Suriname: Paramaribo

On our way down to Brazil we originally had ambitions of bagging all three Guianas: Guyana(former British), Suriname(Dutch), and French Guiana (still a French Department). Guyana, next door to Venezuela, is not too stable currently. French Guiana does not have too many flights. Suriname looks the best, except the visas cost us a whopping $116.

We are happy to be in Suriname, and are walking across the airport tarmac towards the immigration formalities.


This is a country with less than 700,000 in population. Having invested the visa fee, we thought to give ourselves a week instead of 3-4 days, maybe we'd go on an eco/adventure tour - we spent a considerable amount of time investigating. A couple of hours walking around in the sun (it's dry season here and the sun is directly_overhead-at-noon a mere 2 degrees to the south), we gave up that idea as well - we didn't want to be overheated and underwhelmed (we were super satisfied with all the wildlife we saw in Panama). So, our entire three Guianas program was reduced to Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname.

Paramaribo turned out to be rather interesting. The Dutch colonial center is UNESCO listed and consists of a few hundred buildings in various states of repair or disrepair, a lot of wood construction, many public buildings, such as forts, churches, hospital, administration buildings, schools, in addition to residential buildings. Quite an extended empire!

Video view to Paramaribo from the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge while crossing the Suriname River.


The opposite river bank as seen from the Wijdenbosch Bridge.


Interior and Exterior of the wooden Saint-Peter-and-Paul Basilica.






The late 18th-century home of the Samson Sisters.


There are several striking Modern 20th-century buildings in Paramribo designed by the architect P.J. Nagel: Central Post Office, EBS building, and DSB building below.






One morning we strolled over to the Tropical Plant Market with its tranquil pond and un-hurried shoppers.




During the Colonial period there were 200 plantations growing coffee, sugar, and cotton, imported 200,000-300,000 African slaves (for comparison, this is more than half of the number of Africans that brought to the US), at 1863 emancipation there were only 33,000 slaves, plus maybe another 10,000 escaped slaves (for comparison, 4 million in the US). Just beginning to imagine the brutal conditions makes me shudder. After slavery was abolished, indentured servants were brought to Suriname from India, China, and Indonesia to work on the plantations.

The main mosque is next to the only synagogue.


The Chinese Association Building is nearby.


Today, none of the plantation crops is grown commercially. Most of the plantations lay unproductive. Since the Dutch colonial government claimed all the land in Suriname, most of the land is still owned by the current government. Suriname exports 30 tons of gold (1.4 oz per citizen) from its public owned mines, accounting for 2/3 of total export. Suriname is about the most unequal country in the Americas.

In addition, the country has been going through hyperinflation. Even though their currency lost a lot of value against the dollar, everything still feels overpriced to me, but they cannot really devalue more as they import almost everything - how much can you produce yourself when you have less than 700,000 people. Yet the people are gentle, helpful, and hardworking, many speak English as well as Dutch. Cubanos and new Chinese have arrived to seek their living. The plot is so thick, my head is exploding.

We ate some very tasty mid-morning rotis at Geeta's Shop and Snack before buying some fruits and vegetables at the Central Market. The adjacent fish dock and market was a wonderful photo-op.










Our studio apartment (3rd below) was just a few hundred meters west of the French Embassy. We enjoyed walking down our tree-lined "dirt road" street several times each day.






A McDonald's in city center.


Some typical Dutch Colonial residential buildings.








Historic Fort Zeeland (1st below) and important government buildings surround Independence Square: Ministry of Finance (2nd below), National Assembly (3rd), and the Presidential Palace (4th).

Suriname: Paramaribo Excursions

From Paramaribo, Suriname'd capital, we made a couple excursions on local buses across the Suriname River to the Commewijne district where the old plantations were. Today they are completely uncultivated, some have turned into plots of housing.

One excursion was to New Amsterdam (just as an aside, present day Manhattan was New Amsterdam until the British captured it from the Dutch) at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers (1st a map, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th below). Originally established as a fort to protect the plantations, today the name is much grander than the place. I could hardly discern a village there (5th below).













