Suriname

I should be writing a paper for tomorrow’s class, but I don’t want to. Instead, I choose to blog about this past weekend’s excursion to Suriname. Surinam Airways has direct, 1½ hour flights between Belém and Paramaribo for a reasonable price, so I figured I would check out one of the Guianas while it was relatively cheap and convenient to do so.

I arrived in Paramaribo at the lovely hour of 3:30 AM and took a van into the city, which is located more than 40 km north of the airport. I slept a bit and then explored Paramaribo on Friday. The historic city center is compact and pretty, and most of the older buildings are made from wood. Suriname’s Independence Day is this Friday (Nov. 25th), and many of the public areas were cleaned and spruced up with red, yellow, white, and gold, the colors of Suriname’s flag. I checked out Fort Zeelandia and the Central Markt and then had a very tasty lunch of something called tayerblod, which was like a buttery, overcooked and less bitter njamajama* served with awesome beef spiced with cloves and pepper. For dinner, I had some really good roti, which is an Indian dish that is basically curry (chicken, beef, whatever) served with potatoes and eaten with a dry wheat tortilla.

The Waterkant along the Suriname River in Paramaribo

On Saturday I rented a bicycle and rode around the Commewijne district across the Suriname River from Paramaribo. I was a little disappointed since the area was billed as being an old plantation district, which it was, but instead of plantations I saw fairly modern houses built along the road. Still, it was a nice excursion and let me see more of the country. Lunch was forgettable; dinner was much better and was like a jambalaya. I forget the name of the dish.

On Sunday, I thought about going swimming but decided that the hour bus trip and 6 km walk to get to the river was too much effort. Instead I stayed in Paramaribo and went to an Independence Day festival and had a good plate of rice with delicious pork and less than delicious but still good sweet blood sausage. Dinner was a repeat of roti, but at a different restaurant. My flight left at 5 AM this morning.

Overall, it was a good trip and Suriname was a nice change of pace from Brazil. The ethnic mix of Suriname (blacks, indigenous Americans, and Indians) creates a good variety of food.** I didn’t have a chance to explore the interior, but considering that I just spent several days in the Brazilian Amazon I didn’t feel like I was missing much. There were lots of Dutch tourists in Paramaribo visiting their former colony, and it was a little weird for everyone to assume that I speak Dutch (niet), which is the opposite of here, where people on the street assume I know no Portuguese but understand everything. I’m sneaky that way.

*spinach-esque vegetable, fo people wey no sabi chop fo Cameroon

**Despite Suriname’s varied cuisine, the McDonald’s in Paramaribo was packed on Sunday evening – the line for the drive-thru was 20 cars deep and people were flowing out the lobby doors.