Sue's Travels: Paramaribo, Suriname

I left the ship at about 8:30 for the tour of Paramaribo, Suriname. Our first stop was the Hindu Temple. About 35% of the population is Hindu from India. Paramaribo is a relatively small city with a population of about ¼ Million. The population of all of Suriname is about ½ Million. Our guide was Hindu and he emphasized that in Suriname respect for diversity is emphasized. Our next stop was a local market which sold fruits and vegetables. The purpose of the stop was to show the diversity of this type of product available in the markets here. I bought a grater, which the local people use for manioc, but I intend to use for potatoes. The next stop was the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul. It is the tallest wooden structure in the western hemisphere. We couldn’t go inside because it is currently under repair. The termites finally got to it. The next stop was the Palm gardens which used to be the backyard of the governor’s palace. We walked over to the fort originally built by the British, but taken by the Dutch. It is currently called Fort Zeelandia. The Fort was constructed with brick brought over from the Netherlands as ballast in ships.

We walked through Independence Square where most of the government buildings are located. Our next stop was the mosque. It is quite ornate on the outside, but the inside is quite plain. Apparently it is not the only Mosque in Paramaribo. There is at least one other that is more “orthodox” in that woman are not permitted inside. Right next door is the Synagogue which is a relatively, plain white building on the outside, but ornate on the inside. They have a Mikva which is no longer used. The community has shrunk to about 110 people. Apparently the children leave for better opportunities particularly in the Netherlands. They have a Friday night service with a dinner, where each individual brings a dish. The ladies who spoke with us spoke excellent English and the Zducka box was in a prominent position. Lunch was at a buffet restaurant and the food was good. They had also brought in someone to sell souvenirs. We returned to the ship by 3:00 PM in time for a short nap!

The exercise class was cancelled so I walked around the deck about 10 times and then went back to my cabin for a shower. The pilot arrived late so the ship was unable to depart at 5:00 PM as scheduled. I then went up on deck and waited, but when the pilot still did not arrive, I headed into the cocktail lounge for tea. The pilot finally arrived. I went up to the fifth deck to watch as we left port and sailed down the Suriname River to sea. At 6:30PM, Ed spoke about Guyana, which in an Amerindian language means “Land of Many Rivers”, which is a valid description of this area of South America. British Guyana is the largest of the three Guyanas and its principal exports are sugar, rice and palm oil. It does export some bauxite, but not as much as Suriname. There is the potential of a large oil deposit off the coast, but there have been some border disputes which has held up the drilling. Guyana’s current population is split almost evenly between East Indians and Africans, which has prevented progress. In Suriname no ethnic/racial group has any control. 200 Guyanese currency is equal to one dollar.