Hotel Residence Inn Paramaribo

... jeep were transferred to a boat with an outboard motor for the next stage of the journey. We said goodbye to Henk and set off with Jay at the tiller. Baba sat at the front, from where he made hand signals to Jay to navigate the boat around various obstacles such as rocks, sandbanks and sunken tree trunks; we helped with bailing water from the slightly leaky boat! Jay cut the engine whenever there were birds, or in one case, monkeys, to be seen, but ...

... 8221;, he said, meaning that we ought to speak Saramacca. He told us that he is an artist and produced some jewellery that he had made. “Work is better than begging”, he said with pride. This was the second time that we had been told this by a street trader. It seems that begging, which does of course happen, is not an honourable thing to do. After a while I went in search of Ronald, who I identified through his trademark yellow towel, and soon we were ...

... plantation in the Commewijne district on the other side of the Suriname river. This was an absolute delight, the plantation has turned into a lush jungle with lots of birds, huge lizards and monkeys. The next plan is a trip into the interior of the country, but we will leave that for the next blog. <br><br>Dus tot de volgende keer dan maar weer.<br><br><br><br> Joint haiku:<br>Paramaribo<br>Gabled houses and lush palms<br>Laid back melting pot<br>

... literal wake. You'd think they just invented gunpowder or something. The noise is deafening. Car alarms routinely go off from the percussion waves unleashed. Traffic stops mid-street like when the national anthem plays in Thailand. There you have to go to Chinese cemeteries on Ching Ming Day to see displays like this. But it's moved way beyond the Chinese community in Suriname now, though they still profit from sales of the red devils in their ...

... luggage was on a seat. The driver said he told her when they loaded that she would have to pay extra, she said he didn't. I had asked someone at the ferry terminal who much we would pay from there to Gtown, and was told G$2000 (USD$10). Later I asked someone else and they told me G$1500 and I confirmed this with the man behind me. So I figured it was likely G$1500 without luggage on the seat and I should pay G$500 for a thrid share of the extra seat. I ...

... living in the interior the old authentic way. Once on the Brownsberg nature reserve we had the chance to see several bird kinds, and also 2 kinds of monkeys. We were told that there are 8 kinds of monkeys, 420 tree kinds and more than 120 bird kinds in this place. Dino told us about the many tree kinds and the medical working of some of them. We as ...

The daily ferry across the Correntine river to Suriname eventually left after a long morning of not doing much at all. This was followed by an unnecessarily long and thorough passport and baggage check in the customs building before we were eventually let through to the waiting minibuses. "Which one is Brian's?" I asked, having been told a few hours earlier that 'Brian' was expecting me on his. Nobody knew, and few ...

... solid friendships we've forged with the people of our communities may be the only thing that leaves a mark. Of course, the bakery I helped Sikiwans build and the English I taught to Glenn and Sammy counts for something, but the mark I've left in the hearts of the people who affectionately call me "Matchew Fine Fine" is priceless. I'll be sad when I leave, but I'll be back to visit someday, and you can be sure I'll hold this experience close to my heart for the rest of my life.

Hi There Everyone: Yesterday Suriname celebrated 30 years of independence! The Surinamese love to celebrate and this was a reason to party. It started Friday. I had just arrived from Nickerie on the bus at about 4 p.m. and decided to go to Independence Square as I knew that the school children were forming the Surinamese flag on the lawn of the square. There was quite a crowd and I didn't get an ideal spot, but was able to catch glimpses. I did see "the flag ...

... last winter by another CCI participant. The plan was never completed into a workable document and since the return of the Coordinator (whose job this is)she and Brenda have been working on this. There is still work to be done in reviewing statistics on their service activities and the recommendations from which work plans need to be developed. There is a lot of disfunction in this organization. Perhaps it would be better put to say that there is a real lack of ...