Current Position: 05 42.09N, 55 04.66W Domburg moorings, Suriname River, South America

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Numerous tour operators in Paramaribo offer trips inland and upriver, but we decided to risk going it alone so we hired a 4-wheel drive car and headed 200km inland to Atjoni - the end of the line for drivable roads and the start of unbroken rainforest accessible only by river.

We'd managed to book a few nights at Danpaati Island Lodge, 3 hours upriver from Atjoni. Once away from Domburg and Paranam (20km), the road is long, straight and lined on both sides with jungle, broken only by occasional wooden-hut villages. There is very little traffic so the drive was quite relaxing (especially in comparison with the white-knuckle excursions to Paramaribo!). The road is also surprisingly good - again compared with Paramaribo's lumpy, pot-holed roads.

We decided to take a look at the Afobaka hydroelectric dam en route. It was built in the early 1960's and roughly 5,000 villagers were relocated during its construction, which was primarily to help fuel the processing of aluminium metals in local plants. About 75% of the electricity goes to the plants and the remaining 25% goes to the city of Paramaribo. In an effort to save money, the Suriname government didn't cut the rainforest trees down before flooding the area - what a waste of wood! As a result the remnants of a rainforest graveyard can be seen from the surface of Brokopondo Reservoir - not that we saw it - the road across the top of the reservoir shown on our road map doesn't exist now and we had to retrace our route for 25km!

Arrival at Atjoni, the river ferry port, was sudden and dazzling. We drove around a corner and the road just ended in a big slipway. ....and what a sight! Cars and buses lined the end of the road and people carrying all sorts of goods and luggage were everywhere. Fast food stalls and warungs (bars) were doing a steady trade as boats were loaded and unloaded. Colourful riverboats vied for position and customers.

As we parked a guy approached to ask where we were bound for; he got out his mobile and called Danpaati Lodge to let them know we were on the way. So far so good....

......Two hours later we were still waiting for our boat to finish loading! More and more things were carried aboard - chairs, food supplies, fuel supplies, luggage, and believe it or not this was all topped with a wheelbarrow and a double mattress!! Now this boat is about 50 feet long and only 6 feet wide, and all the load was placed at the front end leaving the few seats for passengers at the back. This would have been OK except the boat was hauled half way onto the slipway and wedged between lots of other boats making access very difficult! The boatmen balanced on the gunnels and ran along the length of the boat but this didn't seem to be a viable option for the would-be passengers! Eventually we clambered onto whichever neighbouring boats had space, crossed over to ours and were finally off.

The journey upriver was breathtaking. Although wide the river is shallow and there are numerous sandbanks and rocks. The boatmen are brilliant, they have to know every inch of the river as they negotiate the banks, rocks and rapids with incredible skill. It was heart-stopping in places and we felt sure we'd get a dunking when the boat skimmed between rocks and rushing waters! We did get quite wet from the spray; locals carry umbrellas for sun, spray and rain - a wise move!

We passed several villages and saw groups of women washing clothes, pots and pans - and themselves and their children - in the river. It's hard for us to believe that this still happens. At one point we rounded a bend in the river and there, sticking up from the jungle was a phone mast! It seemed totally out of place!

We stopped once or twice at villages to deliver people or goods - amid much searching and rearranging of the load. I was itching to take pictures but had been told that the people do not like having their photo taken as they believe it damages their soul. Superstition and old myths are still very much alive here. I had to content myself with mostly distant pics taken surreptitiously or from the middle of the river.

After 3 hours we finally arrived at Danpaati Lodge. We were hot and sticky but were met at the jetty by a happy and smiling woman called Christa who took us to the open sided bar/lounge (we'd chosen our accommodation well!). Over a welcome cold melon and mango drink, and a banana in batter with spicy peanut salsa (I've forgotten the name of this local snack but it's delicious!) she told us a bit about the island then showed us to our 'cabana'. It was basic but very clean with two single beds covered in mosquito netting, and toilet and shower (cold filtered river water). The nice thing was the veranda that overlooked the river. (pics on Picasa).

We spent two relaxed and peaceful days on the island. In the mornings and evenings we saw riverboats ferrying children from villages upriver to the school in the village of Dan, a little downriver and on the opposite bank (Danpaati means Dan island, or 'island near Dan' in Saramaccan, the language of the villagers in this area).

