We arrived into Paramaribo just after midnight and made our way into the city in the darkness of the night. The trip normally takes about 45 min, but with our luck, one of the power line poles had fallen over and blocked the whole road, making it impossible to pass through. After having spent over an hour waiting to see what could be done, the driver took charge and diverted onto another road that isn’t “good enough” to be used and took us into town. A bit of a detour, but we came to our hotel at four in the morning…Can’t really say that it gave me any kind of idea what Paramaribo is like.
Kabalebo Nature Resort
We spent the night at Hotel Krasnapolsky, getting a good and much needed four hour sleep before it was time for an early breakfast and our transfer to the Zorg & Hoop Domestic Airport for a flight to Kabalebo Nature Resort, a 1 hour flight, west of Paramaribo. Kabalebo is situated in the pristine uninhabited Amazon jungle in the western part of Suriname and the only way to travel to the resort is by aircraft. The airstrip is situated next to the resort and was built in the 1960’s during Operation Grasshopper with the purpose to open the doors to the interior in order to survey the natural resources and lay the foundation for further development.
’Misty Mountain’
We spent the following two days, doing tours on the river and in the rainforest. Kayaks and canoes was our means of transport on the river and on land our feet and willpower took us on a seven hour adventurous walk, climbing the ’Misty Mountain’, experiencing the breathtaking pristine rainforest with a much needed stop at the Charlie Falls, for a dip to cool off.
Monkeys and birds
The area has showed us the abundance of birdlife that you can experience here together with a variety of monkeys. We were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the Squirrel Monkeys and the Bearded Saki Monkeys. We crossed path with a passive Velvet Lancehead snake and of course, listening to the beautiful song of the Musician Wren and the Screaming Piha. I also managed to spot a group of South American Coaties, which are very rare in the area.
Sore bodies!
After three days in Kabalebo we’re returning to Paramaribo with sore bodies from the adventures in the jungle. It’s a firm reminder that the office job, sitting in front of the computer isn’t doing your physique much good!
The rainforest is wet!
Soon will you forget that the Rainforest does provide you with some heavy rains, and many times they seem to come from out of nowhere without much warning. Be prepared and always expect rain to be just around the corner. That way you don’t have to get stuck in the rain with cameras and everything, without any kind of protection from the water…
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