After a few drinks at Georgetown, Guyana’s Hibiscus Restaurant & Lounge across the street from our guesthouse, the group turned in at around 1am in preparation for a 4am, 4-5 hour bus ride to the Monroe Creek border between Guyana and Suriname. The goal was to get there before the 11am ferry leaving for Suriname.

 

Arriving at the border town between Guyana and Suriname

 

The whole process requires a lot of patience. We first waited in line to get our passport verified so we could purchase a ferry ticket ($15 USD) to Suriname.

 

 

Afterwards we waited for about an hour before they rechecked our passports, stamped us out of Guyana, and made us wait in the departure lounge for another 30-40 minutes.

 

 

Of note, you have to be inside the departure lounge to get on on the ferry or else they’ll make you go back around if you’re hanging outside.

We boarded the ferry after another 20-30 minute wait in the departure lounge.

 

 

 On the ferry we took up the top tier and enjoyed the views.

 

 

 The whole ferry ride takes about 30 minutes.

 

 

After disembarking at the Suriname border city of Nieuw Nickerie, we hurried past the Duty-Free shop and waited one more hour in line to get our passports stamped into Suriname.

 

 

After stamping into Suriname at the office, we boarded one of the many buses waiting outside for the 3 hour ride to the capital city of Paramaribo.

Although we did a lot of waiting today, it was well worth it when we arrived into Paramaribo and started exploring this former Dutch colony.

 

I also did a quick visit to the local hospital here after one of my trip’s co-leaders informed me (still working as an ER doctor even while on vacation) about his ankles being swollen for two days. Luckily, the nearest ER was a 2 minute walk around the corner from our guesthouse (Twenty4 Guesthouse). Even better, we were in and out of the place within 30 minutes, having left with a satisfactory diagnosis and treatment.

Afterwards, we did an evening stroll through Paramaribo.

 

Independence Park with the Presidential Palace

 

We ended up at the Waterkant (waterfront) and enjoyed a Creole dinner outdoors.

 

Creole soup
Pom Casserole and Rice

 

After dinner, we walked along the Waterkant and northwest into town.

 

Night market and bars by the Waterkant

 

Because one of our travelers was celebrating his birthday, we decided to take him out and try his luck at Tropicana Casino.

 

 

Although I was up by a few at the blackjack table with everyone else, they changed dealers who then proceeded to demolish us with a series of 4 consecutive blackjacks. Down and out 50 Surinamese dollars, I licked my wounds and headed back to the guesthouse to rest up after a sleepless 24 hours.

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- At time of posting in Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, it was 24 °C - Humidity: 86% | Wind Speed: 11km/hr | Cloud Cover: rainy

 

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