Suriname vacation, a complex fusion of cultures in South America

Paramaribo is the country's capital city, located along the Surname river in the north of the country. It is very clear to see the countries past history, as there is a mixture of modern buildings, Dutch colonial buildings as well as many abandoned wooden shacks. You can really see the influence of different cultures combining together in this city. 

One of the most memorable sites is the city buses; these mini buses were decorated so vibrantly with amazing stickers and artwork and were all unique, blaring out local music. Suriname also has some great food, although it did take us a while to find some! Due to Suriname's mixed fusion of cultures, including Dutch, African, Japanese and Indian, there are some brilliant food options around the city. 

There is the option to take a boat ride along the river to visit a plantation and hopefully see the pink river dolphins. Unfortunately we did not see the dolphins at this time, but some friends saw them the next day! There are many plantations, e.g. coffee, around Paramaribo many of which are now abandoned, as the country gained independence from Holland in the 70's and stopped working in agriculture. Some plantations however have adapted and become holiday resorts, allowing people to visit and stay in wooden lodges on the grounds of the plantations. 

Overall, I found Paramaribo an interesting city. The people were generally very friendly and helpful, the mixture of food was delicious, and the infrastructure of the city was a complex diverse combination of cultures. That being said, you could see that Suriname is trying to create a name for itself, catering for all ethnicities. 

To get to Brownsberg National Park requires you to either pay for a day tour, which includes a hire of a 4x4 vehicle to get you up the treacherous road and to the top. The road really is one of the worst i have ever seen, any other type of vehicle would not be able to make it to the top! A guide will then take you around the park and to the waterfalls. Or you can hike up the hill, like we did, but it was 13km away and took us around 4 hours, with our backpacks and food etc. Luckily on the last hour we got picked up by the park rangers and they took us to the top. 

Once you are at the top, you can see spectacular views of the jungle as well as the largest reservoir in Suriname, Brokopondo. We stayed in the shelter and walked into the park. There were clear signs for the waterfalls, so they were easy to find. It was also a great opportunity to shower after our long hike! We saw many different animals whilst we were at the park including: giant lizards, small lizards, different species of monkeys, toucans, capybara, toads/frogs, spiders and a crab in the waterfall! Very early in the morning we could hear the Howler monkeys shouting, so you do not need to set an alarm to wake up!

There are many mosquitoes and bitting insects, so make sure you have insect repellent or long clothing.

Ston Eiland was a really pretty location. The reservoir is one of the largest in the world, created by the dutch, consisting of multiple dams to generate electricity. The result of this caused many trees to be submerged and left behind mysterious eerie tree stumps sticking out of the reservoir. There are many islands within the reservoir, covered in jungle, and you can hear the howler monkeys call from them in the morning. 

There is also an option to rent out SUP boards, or kayaks which you can take out round the reservoir, and hopefully you will see caimanes and monkeys, however there are piranhas in the lake, so don't fall in!