Sunday, April 25, 2010

Laarwijk, Suriname

We took the small ferry across the river, and visited Laarwijk, on the other side. At one time this area was a large sugar plantation.  When the plantation ceased operation (and we don’t know exactly when that was), the owners divided the land among the workers. The descendents of the workers live there today. The area is large, divided into orderly rectangles by sand paths and small canals.
We walked about 2 km away from the river without reaching the end, and it apparently extends beyond that, as well as that distance or greater from side to side. There are no cars. All goods are brought by boat. The people walk, ride bicycles, or cruise along on motorbikes. There was virtually no litter. We are told that many areas of Suriname are former plantations that have been divided in this way.
The fish is a Piranha caught in the river where we were anchored. No swimming in Suriname!