Suriname

I apparently am not moving at a quick pace. I still have 9 blogs to go. I've gotta pick this up a bit. 

So lets go to the smallest country on the South America mainland: Suriname. It's also the lest populated. Only about half a million people call Suriname home, and half of those live in the capital city of Paramaribo (translates to: the wooden city'). 

Suriname sits on the edge of South America along the Atlantic Ocean, right next door to Guyana. Separated by the Courantyne River, Guyana and Suriname have some similarities. Like Guyana, it is an intoxicated blend of cultures. Paramaribo is arguably the cultural melting pot of South America. 

The Dutch Empire took control of Suriname in 1667, and the Dutch influence can be seen all over the country with the old dutch buildings. But there are also Indigenous South Americans, Chinese, Indonesians and Indians living in Paramaribo. 

The official language of the country is also Dutch, though many people speak Sranan Tongo. That's a mix of African, Portuguese and Dutch that was spoken between slaves and slave owners. 

Slavery ended in Suriname in 1863. Every year they celebrate Keti Koti, a colorful festival to mark the end slavery in  Suriname. Keti Koti translates into 'the chains are cut' in Sranan Tongo. 

Because of it's blend of cultures, Paramaribo is a UNESECO World Heritage Site, and could have easily been our landmark. But, just as diverse as their people, Suriname is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems on planet earth, from otters to ant eaters to jaguars (and hundreds of species of insects, fish and bats)  so you know we went with some animal for our landmark. 

The northern coast of Suriname is one of the best places in the world to view the largest turtle, the marine Leatherback. Leatherbacks are unlike other marine turtles. They do not have proper shells but rather a carapace, which is connected directly to the rest of its body. 

They are the world's largest fastest and  deepest diving marine turtle (at 4,000 feet!). They feed almost solely on jellyfish, and travel further than any other marine turtle, migrating across entire oceans annually for food and to lay their eggs. 

The Galibi Nature Reserve in Suriname is devoted to the conservation of these sea turtles. The reserve is a long stretch of beach where the turtles annually make their nests. It's particularly great for them because the beach is bordered by dense jungle and mangrove. 

In fact, it is a heavily forested country.  Ninety-four percent of Suriname is covered by the Amazon Rainforest. 

Outside of the blend of synagogues and mosques, Indian Roti Shops, Chinese dumpling houses, and Dutch colonial buildings of Paramaribo you'll mostly just find dirt roads and rushing rivers. 

Suriname has no shortage of natural wonders from African life savannahs to the Amazon to the beaches. That means an array of wildlife! They have capybaras (my FAVES!), manatees and Suriname toads- who grow their baby tadpoles in the spongy skin of her back (once they are ready they just pop right out!) 

The boys made their Suriname postcards. 

Calib's featured the Amazon and the cultural melting pot of Paramaribo. 

Peyton's included the letherback turtle. 

And Hayden made a little dutch colonial building. 

Suriname is like its neighbor Guyana, in that it's hard to nail down something from there- because it's such a fusion of cultures. When you can choose from Indian, Chinese, Javanese, or creole finding a recipe gets a little overwhelming. Spoiler alert: I should have chosen better. 

I finally settled on Pastei, a kind of chicken pot pie type of dish brought to Suriname by the Jewish settlers. 

The recipe mentions you can go with a premade crust, so of course I took a little help from the Publix bakery. 

This meal earned one (maybe one and half spoons up). 

And, shockingly it wasn't from Asa. Calib loved this one. I caught him eating leftovers over the stove after dinner. And Peyton said 'I guess I'll give it a spoons up, I didn't mind it). 

I just did not care for this one, though it might have been because I knew what was in it. Pickles? Hardboiled Eggs? and Ketchup? It was just a weird combo, I couldn't get over in my head. It probably didn't help I wasn't hungry at all when we had this one. (Sidenote: Asa and I went to Ford's Garage in Wesley Chapel for lunch for the first time, and it was AWESOME. But, super filling. I didn't eat much the rest of the day.) 

We colored Suriname in bright orange to the north of pink Brazil, and sandwiched between bright blue Guyana and French Guiana (which isn't it's own independent nation, and is a 'department of France' so we colored it in the same color as France). It might be worth noting, until it's independence  in 1975 Suriname was known as Dutch Guiana. 

That's 174 countries down, 22 to go!

Next Up: Mongolia