Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Virtually Yours - Day 6 - Paramaribo, Suriname

Blogging Challenge - Day 6 - Paramaribo, Suriname

August 6th A direct flight from Georgetown to Paramaribo would get us across the border in an hour’s time. So to maximize our time there we’re leaving at 9am no snoozing ladies and gents on this adventure.
We’re ditching our stuff at the hotel and we’re off.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294082-d1218711-Reviews-Courtyard_Para...
And we’re off for a day of walking, so dress comfortably.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294082-d2233127-Reviews-Saint_Pet...
This is a real breathtaking place, this Roman Catholic (Cathedral until 2014) now Basilique of Paramaribo, known as the 'biggest and tallest wooden structure of South America. Look for the dress code and the openings hours.
A tour guide will meet us here
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail?product=20632P1&d=447474...

Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, featuring numerous wooden buildings of unique architecture and a variety of hospitable ethnic groups, living together in harmony. First the guide will take you on a bus ride along the most prominent historic locations in the city center and then he will take you to visit other hot spots in different suburbs.
What to Expect: Our guide will pick you up by bus and our tour will past the most important monumental buildings and streets of the city. You will see the Presidential Palace, the Museum Fort Zeelandia and the Corner House.
We’ll have time to watch the dolphins play on this lovely river cruise before have a late night dinner.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294082-d4740690-Reviews-Commewijn...
We were on Suriname river for a while and then moved toward the Commewijne River where we saw quite a lot of dolphins
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294082-d2213863-Reviews-Garden_of...
Its Asian cuisine with lots of vegetarian options for those who prefer veggies.
Sweet dreams, we’re off to our next country in the morning. Everything I read about reaching French Guiana from Suriname involves a lot hassle from taxi rides with passes to the border, then a boat ride to Cayenne and more passes required. This tour guide isn’t going to fuss with all this, so we’re moving on to Brazil. Sorry, only 12 countries.

Journal:
A 9 am flight takes us directly to Paramaribo, Suriname. It has Dutch roots and seems cleaner than the other two countries we have visited so far. We drop our stuff off at the hotel - another lovely place. You can see the ocean from it, just like in Georgetown, but it seems to call to me. I may just have to venture out there at some point. We are only here for this one day. Lyn's a sly fox told us we would only be here a day and then off to Brazil, apparently the connections to French Guiana are horrific so we will be skipping that country. That is fine - 12 countries has a less superstitious ring to it than 13. Just saying.

I got my walking shoes on and my comfortable gear and I am ready to go. We head for another church - Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral. It is another gorgeous wooden structure... even more beautiful than the one in Georgetown, but then again, it is not under renovations. Being that it is Sunday, several of us sit in on a service. I may not understand a word, but the reverence is there and that is what counts.

Our tour guide, Bernie, meets us there and we set off to see the sights. The wooden buildings of unique architecture are numerous and I am happy to be surrounded by a variety of hospitable ethnic groups, living together in harmony. That is what I like. Friendly smiles and helpfulness all around. We went to the prominent historic locations in the city center first. He told us much of the history of the area. He also took us to a bunch of other hot spots in the area. I was quite impressed.

We did manage to stop off for a bite to eat at the Tasty Sandwich and Coffee Bar. I was in need of some serious coffee and I am sure Lyn was as well. Although the place had a timeless vintage look that I loved, we took our lunches to go as we had much to see in such a short visit to this city.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g294082-d11759589-Reviews-Sandwich_...

Then it was on to a river cruise where dolphins could be seen frolicking in the muddy waters. It was lush and quiet, really nice after the bustling city tour. This is a lovely way to spend a Sunday. There were two rivers - the Suriname river and the Commewijne River.

Dinner was to be later at a thai restaurant and I get a little nervous with my peanut allergy and Thai food, so I opted to take a more South American route and went to the Mighty Racks for some delectable ribs and fabulous cassava fries. The food was amazing. I managed to convince a few of the heartier meat lovers to come along with me so I was in good company.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g294082-d9710818-Reviews-Mighty_Rac...

I ate so much that I was glad for the walk back to the hotel. I convinced the group to venture down the beach for awhile before we headed in for the pool. The rest of the group were still out at the Garden of Eden, but I was happy here.

Tomorrow we take off for Brazil.