Suriname > A mist of orange dust

Today we once again leave our main luggage in the hotel room and set off for one night with only limited baggage. Today and tomorrow we are taking a trip to Brownsberg. We leave Paramaribo heading south at eight o’clock. We make a short stop at the Clarence Seedorf Stadium. Seedorf had this stadium built near his parents’ house to promote football in Suriname. He probably also practices penalty kicks here. A little further on, we pass the Suralco factory. Here, the asphalt ends and the road turns into a kind of gravel, a byproduct of bauxite. The gravel kicks up dust, so we quickly close all the windows. Despite this, dust still seeps through the gaps, and soon everything is coated in orange. Along the way, we pass many trucks heading to the factory. After a truck passes, we drive through a haze of orange dust. The driver skillfully maneuvers the bus around the many potholes in the road. After two hours of bouncing and jolting over the unpaved road, we arrive at the top of Brownsberg in the nature park. It is now half past eleven. Our cabin offers a beautiful view of the Brokopondo Lake, a large reservoir the size of the province of Utrecht.

Suriname - The red bauxite road through the jungle

We first walk to a viewpoint. Glyde, our guide at Brownsberg, explains the local flora and fauna. On the way back, we see a large group of monkeys moving through the treetops right near our cabin. At the restaurant, we have lunch with rice, beans, a type of spinach, and other local dishes. The so-called “cat hair” looked like a kind of potato but didn’t taste like one—rather dry and not very tasty. In the afternoon, we take a walk through the nature park to the Irene Waterfall. The waterfall lies 400 meters below, and the trail leading to it is sometimes quite steep, which promises to be challenging on the way back. We walk past magnificent towering trees with huge root structures. The only downside is the many biting flies that insist on accompanying us, especially attracted to dark clothing. At the waterfall, we refill our water bottles, which we will need for the return climb. The climb back is quite demanding, but we steadily ascend the steps. By around six o’clock, everyone is back at the top, well before dark. In the meantime, the cabin has been cleaned. Everyone chooses a sleeping spot in one of the rooms. In the evening, we have a kind of stuffed soup with quite a bit of salt. After dinner, we sit on the veranda until bedtime.