2010 Trip to Suriname

A few months ago we had all planned a trip to go see my dad down in Suriname and the time finally came to head down there. Since there are no direct flights down there from California, we did the usual and made a one day stop in Miami to see family and friends.

After a short stay, we boarded Caribbean Air , made a short stop in Trinidad and Tobago and were on our way to Paramaribo! Since most of the days seemed to mesh together, I’ll do my best to label what’s going on.

Bakabana for days, a shot of my dad’s truck, strings of crabs for sale on the side of the road, a stop at Paraman for some more bakabana, soato soup and of course, Fernandes soda, a stop at the Bergendal resort, the dam at Brokopondo and a stop at Overbridge.

Wonderfully delicious pastries from Torarica’s bakery, Collin being Collin and roaming around Blauwgrond.

Happy birthday dinner with almost forty family members.

Since all of downtown is closed on Sunday we figured we’d make the most of the off day to wander around and take pictures. Two of my dad’s stores, Kim posting up, Neveh Shalom Synagogue and the Mosque Keizerstraat (the only place in the world where the two are next to each other,) some randomness, Collin once again being Collin and hands down, the best Roti / curry chicken on the planet from Roopram’s Roti.

These are pictures from our drive across the Suriname River to Commewijne. First up was our stop at Nieuw Amsterdam where the Suriname River and the Commewijne River meet and lead out to the Atlantic Ocean. After some driving around we ended up at this incredibly eerie and abandoned sugar cane factory at Mariënburg. While driving around we were approached by this man that gives tours of the place so we took him up on his offer and he showed us around. Not that I’ve been to a lot of really creepy places, but the chances of me hanging out around here when the sun goes down are slim to none… closer to none.

This group of pictures is from our trip to the market; after watching I don’t know how many episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, the market was one place I definitely wanted to visit.

Fernandes soft serve and some shaved ice from a local street vendor, yes please.

The day before we left, my uncle Marlon and his kids Johnathan and Jamie (and her husband Chris) rented a boat and took us out on the Surname River to go see dolphins. While we were out on the water, we decided to stop at Braamspunt (where the Suriname River becomes the Atlantic Ocean) to wander around and take some pictures. After about half an hour, we jumped back in the boat and went on a dolphin watching spree. Dolphin! Another! More Dolphins! We might have seen close to a hundred dolphins, some as close as fifteen to twenty feet away.

On the way out of the city we tried to do some last minute “gift” shopping and ended up leaving with what could possibly be the raddest hat on the planet. Hundred dollar bills. A Yankee Logo. Yes and yes! Of course this was the ugliest hat ever made but you know I had to buy it and make everyone wear it.