Paramaribo, Suriname

DUTCH GUYANA
We arrived in Paramaribo in the pouring rain late on a Sunday afternoon after an afternoon spent in a minivan from the border at Nieuw Nickerie. Conveniently the driver deposited us at our hotel - a Courtyard Marriott standing like an oasis beside the Suriname River. I used my Marriott points for our stay and we ended up in a great room with a big balcony overlooking the river. Paramaribo, also called Parbo, was much bigger than I expected. I had anticipating walking around the place easily but it sprawls out along the river and just keeps going and going.

We spent a day in and around Paramaribo wandering the streets and taking in the atmosphere but it was Independence Day in Suriname and many shops were closed. Lot's of Dutch tourists were all around us but English was spoken where we needed it. One of the highlights in Suriname is the strange sight of a mosque next to a synagogue. When we finally found it, we were was surprised to be invited into the mosque by the caretaker to take a look around.

Mosque beside a Synagogue - apparently the only instance in the world

Paramaribo

ROAD TRIP TO FRENCH GUIANA
The following day, November 26th, we needed to get across the border into French Guiana and eventually to Kourou or Cayenne. We had the option of taking a bus but by chance we stumbled across a taxi driver, Arno, who offered to take us all the way to the border at Albina, straight away, for  €70. I think ht bargaining started a bit higher but we thought it was a good idea and was going to save us a bit of time.

Roti & Parbo in the taxi to Albina

Taking Arno up on his offer was to be one of the best decisions of the trip. Painful at times but certainly noteworthy on many fronts. As we left town he pulled into a roti shop, called The Roti Shop, and got lunch and a few Parbo beers for the car. Arno smoked a spliff as we got further away from the capital and the roads quickly became awful, although there is a staggering amount of road work being done so in a few years this road will be excellent. There are speed bumps in every town but as we neared the bauxite mining town of  Moengo we took a detour on to a clay road riddled with pot holes. Arno picked up a random girl in Moengo and hit on her for the next 20 minutes before dropping her at her grandmothers house. Albina is a nothing town with zero charm and certainly isn't a place you want to spend a night. We took Arno's phone number on the off chance that we would use him again (we would). The border crossing was super fast - there was no line and as soon as we got to the pier a pierogi driver offered us a ride across the river for SRD30 so we took it.

Crossing to French Guiana via pierogi

It was one of the easier border crossings I've experienced and quite interesting too. The pierogi's are everywhere and are a much quicker option than the car ferry. But once we got into French Guiana we made a decision that we were to later regret. We ditched the plan to rent a car and instead took a minivan for €50 to Kourou.

Shortly after a toilet stop, where we also stocked up on beer, we were stopped by the Gendarme for a passport check. When they realized we were from New Zealand the conversation quickly turned to rugby, then to self depreciating humour and finally to a selfie.

The minivan dropped us at the hotel of our choice - Hotel Le Gros Bec - but the reception was closed so we went walking around the town, found an excellent African artifact store and bought a mask. The room at the hotel was a real treat - a spacious room with a mezzanine bedroom for €72 a night.