THE VOLTZBERG
Again, once Mum and Dad heard about a super exclusive bush tour, they were like, WE’RE GOING, CHOP, CHOP!
Basically, it's a big rock in the middle of nowhere.
To put you into perspective:
First: a five-hour car ride (with no SPACE)
Second: a four-hour boat ride (with no SHADE)
Third: bam, you’re there
Sure, the boat ride was pretty, but the car ride was not. Nope. It was a dusty road.
But it was worth the boringness because the Voltzberg was pretty cool.
Also - there was a couple that was on the same trip as us, who visited us in St Martin in November, Leo and Larissa.
First off, there were squirrel monkeys that frequented the area. Actually, in the local language, squirrel monkeys are called Monkee Monkee. Anyway, we fed them bananas, which was fun.
But the main reason we when into the middle of nowhere: the Voltzberg itself.
It was a four-hour walk each way, and we had a major close call.
We were two hours in, and suddenly Mum yelled “SNAKE!”
And there was a snake. It was very VERY well camouflaged and small, and it was hissing.
The guide had stepped over it completely, and Colette, who was second, who drags her feet, was INCREDIBLY lucky. She would’ve put her feet within a centimetre away. Mum would’ve 100% been bitten, but she saw it.
Later, we confirmed it to be the hyper-poisonous snake, the Bushmaster.
The last push was a hard one - up.
It was sunny and it was stony and it was steep.
I also had an almost close call, when I heard my steps echoing in the ground. Mum pulled me right off that hollow area before I could blink.
The top was breezy and had a great view. There were plaques commemorating the first white people who climbed the top. There was a plaque about a local mayor or a prime minister of sorts up there too, so that was cool.
There was also a fairly large cairn up there we added a stone to.
Other things that happened:
A tree fell down and almost hit the house while Mum and I were inside.
We didn't realise there were piranhas until the very end.
AND NOW....
Now for the things that happened in Suriname that I can't remember when they happened.
BUTTERFLY AND TORTOISE SANCTUARY
This was good.
We learnt more about tortoises than butterflies, but that's okay, they're only butterflies.
You can tell the different genders of the tortoises by the shape of their shell!
We got to pick some up - the ones that were a bit too small, or a bit too... I don't know, but they were deemed 'bad'. For some reason.
We also went inside their butterfly... areas, I guess you'd call it, and wow, there were a lot of them.
BLENJAMIN RIP-EAR SHORT-TAIL (BLENJI)
There was this adorable stray we called Blenjamin Rip-ear Short-tail.
Our reasoning why:
Blenjamin: yes, the L is there on purpose. Came from 'Blend' cos he looked like Lottie and Bentley and Badger combined, and Blenjamin is the closest thing we could think of.
Rip-Ear and Short-Tail are far less creative - he had a ripped ear and a short tail.
NOT IMPORTANT, BUT THE ACCOMODATION DESERVES A SHOUT OUT, BECAUSE THEY WERE NICE
They were nice, yeah. We witnessed an iguana launching itself of the trampoline while Colette and the kid that lived downstairs were on it.
There was one annoying thing, where there were ants in my bed (no, I'm not joking) and we had to pesticide the whole area and sleep on the floor.
All in all, they're very nice people!
FACTS ABOUT SURINAME
The ATMs don't work at the end of the month
There's a fort called Fort Zealandia (which was where this picture was taken)
School is only mandatory until you're 12
the roads are made of bauxite which the government has admitted is cancerous, and they've made asphalt roads near settlements
They're football addicts
The HQ for CariCom is in Suriname
Spice is apparently not a thing in Suriname.
*mic drop*
- Tu Meke OUT