Rusty The Traveler

 Early mornings are not too hot in Paramaribo where daytime highs easily go over 100 in dry season, what they call summer, so Rusty and I like to sit out together.

If I pet him too much he gets annoyed and moves away. He is his own self, and knows what he wants. I try to respect his boundaries but I have a hard time keeping my hands off him. 

Rusty’s pose expresses the passage of time in our Paramaribo apartment. We accomplish almost  nothing but slowly Layne regains her strength. The landlord says the pool will get a ladder soon and I hope so as I want to go swimming. I’m hoping we’ll be tourists soon, as soon as Layne can get her strength back, but for now we do a little at a time.

Nothing much to report except a friend is coming to see Layne in two weeks and I will fly to Scotland on the 19th to attend my sister’s wedding and I’m very happy we’ve managed to sort that out. I’d never have gone and left Layne alone at this point. 

Rusty’s hot spots started healing   after just a day on the new medication I got at the vet. No idea what the stuff is but it dried him up immediately and he’s stopped licking the spots. 

It looks ugly but it’s healing. The dark patch is the area we tried to treat in Brazil with less success so I apply the miracle cream there too.

And here’s a picture from San Agustin Colombia last year in that dog friendly country of fond memory where Rusty was welcome in art galleries museums and here at an archeological site:

He’s come a long way. We still have places to go. I can’t wait. 

Baja California 2021:

Baja Ferry:

Webb Chiles overshadowed by himself:

Oaxaca 2023:

Baja 2022:

Panama Airport to Colombia in the cabin: 

Cañon del Pato Peru:

Punta Olimpica Peru 15,700 feet:

The walls of Cartagena Colombia:

First llama encounter Ecuador:

Swiss Wasi beach campground Peru:

Lake Sarmiento Torres Del Paine Chile:

Tolhuin, Tierra Del Fuego Argentina 

Cabo Virgenes Argentina:

Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

At home:

Helping me recover 2018. 

 Thanksgiving 2021 Osceola National Forest, Florida:

Reluctant van lifer 2020:

Florida Keys:

Mexico: 

Waiting

 Going back to the hospital was a pain in the ass but Layne had to check in to get a blood test. First of all we could not find anywhere to park and that’s a first in Paramaribo. The surrounding streets were packed so we drove home and called a taxi on an app Layne found. In a country without credit cards there’s no Uber. I’ll bet you hadn’t thought of that, so a cash economy really is crappy. Well at least bitches gage disadvantages.

The cab driver charged us $9 but the driver got home only charged us $5. So the first guy took advantage of us after we asked if we could call him direct when we needed a cab, which means he’s not too bright. Pieter will be getting our business obviously.

The hospital experience was crap of course, with lots of standing in line. The nurse above started swearing when Layne said she didn’t speak Dutch, the usual garbage, as she took her vitals. The doctor said Suriname is in crisis with people fleeing the country as wages are too low, everyone is tired and even nurses have to hold second jobs. Yet the doctor, a young white woman from the  Netherlands has settled here because she hates the cold but more seriously because she says doctoring is much more interesting and challenging. Suriname is such a conundrum  and I can’t figure it out. I want to like it but it won’t like me back. I think it would be undignified to beg to be liked by an entire country. 

I forgot to tell the parking drama story from last week when I found a spot to park GANNET2 outside the same hospital when I had to pay Layne’s bill, US $3,600 in $12 bills, as the largest bill the country produces is 500 Suriname dollars (US$12).

Anyway I was walking into the hospital when the guy below said I had to move my van. No street parking he said. I looked incredulously down the street and he said they’ll be going soon. He had a police emblem on his shirt so I drove two blocks and parked off the street. 

Take a look, it sounded totally bogus to me, making the foreigner move his van as street parking isn’t allowed on this street:

After I went inside and paid the bill I came out and look what I found:

I watched them pick up the parked cars one by one and I thought to myself the grumpy cop saved me getting towed, so I owed him. Especially when in an alien environment assuming the worst can be stupid and that’s what I did. Lesson learned. Again. 

Malaria Free

 We had a follow up meeting at Suriname’s malaria prevention clinic called BOG where we met the director himself.

As usual Suriname kills diversity with the director, whose name we never learned, who volunteered he’s Indian, speaks Hindi at home, studied in the Netherlands and speaks better German than English. But we communicated through this wildly mixed up culture.

Layne tested malaria free officially after she donated a finger tip of blood and we waited 15 minutes. The director’s assistant, also anonymous, filled us in on dining possibilities when Layne is fully back on her feet. 

Surinamese are intensely proud of their culture and they always encourage you to try eateries. Here I learned Indonesian restaurants are “warangs” and Layne is planning to taste some Javanese dishes she’s been reading about. She is weak but getting better obviously.

We wrapped up the medical notes and also bought some malaria prevention pills to take after we leave Suriname, still officially malaria free, and cross French Guyana and northern Brazil where malarial mosquitoes roam.

Suriname is building a modern new public health building next door but this is where the country waged a successful campaign to eradicate malaria. 

I find it interesting how seriously they take these diseases to protect their population using the latest medications, no argument about the efficacy of corporate drugs. When you live this close to deadly epidemics you don’t reject vaccine technology in these offices. 

The funny thing was when we walked through the doors and told the staff who Layne was they were waiting for her.  I didn’t know this but I’d the right mosquitoes take blood from a person with malaria they can spread the parasite so Layne checking as malaria free is a relief to the authorities too. It was an interesting morning.

We stopped at Roopram, the  chain outlet closest to our home and had a fast food Indian lunch to go from this popular chain.

Layne had a duck roti lunch while I ordered a lamb roti plate, ordered spicy. 

It was a quiet moment and the two ladies spoke English so we chatted about our journey as we put in our order. 

Doks is duck. I can’t remember how to spell lamb but happily I didn’t have to point as I was expecting. It isn’t cheap by the way, about US $15 each. And we ate at home so we used cutlery which is socially unacceptable with roti in public…

And so home to a happily sleeping dog. It rained, the temperature dropped and Rusty enjoyed his brief walk after dark. He doesn’t do long  walks anymore so we wander a little in the street and I just enjoy his company as he gets older. 

I have two weeks to wait before I fly to Scotland to my sister’s wedding, thanks to Dale coming to baby sit Layne while I’m gone.  Hopefully we’ll get to explore Paramaribo a bit soon when Layne gets her strength back. Meanwhile here we are!