The Polite Police

 We had to go to the police to extend our permits to stay in Suriname. That was what iOverlander told us and they were dead right as it turns out. Let me be clear: I have no idea how to say this so you can give it a go for yourself.

I call them the “polite police” as in Dutch the word police is “politie” and in this case they were very accommodating. We gave them our passports and showed them our e-visas and ten minutes later we had stamps in our passports allowing us to stay until Christmas. No money changed hands except we had to buy Covid type masks for 25 cents each. 

Up next we drove across town to the port and went to see customs  to extend GANNET2’s Temporary Import Permit. This required some  explanation and I told them about our time at the hospital and they gave us 30 days from yesterday extending our van permit to November 8th. Why they were so chintzy I have no idea, but we plan to leave for French Guyana November 1st so we were good. 

I read that gold has passed $4,000 an ounce which is a first and doesn’t bode well for the US economy and I notice the greenback keeps slipping against local currencies. Annoying but not fatal. 

It was time for lunch and as Layne is gaining strength she decided it was dim sum day.

It’s called Dim Sum restaurant so it was easy to locate on Google maps and the food was good. 

We over ordered so it was dim sum for dinner with left overs of course but I’ll tell you that ordering was…complicated. 

Kip is chicken and soep is soup. And that is your helpful Dutch hint for the day. 

The English translations are kind of random so it made ordering a bit of a treasure hunt. 

We got one dud dish but it was a good lunch and we’ll be back. Oh and I asked what this was. 

Turns out it was sweet tea and would have tasted just fine in an Alabama diner. I tasted it but Layne wanted it so I got the Coke but I really like the hot tea they bring in Chinese restaurants. 

I really enjoy this kind of thing trying to figure out what’s going on. Plus we haven’t had dim sum since Panama more than a year ago. Check out the piles of slippery tapioca type pancakes below; not Layne’s favorite. 

We were early as the paperwork part of the morning flashed by and there were only a couple of diners besides us. 

Time for a selfie. I look pretty grim as I struggle to concentrate on the photo.  

And so back to the apartment. Layne got an email announcing her blood work came back normal in all respects so she is healed and it’s time for us to start being tourists. She isn’t at full strength yet so half a day on the streets is plenty and we like to get back to Rusty snoozing happily in the cool air. 

We’ve had some rain so temperatures have been a little cooler and Friday is a national holiday so we may go downtown and see what’s happening. Our landlord told us about a Chinese market and Indonesian market Sunday mornings so it’s time to be tourists again before I go to Scotland in ten days. 

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.