“Above the white city, I see golden moonlight, I hear the whisper of pearly waves.
Crimson corals bloom; the pearly surf lies still. The city of happiness — a dream I’ve long held dear.
Paramaribo, Paramaribo, Paramaribo — city of the morning dawn.
I know your golden beach still awaits me, as do the white stones of your plazas.
But I fear I shall never see you, my dream from a fairy tale.”
The name Paramaribo stuck in my memory from childhood. It sounded melodic and exotic. I had no idea where that Paramaribo was located which didn’t matter. I never even imagined I would actually see the city. And yet, here I was in Paramaribo. There was no sign of a golden beach, nor of pearly waves. The water near the coast was murky and dark brown; to see clear water, you have to travel many kilometers out from the shore. Still, there was undoubtedly an exotic quality to the place, though not at all the kind sung about in the song.
After the two wild days in the Surinamese jungle, we planned a relaxing day doing a sightseeing tour of the city. The city center still preserves buildings from the era when Suriname was a Dutch colony. These wooden houses are over 200 years old, and many are inhabited today.
On the waterfront stands Fort Zeelandia, built by the British in the 17th century. The Dutch seized the territory from the British in 1667, yet the latter left behind a lasting legacy – Suriname drives on the left.
This country was settled by immigrants from all over the world. Before the abolition of slavery in 1863, Africans were brought here. Later, the Netherlands attracted labor from India and Indonesia. Jews and Chinese people arrived in search of a better life, and so on. There is a fantastic mix of races here. Suriname gained independence only in 1975.
