MOOCHING IN PARAMARIBO

Having organised with our hotel to get to Albina (the far east border-town with French Guiana) on Thursday (turns out the receptionist's cousin drives a taxi (of course!) so we're sorted), we wander the waterfront in search of late breakfast

 

reaching Fort Zeelandia.  

 The earliest structure was built in 1640 by the French, but taken by the British who renamed it Fort Willoughby.  The Dutch took Paramaribo and, with it the fort, in 1667.  

 

You can see the bcridge across the river whcih we'll cross to go eastwards

It contains a museum with intereasting artefacts

and a cafe, though it's better known for seeing the murders in December 1982, of 15 prominent young Surinamese men (lawyers, teachers, journalsts) who had criticized the ruling military dictatorship.

 

Onward and through the Palmentuin, a garden of royal palms, commissioned by the governor of Suriname in late 1600s.  It was apparently planted for his late wife and then he  opened it to the public in 1685, but this came to an end when he was murdered in 1688 by a group of mutinying soldiers. 

UNESCO gave US$150K in 2009 to renovate the palm garden (though unfortunately, during the refurbishment works, a rotten crown fell out of a palm tree, killing a causing a Dutch worker - apparently it's now carefully managed!).  It was being prepared for a festival, probably Maroons’ day on Wednesday

Last bit of wandering before D peruses the Waterkant stalls for some supper, returning with some excellent-looking fish and chicken with rice, served with plantain, some samphire(?) and fiery hot sauce.  A few of our fellow guests pass us with admiring comments (amazing what a low bar they've set on food expectations)