn’t get very comfortable. We arrived back at camp around 4pm to find that Marlies and Anne had set up all 4 of our hammocks so we could just hop in and fall asleep.

Friday the 3^rd of February

I was told I could sleep in, which I should have known would never happen. Again I was woken up by people running into my hammock strings and talking out loud right next to me. I got about 4 hours of sleep which did not make me a happy camper (hahaha). Boti and Henk left camp early that morning to go meet a group of people returning from Raleighvallen because a car had broken down. They had to backtrack about 1.5 hours, so Henk took Heuwell’s vehicle since his was falling apart. We had a breakfast of fried potatoes and scrambled eggs (that’s all that was left). Heuwell started playing some tunes, and we had a little dance party. He made Lieke and Ferdinand do the Buca, a Surinamese thing. We were all cracking up as it meant that Ferdinand would stand there with Lieke’s hands on the ground and legs wrapped around his waist. And then they had to “dance.”

do the BUCA!!

Norman also gave me some machete lessons. I chopped down a tree that they will later use for firewood.

machete lessons

It was decided, in Dutch, that Heuwell would take Henk’s 4×4 with a group of 5 people (Anne, Ferdinand, Omar, Marlies, and Yvonne – the lady with the drunk husband) and start driving since they would need to go slower than everyone else. Nobody told me what was going on, and luckily I asked just before they pulled onto the road because my purse with my mosquito lotion, etc was in the vehicle. I was a little pissed, and Lieke knew it. I was just sick of everything being discussed in Dutch and then being explained later to me and in much less detail. Since we were again waiting, this time for Boti and Henk and another vehicle to arrive AND for the chicken to be ready for lunch, Lieke and I decided to make the most of it by lying out in the sun and getting a little color. We laid out a hammock which served as our beach towel, and I was burned in about 30 minutes. The 3 vehicles arrived, and my favorite American-hater got out of one of the cars, the mean lady who told me I lived on Coke. Lieke and I couldn’t believe it, and we couldn’t wait to see the expression on Anne’s face when we all met up in a few hours. Lieke and I decided with Bert and Marleen that us 4 would ride with Norman. Boti told us that everyone who was left from the Blanche Marie group would ride with Henk. I was not happy about having to ride with Henk or Paul, the drunk guy who tried to tell us not to go to Apura. I asked Boti why. He said it was to keep the group together. We said we didn’t care. We wanted to ride with Norman. I was pissed. The whole trip was definitely not what I expected at all, and I was sick of riding in Henk’s car. Finally Boti gave in and let us ride with Norman. Norman told us to all get in the car quick so we could leave before Boti changed his mind. And soon we were on the road again.

We met up with Heuwell’s car at the “Mango Tree.” It was a little rest stop with picnic tables and thatched-roof huts for shade. We had some sandwiches and sat and chatted. Lieke went to use the bathroom and came running out screaming with her pants half-way falling off because she saw a spider in the bathroom and she’s afraid of spiders like I’m afraid of bats. After inspecting it, I can see why it sent her screaming. It was probably 5-6 inches long!

All of the vehicles gathered on the side of the road in Zanderij for one last beer together, and we said our goodbyes. Lieke, Ferdinand, Anne, and I were to ride with a driver from the other tour group. About 10 minutes into our drive, he stopped for gas and after getting a full tank, was unable to start the car again. We were stuck at Walma’s Service Station for almost 2 hours before the car was ready to go again. We went into Walma’s to get something to drink, only to find the shelves almost bare. There were 6-packs of dirty Coke cans in the fridge. And there were 2 choices for candy bars. And some Pringles. We were so happy to be waiting again. Kidding. Finally arrived home around 11pm and went right to bed.

group photo with Norman

waiting at Walma’s
*****
We’ve been back for 4 days now, and it’s been great. Relaxing. The days are going so fast. Yesterday, I woke up and couldn’t remember if it was Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Ahhh… the life. Yesterday, Ferdinand, Anne, and I were able to visit Jodensavanne, the site of the ruins of the largest synagogue in the western hemisphere. And site of a mineral spring flowing with healing water. So I definitely gave it a try! 🙂 Out on the town tonight with Heuwell and Lieke.

BONUS PHOTO:

a green-eyed fly we killed in our car!

the monkeys we saw from the veranda Ferdinand, Anne, me, and Lieke at the BBQ [Continue reading this entry]

Hello, hello readers! I'm so happy to get all your comments!! Well, we are off on our 5-day overland adventure to Blanche Marie tomorrow. Nothing too exciting has happened since I last updated, but I thought I'd mention ... [Continue reading this entry]

I have spent the last week in the jungle, and as my Dutch hostesses say, "We are back in civilization." Not that life is bad where we are staying. Anne and Lieke, two girls I met while studying ... [Continue reading this entry]

After a day spent traveling, I have arrived in Paramaribo, the capitol city of Suriname. Before I recap on today's activities, I'll write about my last few days in Guyana. MONDAY the 16th of Jan: When I last updated ... [Continue reading this entry]