Destination : SURINAME

Suriname (formerly Dutch Guyana) is a small Republic on the Northeast coast of South America. It borders French Guiana in the east, Brasil in the south, Guyana in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the north, and has an area of 163,265 square kilometres (63,064 square miles). The country contains many rivers and some mountains (highest point 1280 metres). The larger part of the country consists of uncultivated rain forest.The people are a multi-cultural blend and the land has many beautiful natural resources that make it unique. It is not unusual to see monkeys traversing the trees and boa constrictors crossing the various roads that are traveled daily. The Amazonian interior is unspoiled and sparsely inhabited. The official language of Suriname is Dutch. A reasonable number of people also speak English. Surinamese children are taught English in primary school starting in the seventh grade. The lingua franca in Suriname is Sranan Tongo. This is a creole language spoken by almost everyone. Suriname's national anthem is written in Sranan Tongo.

Nearly all 386,372 inhabitants of Suriname (1990 count) live within a 30 km wide coastal region. The capital Paramaribo lies about 20km south of the coast at the west bank of the Suriname river. It has 150,000 inhabitants.

Suriname has a tropical climate, with daily temperatures varying between 23 and 31 Centigrades. The year can be roughly divided in two rain seasons (April-August and November-February) and two dry seasons (February-April and August-November).

Paramaribo, the 17th-century capital, is graced with attractive Dutch, French, Spanish and British colonial architecture. Imposing brick buildings overlook grassy squares and wooden houses crowd narrow streets. Towering palms shade some areas and mangroves still hug the riverside. Mosques and synagogues sit side by side, while Javanese vendors peddle satay and Dutch-speaking Creoles guzzle beer at sidewalk cafés. Central Paramaribo's focus is the Onafhankelijksplein (Unity Square), fronting the Presidential Palace. Immediately behind the palace is the Palmentuin, an attractive park with tall palms inhabited by tropical birds. To the east is Fort Zeelandia, a 17-century riverside fortification used for the detention and torture of political prisoners after the coup of 1980. The main market is found on the riverside boulevard, Waterkrant, and ferries for Meerzog, on the other side of the river, leave from nearby. Suriname is reachable by plane from Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Curacao (Dutch Antilles), Miami (Florida, USA), Port of Spain (Trinidad), Cayenne (French Guiana) and sporadically from some cities in Brasil (e.g. Belem). Reservations for these flights should be made as early as possible since they are quite popular!

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