The food was good, nothing exotic but nicely cooked by village women from Dan who work at the lodge. They were always laughing and chatting and seem so happy. Christa, our lovely hostess, is from a village farther upriver; after attending a local school, she went to college in Paramaribo. This is possible only for young people who have relatives, or who can afford accommodation, in Paramaribo. Christa speaks several languages and has worked for the Peace Corps as a translator.

Next day we went over to Dan by riverboat. Simeon, a local guy, escorted us and acted as guide, he apologised for his broken English but we thought he did really well considering his first language is Saramaccan and second, Dutch! We visited the school; quite big - 250 children - all dressed in smart check shirts, and talked to the headmistress. We looked in on one class and the children let me take a picture, which I then had to show to everyone on the camera screen. It's impressive the way the schoolchildren are turned out so neat and tidy when they live in such surroundings. The school and teachers' houses are tidy concrete buildings, all funded by the government.

We wandered through the village with Simeon telling us about the plants and how people here live. In the village it was almost exclusively women, many bare-breasted. Some covered as we approached but others didn't (causing Kit great embarrassment!). The huts were mainly timber, many with palm leaf roofs and others with tin sheeting. The floors are dirt the same as the village 'paths'. It must be muddy and mucky during the rainy season. There are communal cooking huts with lovely shiny clean pans hang outside.

There is no running water; the women collect rainwater in big butts for drinking and cooking but do their washing in the river. Loads of washing, and pots and pans are carried on the womens' heads down to the river. It appears to be social thing too as they talk and laugh and sound happy whilst they work.

We saw two satellite dishes - yes, even here!! They were a bit battered and we weren't sure if anyone uses them or even has electricity; we did see an old generator outside one hut and Christa tells us the lodge donated it. Also there's now a big new one just arrived. Many of the women have mobile phones! It seems bizarre in this setting somehow! We wondered how they pay for calls? Apart from the river lodges it didn't look as tho' there would be much opportunity to earn money this far upriver.

The women seem to work very hard; they cook, wash, grow food, make some of the clothes and bring up the children. Some women work in the river lodges too. A man often has 3 wives or more so he'll be well looked after!! Although Simeon said the men work hard too, there was not much evidence of it! He said that men clear the land for women to grow food; they hunt, fish and work the riverboats. Some do go away to work; to French Guiana, and to the gold mines in Suriname.

Many of the areas were 'only for woman'; in fact, when the village women have a period they have to go to one particular house and stay there. They're only allowed to walk to the jungle, and can't pass the palm leaf entrance to the village! We could hardly believe it but friends here say it's the same in parts of Africa.

Many of the villagers upriver are descendants of slaves; maybe that's why it often felt more like Africa than S America.

The trip back downriver to Atjoni was just as breathtaking as before. The water level had dropped as the 'dry' season' kicked in and this time we had a 'spotter' on the front of the boat with a paddle; when we went over very shallow areas over rocks the helmsman pulled up the engine and the guy at the front pushed and paddled to guide us through. We hit bottom once with an awful grating sound but we arrived at Atjoni safely.

Despite the navigational difficulties the river here is the life- blood of the interior, providing a means of transport for goods and people to the inaccessible villages. There are several small airstrips dotted about in the rainforest but the cost would be prohibitive, certainly for the villagers. So until a road is built (if ever) life will probably not improve much for the people.

We had planned to visit Brownsberg Nature Reserve on the way back; Brownsberg is where all 8 species of Suriname's primates can be seen along with lots of other wildlife. We'd asked someone at Danpaati to phone ahead for us and book a room for one night, so we turned off the tarmac road and negotiated the 15km, potholed dirt track to the Reserve (4-wheel drive definitely needed!). Things looked promising when we saw an Agouti (looks like a cross between a pig and a rat - edible we hear!) run across the track in front of us, and a spider monkey swinging through the tree canopy above the track.

However the room we were shown on arrival was awful; it was smelly and the beds were dirty with no mozzie nets, so we said we'd just have a short walk around and leave. Sadly the guy there (a ranger?) asked us for 50 SRD (about £10) just to park the car for a couple of hours, which we felt was a rip-off. Kit told him what he thought of that (!) and feeling very disappointed we headed back to Domburg. At least the beer at Domburg was cold and we received a warm welcome from the other yachties so we ended our trip on a good note!!

Back on board Quilcene our thoughts turned to leaving and we began planning the passage to Tobago....