The Golden Truly Hotel & Casino Paramaribo

... the way where people either got off or on and before long we came to Gunsi, where women were bashing clothes on rocks and doing the washing up in the river. Kwami, the local guy in charge of Tei Wei, the group of huts used by visitors, met us and showed us to our hut, which was indistinguishable from the many village huts we had seen along the way – with one exception. It was on poles and had a balcony overlooking the river.

We had a marvellous time in ...

... out and so our first stop is the tourist office to find out where. They suggest the hospital and tell us how to get there, what they do not say is it is 3 km away and so quite a long walk in this heat. On arrival we get sent to the emergency department who advise us that they cannot deal with us and so send us to a medical centre which we find out is just down the road from the tourist office. This time after a taxi ride we manage to arrange an ...

... groceries already, instant noodles and eggs and onions and papayas and mangoes and a couple of smoked fish at a buck each. You can do a lot with a water kettle. You should see me with a microwave. Finally Tang calls on my emergency world phone to wish me a Happy New Year while she waits for the Gold Line train to go to Pasadena. She and her immigrant Thai friends heard there's a party there so decided to check it out, something about a football game. Life's weird.

... Suriname. By that time, I had lost track of time. I hadn't eaten anything from since the night before because I didn't want bathroom issues, but more importantly, I tend to throw up when I have anything in my stomach. I didn't eat until 10 pm that night when I got to Aunty Maureen's. Even then, the bus driver said I would be the last one he would drop off and that would be an extra hour and half or so, so I gave him Aunty Maureen's number and they dropped me off by ...

... mensen die een 15Pk kochten. Een erg populair motortje want alle taxiboten zijn er mee uitgerust. Men verkoopt hier uitsluitend tweetakt en de prijzen zijn redelijk laag. "Daar is de baby", riep de verkoper toen hij het ding over de toonbank tilde! "Ik ben blij dat ik die er niet uit heb hoeven persen" floept Syl er spontaan uit. Hilariteit alom. Lachen kunnen ze, die Suri´s. Ook de kortegolfradio was nog een probleem aan boord. Bij een heuse Kenwood dealer bespreken we ...

... where I was nearly arrested/fined for accidently straying into the gardens of). However after three days here, travel weariness was definitely beginning to set in, and money was again beginning to run out, so I got up early to catch the bus to the Maroon river that separates Suriname from French Guyana - the final 'country' for me to tick off in South America. A milestone I had finally and somewhat wearily achieved.

... Our bus driver was helpful in arranging a boat to Galibi for us which included a camp, although this took awhile. Galibi commonly host tourists as it is the place where Sea Turtles nest. This is not turtle season though, they start in February with the height of the season being when the leatherbacks arrive in June - August. Galibi is a protected game reserve for the turtles. The boat trip up river is about 1 1/2 hours. Galibi is situated at the mouth of the Marijowena ...

... also the baseball caps. Saturday morning began with a canon salute of 30 blasts at 6 a.m. followed by a parade at 9 a.m. A seemingly endless array of various military regiments, cadets, youth organizations and what have you. I did hear that some of the neighbouring countries also had troops in the parade. I think French Guyana, Guyana and Venesualia, which might account for the endless numbers. There was, of course music and the Surinamese anthem. Our ...

... much lower than reality. There is a campaign to set up and promote more effective testing and when that begins to take effect and more people are identified as positive, SNMP, the ASO whose focus is support and services for "people living with" is likely to increase dramatically. Currently they don't have the skills or capacity to respond to this probability. At the national level they are aware the ASO's need to become more professional. The good news is that there does ...

... They men always ask, do you have a man? You need a man? I will be your man? This to Brenda and I too. This is done with laughter and banter, but their curiosity is evident and the expectation that you need a man and have to have one is evident. The women have questioned Dara about this and she has told them that she won't take a man who has a woman. They are relieved. This also doesn't leave her much choice, of course as anyone over about 18 will have a woman. The children ...