Suriname, 19th day, to Albina

This is a video about Suriname.

After yesterday, on 21 February: from Leonsberg to the east.

To the green turtle nests of eastern Suriname.

This is a video of a green turtle swimming.

The weather is sunny now, contrary to the rain every now and then yesterday.

On the poles near the bridge across the Commewijne river, grey-breasted martins and white-winged swallows resting from their flying across the water.

On a shop window, a sticker in Sranan Tongo language: Kibri den sekoe; protect the manatee.

A cattle egret near cows in a meadow.

Every now and then, holes in the road surface.

We arrive in Albina, the easternmost town of Suriname. About 5,000 people. On the other side of the Marowijne river is French Guyana. “The only South American country which still is not independent”, an Albina small shopkeeper says disgustedly. He is not very kind about French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Yellow-billed tern over the river.

A piaka (wooden Native American ocean going ship) will brings us along the wide estuary of the Marowijne river to the Atlantic Ocean beach of Baboensanti.

Literally translated from Sranan Tongo, this means “baboon sand”. Baboen is the name for the red howler monkey, because of parallels which people saw with African baboons. Red howler monkey’s hair is, indeed, reddish. So is the sand of Baboensanti beach.

Hence the name. Not because red howler monkeys live there; they don’t. Baboensanti owes it fame and protected status to the four marine turtle species laying eggs there. About that, in a later blog entry.

December 2009 riots in Albina: here.