Another excursion was to the Peperpot Nature Reserve, a plantation turned into secondary forest, with a few long sandy walking trails and a 4-story observation tower. While we saw several species of monkeys, probably hundreds of individuals, we didn't manage to spot any sloths. There were also birds and lizards. Having just come from Panama, I was not too impressed. However, I realized that the old plantations have not been completely abandoned. There must be some logging, grazing, and farming, otherwise the entire Commewijne district would be secondary forest like Peperpot Reserve.















The most memorable part of our Suriname visit was us getting hit by a scooter. We stepped into a crosswalk near our Airbnb. A scooter hit John on his right side, knocking me flat on the ground, the back of my head hitting the pavement. By the time I got up, John was on his knees sprouting blood like a leaky faucet from his right temple. Both of us were soon able to talk and to stand up.

The police came, looked at IDs, and took phone numbers. It looked like the scooter was being impounded into a large box truck, while we were loaded into the back of the police car for a trip to the hospital. At the hospital emergency room they cleaned John up, checked for other injuries, and gave him a couple of stitches. Not too high a price to pay for the lesson - we must be more vigilant when crossing the street.

Panama City

It is an interesting time to be in Panama. In 1903, the present day Panama was separated from Colombia, so the US could establish the Canal Zone colony to build the canal. 1979-1999 saw a transition period reverting the canal zone to Panama, while in 1989 US invaded Panama to depose the no-longer-compliant ruler Noriega. In 2025 President Trump is renewing old aspirations of the American empire.

For the time being there is no US military presence in Panama. Curiously enough we came across Smithsonian Panama quite a few times - the only Smithsonian mission abroad. At the risk of sounding harsh, I find Panama City lacking in charm. The city has terrible traffic congestion and is rather pedestrian unfriendly, even the old quarter, Casco Viejo, newly refurbished, seemed rather soulless. After some looking around on the internet I came across a list with Panama being #10 of the most unequal (highest Gini coefficient) countries, it finally dawned on me - I am never impressed by an urban forest of tall buildings, I cannot overlook the plight of the poorest citizens.

Between rain and heat, we did have a few highlights. [At the end of the post there are some short wildlife videos.]

• Metropolitan Natural Park: we finally saw two sloths, with the help of park rangers. These sloths were actually rather active - grooming themselves, climbing around - John: they are 10 times more active than koalas. Since we were late to get going, we didn't see that many birds; but there was a hummingbird that hung around some ginger plants for a few minutes. And from a viewpoint there was an awesome view of the modern city skyline.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Amador Causeway: built with rocks excavated for the canal, connects a few small islands to Panama City, forming a breakwater at the entrance of the Canal. Even though no ships passed by when we were walking, I loved the very scenic walk; it was overcast and comfortable. The causeway is also the home of the Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry, with its colorful rectangular roofs that evoke shipping containers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Public transport: Panama City is the only Central American city that has a metro system, with two lines operational, and more under construction and planning. The city also has an extensive bus system and all routes are searchable on Google Maps.
  
  
  
  
  
  

We are looking forward to coming back to Panama to "catch" more wildlife; maybe more ships for John.

The Taiwanese-style restaurant El Jardin Vegetarian (80 cents a portion) was a 7-minute walk from our apartment. We ate there more than twice.




On the way from Gamboa to Panama City our transport van driver stopped at the Pedro Miguel Locks so we could hop out and watch. Boy was John surprised to see 2 guys in a rowboat hook the towing lines from the mule to the ship.






View EAST from our apartment.


A few shots of Casco Viejo (Old City). First the Loteria National Building.


American Trade Hotel


Iglesia de La Merced


Instagramers at Plaza de la Independencia


The Cathedral.


The old tram line tracks.




Monument to Simón Bolívar (L) and the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi and Belltower (R)


View, in the rain, from the Old City across the water to the new, modern city.


As we were leaving Casco Viejo we stopped in a small Chinese-run resto and the nice lady made a vegetarian plate for us: Arepa, Plantains, Yuccas, Lentils, Potato, Tostones.




Balboa Pale Lager is pretty good!


Short wildlife videos.