Kaieteur Falls

Try as hard as I can, I can never quite follow TLC's advice.* Occasionally I do go chasing waterfalls.

Since these pictures are worth a thousand of my words, I'll be brief. AT was co-pilot, I got a horrible picture of a beautiful bird, the frogs were so tiny!, the plants were so big!, and yes, there was a waterfall. 

Thank you, Guyana and Kaieteur Falls!***

-KT

*Thankfully, the "no scrubs" policy is still strictly enforced.**

**Oh yes, son, I'm talkin' to you.

***For those who like actual information: it was an hour plane ride away over densely unpopulated rainforest and it's the world's largest single drop waterfall. Take that, Niagra!!

A Tale of Two Cities

We have continued our way west through the Guyanas and spent a few days in Paramaribo, Suriname, and Georgetown, Guyana. Both countries are now independent but were originally settled by Europeans- Suriname by the Dutch and Guyana by the British. Culturally, both countries identify with the Caribbean though they are part of South America. The people reflect the Amerindians that first lived there, the Europeans that came to settle, the slaves that were brought from Africa, and the Asians that were brought as indentured servants. There is a lot of world in these two countries. 

Though the geography of Suriname and Guyana is similar, the two capital cities reflect the way they were colonized. Paramaribo is a UNESCO world heritage site for its original Dutch buildings that still remain. 

The inner city is centered around Fort Zeelandia* that now houses a museum about the history of Suriname.** 

The city prides itself on being a melting pot of cultures and religions. Here is the St. Peter and Paul cathedral down the street from a mosque. Not pictured is the neighboring synagogue. 

We had dinner that evening at the most beautiful Thai restaurant outside of Thailand!

 

Following Paramaribo we were on to Georgetown, a plane hop away.*** Georgetown's British settlers preferred plantation-style architecture. Thanks to stronger building materials****, the original buildings are more intact here than in Paramaribo. Many are still in use as government homes and offices. 

The church to visit here is St. George's Cathedral. It is one of the tallest wooden structures in the world and dates back to 1894. 

We also learned that Guyana is known as the "Land of Giants" because things are bigger here.***** This was certainly true with their lily pads and sloth fossils. 

Any remaining time we had was spent looking at flowers and looking at each other looking at flowers. Like ya do. 

Tomorrow: A waterfall!!

-KT

*Another day, another fort. 

**We think. It was all in Dutch. 

***Time travel was real on a 45-minute flight and an hour time change. We landed 15 minutes before we left!

****And probably British fastidiousness

*****Fortunately, Texas still holds the claim on things being bigger AND better. Just ask yours truly. 

French Guiana

If life is really about the journey and not the destination, simply arriving at places builds very little character. To help us grow as people, AT and I ventured this spring break to French Guiana during a nationwide strike. 

The trip began with some stress because until two hours before we left, we didn't have passports. They had been sent a month prior for a necessary visa to Suriname and arrived right before AT got on a flight to Miami. Our reunion in Miami was genuinely heartfelt.*

When we left Miami for Cayenne, French Guiana, we were told we wouldn't make it that day due to strikes in Cayenne. French Guiana is a territory under French rule. The people are protesting for more monetary support and political power from the mainland and have timed their strike with the upcoming French election.** The lovely Air France employee told us we would spend the night in Guadeloupe and get to Cayenne the next day. She laughed when we asked if it was safe to go there still. We were still in Miami but she was very French. 

  

No bigs, right? A night in Guadeloupe*** courtesy of Air France and a day at the beach. We have experienced worse fates. The beach was everything you could ever want and the hotel was the opposite. No one was harmed by coconuts. 

We did fly to Cayenne the next day and arrived with no problems. We were one of 7 passengers on the first leg of the trip and the second leg was filled with mainland French folks who were also delayed in getting to Cayenne.

Once landed we got ourselves to our hotel through one strike-imposed roadblock. The strike was super calm and peaceful. It looked more like people hanging out at a block party than a coup. There was the occasional tractor in a rotary but, really, what party is complete without a tractor?****

The country was basically a ghost town with businesses shut down. There was hardly anyone on the roads or even out and about the entire time we were there. From what we did see, it looked like France was displaced into a South American jungle. It was clean, everyone we met and talked to was very nice and couldn't believe we spoke no French, and rainforest was everywhere. 

 

Most of our itinerary was canceled,***** but we did day trip to a set of islands, Iles du Salut, off the coast. It was an hour boat ride to Royal Island that overlooks Devil's Island. Devil's Island was home to the prison camp popularized by the book and film "Papillon."****** You can not go to Devil's Island but you can go to the island that overlooks it where they housed other prison facilities. Now it is open for people to camp, several of the buildings have been converted to a hotel, and you can dine with various wildlife. 

 

 

For our final French Guiana excursion, we had to leave. The plan had always been to drive to the border and take a boat across the river to Suriname, but the strike called everything into question. In the end, it was a go with only a few literal roadblocks. Our driver sweet talked one guy and solidarity fisted the others and we got through. 

Once we got to the river, France ended and the third-world South America/Caribbean began. We hopped a boat and were ferried away to Suriname where things are just as jungly and far less French. 

We are exploring Paramaribo for the next day before we go on to Guyana. C'est bon!

*The reunion of me with my passport, of course. It was also great to see AT. She's got a great hair color going on. 

**Just call Putin, amirite???

***POINT

****Hi Kyle!

*****We did not go to the space center where I had planned to reenact every Houston field trip ever where I pretended to be way more interested than I really was. 

******SPOILER ALERT: he escapes.