Saint Laurent and Galibi
…I just noticed I failed to complete last weekend's report.
Saint Laurent is a bordertown of French Guyana, marketed as "the Paris of South America". Lies. There are signs here and there that the place used to be pretty, but this place has been peeling and wearing away for a while. It did have a certain charm to it that you could buy a baguette at the bakery around the corner though. The famous saturday market was nice, but not impressive. There were a lot of kids trying to pawn off cigarettes or god-knows-what (my French is terrible). It was pretty clear that whatever wellfare attributed to this city in the guidebooks, it had left here in a hurry. Ferrymen would run to meet you half a mile away in order to offer their services for the St. Laurent -> Albina trip, and those that waited, offered it while you passed.
On the other side of the water, the trip to Galibi was planned. This village is not reachable by road, by water only. The guide occasionally stopped the boat to explain some plant life or type of bird, and we arrived about one and a half hours later on a small inlet with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Galibi is an ideal outreach for the beaches where Turtles lay their eggs, but I arrived out of season, so the place was understandably deserted. The place was pretty clean for Surinam's standards, though litter on the beach was aplenty. We took up for the night in a resort, and slung hammocks up for the night. Food was arranged for us (brown beans, rice and chicken, a staple dish here) and I hit the sack pretty early.
I got woken up by a stray dog who decided to sniff my face. Good times were had, mostly me screaming himself awake. The dog took this in good stride, decided I was awesome and curled up for a nap under my hammock.
I left in the morning, arrived in Albina around 11:30 and had a quick trip back to Paramaribo with a cousin of my previous taxi driver. When I return to this country, Galibi is definitely on my list of places to stay longer -preferably in the season of Turtle activity.
Saint Laurent
Saint Laurent is a bordertown of French Guyana, marketed as "the Paris of South America". Lies. There are signs here and there that the place used to be pretty, but this place has been peeling and wearing away for a while. It did have a certain charm to it that you could buy a baguette at the bakery around the corner though. The famous saturday market was nice, but not impressive. There were a lot of kids trying to pawn off cigarettes or god-knows-what (my French is terrible). It was pretty clear that whatever wellfare attributed to this city in the guidebooks, it had left here in a hurry. Ferrymen would run to meet you half a mile away in order to offer their services for the St. Laurent -> Albina trip, and those that waited, offered it while you passed.
On the other side of the water, the trip to Galibi was planned. This village is not reachable by road, by water only. The guide occasionally stopped the boat to explain some plant life or type of bird, and we arrived about one and a half hours later on a small inlet with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Galibi is an ideal outreach for the beaches where Turtles lay their eggs, but I arrived out of season, so the place was understandably deserted. The place was pretty clean for Surinam's standards, though litter on the beach was aplenty. We took up for the night in a resort, and slung hammocks up for the night. Food was arranged for us (brown beans, rice and chicken, a staple dish here) and I hit the sack pretty early.
I got woken up by a stray dog who decided to sniff my face. Good times were had, mostly me screaming himself awake. The dog took this in good stride, decided I was awesome and curled up for a nap under my hammock.
I left in the morning, arrived in Albina around 11:30 and had a quick trip back to Paramaribo with a cousin of my previous taxi driver. When I return to this country, Galibi is definitely on my list of places to stay longer -preferably in the season of Turtle activity.
Labels: surinam
posted by Hung Laxley at
7:25 PM
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