So I ended the last post in Saint Laurent, French Guiana. It’s on the Maroni River, which I had to cross to Albina, Suriname.

Just for interest. French Guiana and Suriname only have about 500 km of paved roads each. The interior is all jungle connected to northern Brazil.

I had travelled by minibus from Cayenne to Saint-Laurent. One of those ‘leave when it’s full’ type, no schedule, buses. €40 for 3.5 hours.

My plan was two nights in Saint-Laurent, at a hotel with a pool. But it wasn’t a good plan in the pouring rain. And the hotel was a long walk on muddy roads to the few sites in town.

So I contacted the next person who could take me from Albina to Paramaribo, and arranged a pickup at the Albina Immigration office.

The driver said I had to be in Albina by 08:00 so I was up early because I had to clear immigration on both sides, then managed to get a taxi to the dock (I think it was the reception clerk’s husband).

It was all a bit crazy because immigration and the small boats that cross aren’t at the same place on either side.

I was lucky to catch a car ferry because my taxi driver had disappeared!

Needed to show my visa snd proof of Yellow Fever vaccination.

But I made it in time to meet my driver. Then it was more waiting around so we can could find more passengers. But I knew I had a front-seat ride for the 2.5 hours to Paramaribo!

Waiting at the dock watching all the little boats I should have been on. A steady stream doing the 10 minute crossing for €5. There was a swarm of them surrounding new vehicles and looking for takers for their boats.

Then a nice drive, talking with a woman from Suriname. Though the official language is Dutch, her English was excellent because it is taught in school and they find it beneficial to know.

60% of the population speak Dutch as a native language. But there is also a huge population of Hindu, Muslim, Chinese, and everything else.

They are very proud of their ‘melting pot’.

They actually had a national holiday for Lunar New Year.

And everyone was so friendly that I felt very welcome. They would say good morning in Dutch, and when I replied in English, they would easily switch. Amazing how multilingual they are!

But I was still cautioned against wandering around after dark.

The rain continued every day. Not consistent, more cycling sun, rain, cloud. Temperatures were about 28, with little night cooling. Humidity averages 89% so sweating is futile.

And I’ve learned to walk carefully because the silt washed out on the sidewalk is very slippery – one wipeout and several dances later.

We stopped at a fruit stand. The driver bought caimito (star apple) which looked difficult to eat with all the seeds.

Jack fruit.

Paramaribo, or ‘Parbo’ is the capital where half the population of Suriname live. Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America and has the smallest population. And is the most forested country.

Onafhankelijkheidsplein (Independence Square) had the Presidential Palace on one side, and Henck Arronstraat (street) leads to the UNESCO centre.

Historical Building of the Ministry of France

Statue of Johan Adolf Pengal, influential politician and prime minister from 1963-1969. Under his government, the infrastructure was strongly improved. The airport is also named after him.

Notice anything unusual? They drive on the left side of the road. Netherlands is right, but they adopted the same as Guyana (country to the west). French Guiana was right.

It just means whiplash looking right, left, right before crossing the street!

Sunday is like most of the South American towns – deserted streets and businesses closed. It’s great for photos though!

If there are Dutch around, you will find black licorice.

Fort Zeelandia, 18th century.

A wonderful collection of places of worship.

Saint Peter & Paul Cathedral-Basilica (1885) is the largest wooden structure in the western hemisphere.

Centrumkerk (1810) Dutch Reformed Church

Mosque Keizerstraat

Neveh Shalom Synagogue (1716)

Chinese temple

There was also several mosques and many more churches.

A mix of old and new, big and small.

Sign of restoration to come.

Post office with banks of letter boxes.

Palmentuin, a palm forest right in town.

And the feeling the jungle wasn’t far away.

A bit of colour in a white town.

Chinese Sunday Market.

Sunday Flea Market

A whole street of jewellery stores.

For the person who worships God and Mercedes.

Did I mention rain?

Disappearing sidewalks.

My hotel

Art gallery

Great kisadee

Banana fritter with spicy peanut sauce. It was good! And not surprising to find as they share a Dutch history with Indonesia.

Pom was supposed to be a national dish, a casserole of cassava. Not mush on a bun!

The chicken, long beans, spiced potatoes and roti were much better!

And maybe because I could see Burger King from my room, I had to indulge my craving for fries!

Marron market with jungle native medicine.

And now it’s the end of my five days here. I walked the streets and enjoyed having few plans.

Now it’s on to Panama City for six days and Mexico City for two days before heading to Vancouver.

Only one more post this trip!