#brownsberg

Back home in gloomy Belgium since a few days now, I still wanted to fill you in on my last days in Suriname. On Monday I took the trip up to the Brownsberg Nature Park along with a group of Dutch tourists. After a two hour drive on the “highway” we reached the final leg of the journey: a 13 kilometer stretch of unpaved red savanna road scaling the 500 meter hill through the jungle. It was the bumpiest ride of my life – and I’m no dirt road virgin either!

We got there at noon and were immediately treated to the striking panorama of the Brokopondo Reservoir, a huge lake formed when the Afobaka Dam was constructed in the sixties. It covers nearly 1% of the entire country and was built to power the energy-hungry proces of turning the natural bauxite reserves into aluminum. At the other side of the hill we could peak through the canopy and get a good look at the other natural resource of Surname: gold. Either at large-scale mines in the hands of multinational conglomerates, or in the shape of impromptu illegal hotspots from small bands of gold diggers, leaving a trail of mud slush contaminated by mercury.

The goal for our trek trough the jungle were the waterfalls that line the edges of the Brownsberg. Along the way our guide Patrick informed us about the many different species of wood and their specific uses: medicinal bark, floorboard trees, wood to make boats, resonating trunks that were used for primitive communication, etcetera. After hiking for about two hours we reached the Irene falls. At the end of the dry season the stream was reduced to a bare minimum, but it was enough for a refreshing shower before we commenced the sweaty climb back. At one point I heard the leaves rustling excessively in the distance and that usually means there’s monkeys around. Sure enough, they came closer and we got a good look at a pack of beautiful red howler monkeys. They usually only call at dawn and dusk, so they were quiet, but seeing them dashing through the treetops was a sight to behold.

The next day was already my last one on Surinamese soil. I cycled to the GHFS headquarters to give one more demo of the app I’m making, to shoot a few more sloth pictures and to say my final goodbyes. Though the app isn’t entirely finished as I mentioned before, I got the feeling we’re all very happy with the result, and we’re looking forward to the final release soon. Of course I’ll keep you up to date on the last straw of this whole project.

Looking back, I’d say this project was a very insightful, challenging and fascinating experience. I definitely learned a lot, and got to know a country and some of its people from a rather distinct perspective. I’d like to take this moment to thank and salute some of those individuals. First up, of course, is Monique and her fantastic team of staff and volunteers: Yvonne, Rischmie, Holly, Carola, Stellar, Jonathan, Joke and countless others; Jan-Willem (my friendly helpful neighbor); Leen, Tomas, Sarah & Bruce (my generous hosts for the first few days); Sebpe & Nadine, Stefaan & Sofie (fellow Belgians and good company); Bryan (my excellent cab driver); and many, many others…