A Girl in Guyana and Suriname

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 (and left you hanging on the edge of your seat, I’m sure), I was in New Amsterdam, Guyana. I had met up with some Peace Corps volunteers, and they were showing me around the Corentyne (eastern part of Guyana). So Shanna, Alana, Mike, and I made our way to Crabwood Creek, where Shanna lives. First we had to travel an hour and a half by minibus.

After about an hour of driving, we came to a police check point. For no reason whatsoever, Shanna and I were made to get out of the minibus (and we were sitting in the back seat, of course). The biggest, toughest looking police officer asked Shanna why she was here. She said, “Peace Corps.” He asked where we were from, and Shanna told him Maryland and Wisconsin. Then he let us get back in. I was so shocked, and Shanna said that she had never experienced anything like that before. She said they were probably just interested in why we were there. Good thing I didn’t have to explain the tourist excuse – they would never have believed that! Once we arrived in Corriverton, we had to flag down a tapir, a locally-made vehicle similar to a jeep, I guess. The tapir (the vehicle) is only driven in this tiny part of Guyana.

We got to Shanna’s, and we made fajitas. Well, we made our version of fajitas with limited supplies. Shanna had some beef in the freezer, and we bought corn, beans, lettuce and tomatoes. Mike seasoned the beef with some random spices since we couldn’t find any Mexican seasoning at the supermarket. And Shanna mixed up a batch of tortilla-dough. I rolled out most of the fajitas. Most of them looked like I was trying to make them resemble the outline of Guyana; they definitely weren’t round! Everything ended up tasting pretty good considering. Shanna even made chocolate peanut butter brownies. Mike, Shanna, and I played an exciting game of Phase 10, which I won! Alana explained, according to her research 🙂 , some of the characters in Indian movies that were on TV. And we all played along to the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. I was excited to watch a few of the Surinamese channels that Shanna’s TV picked up, since I could understand some of the Dutch! And then we called it a night.

TUESDAY the 17th of Jan: Shanna had to go give a talk on puberty at a local school and Mike had to go to work back in New Amsterdam, so Alana took me to the Corriverton market so I could do a little shopping. I ended up buying a few hammocks, a tawah (flat pan used to make roti), and a few other odds and ends. Then we met up with Shanna and made our way to the post office. For some reason, they are only able to ship packages from the Corriverton post office on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30pm. Apparently, the customs officer is only available then. So we had the clerk weigh it, so I would at least know how much money to leave with Shanna so she can mail it tomorrow. Then we stopped by a British VSO’s house. Her husband, another Brit, works as an engineer for the sugar company, so they live in a compound with a pool and tennis courts. We sat on the veranda and chatted, and before leaving Alana wanted 2 puppies that were wandering around stray. So we all went on a mission to capture them and load them in a box for her to carry back to New Amsterdam. Alana went one direction back to her house, and Shanna and I went back to her place. We had a nice chat, a small dinner, and we were in bed by 10pm.

WEDNESDAY the 18th of Jan: I woke up and still had not fully decided whether or not to take the ferry across to Suriname. There is only one ferry a day, so I needed to decide by 9am. Shanna left for work, and we said our goodbyes because I figured I would leave. I caught a tapir for Moleson Creek, where the ferry departs from. I paid my $10 and filled out my paperwork for immigration. We waited over an hour for the ferry. Then the ferry ride took about 30-45 minutes, and when we arrived we had to go through immigration again.

This is where the adventure begins: I walked out of the gate and found a minibus going to Paramaribo. There were only 2 that I could see, and they packed those things so full of people and luggage, there was hardly any empty space inside at all. I was sitting with a carry-on suitcase between my knees and the drivers seat, and I had my own bag on my lap. My left butt cheek on the seat and the other one got some rotational time every 15 minutes or so. First we had to ride down a bumpy, dirt path for about 45 minutes, and then we were finally on a paved road. And that road took around 4 hours before we reached Paramaribo. So we’re on the paved 2-lane road headed to Paramaribo, when all of a sudden the driver stops. There is no such thing as a shoulder on this road, so the driver is stopped right on the road. I guess he felt the need to relieve himself. At least we were on a straight stretch and not on a corner so cars had time to see us and could swerve around. We finally get to Paramaribo, and the driver makes another stop at his house, I think. Then he takes us all into town and drops us off one by one. He drove around for at least 10 minutes trying to find my hotel and pissing off all the other people on the bus. Eventually he found it, and I must say I didn’t do too bad picking out a random hotel from the guidebook. I chose it because it’s supposed to be the best for the budget and centrally located. For $18 US I get my own room with a fan. And the staff is super nice.

I am in Guyana. I can’t believe the amazing luck I’ve had since leaving my friend Heather’s apartment last night at 7pm. I walked up a block to immediately catch a cab to Port Authority which dropped me off right next to the bus I needed to take to JFK. I arrived at JFK to find myself the only white person in the line for the direct flight to Georgetown. No worries, but I just wasn’t expecting to be SUCH a minority. I set my backpack down to make a few adjustments before I check it through, and I look up to see another white girl standing next to me. We bond immediately as I find out she’s a Peace Corp volunteer and is returning to Guyana after spending 2 weeks at home for the holidays.

I start firing questions at this girl named Lara. She’s the first person I’ve met who has actually BEEN to Guyana. I asked her how safe Georgetown actually is. After we talk for an hour or so, she invites me to stay with her, about 45 minutes out of the city. She says it’s safer, and she would feel better about me staying with her. Lara was also being met by her friend Tyrone at the airport, so we had a ride prearranged to her village, Leonora.

The drive was INCREDIBLE. The first thing I noticed was all the people walking right along the edge of the road. So close to the cars! And lots of garbage in the ditches alongside the road. They drive on the left side of the road here, left over from their British colonization, I guess. We were in a taxi, but local travel is done by privately owned minibus. Every minibus has its own name and bright colored paint job. A few of my favorite minibus names so far: “Country Girl”, “Sunny”, “G-Unit”, and “Surprise”. And the driving was insane. People pass even if there are other cars coming at them because they are just supposed to move over. There are donkey and horse carts on the road. There are stray cattle, horses, and goats. We were driving through this one town, and we saw a car on the right side of the road with a HUGE dent on the front of the car. Then we looked to the left to see what the other car looked like, and we saw someone slicing up the cow that the car had hit!!

Lara and I made it back to her apartment which is the top half of a house. Below her live 2 different families. One with parents and a kid and the other is a couple, 1 or 2 of their children and one of the grandmas. Her apartment is very nice with beautiful wood floors and big windows. A hammock hangs in the “living room”, and I’ve already taken a few naps there.

Lara asked me a few times if I could understand Tyrone, and I honestly had a really hard time understanding what he was saying. He speaks “Creoles”… a Carib English Creole. I will get some examples and post them later this week.

Lara took me to Parika to exchange some money. This was my first experience taking the minibus, “Surprise”. It cost us each a US dollar (about 195 Guyanese dollars) for a 20-minute drive there. While we were in line at the bank, another white girl walked in… someone Lara knew, and she looked at me with such surprise. Lara explained that I was here from the states visiting some friends in Suriname, and I was a TOURIST in Guyana. Everyone is amazed about that!!

I have to get going. I have to walk the 3 blocks back to Lara’s, and it’s starting to rain again. Tomorrow I will go into Georgetown to find some sort of eco-tour to do this weekend or next week.