In Domburg with family and friends
Click the photo's in the film to enlarge them; or click the photo banners in the text

The renovation of our home is completed ( shows the front, the back side), so we can have guests now. JW’s parents were first. But a few days before they arrived we had to pay a quick visit to French-Guyana to obtain new visa. This trip is no punishment at all as French cheeses and fresh bread and croissants are all over the place, but the procedures have changed and not to our advantage. (The outcome is that we now decided to apply for a temporary residence permit). We are so proud of our home and all the improvements we made in the past year, that we made a short film about the present state. Upon seeing it, we suppose you all want to book an immediate flight to Surinam. You can download the film and please book your stay in advance. The ultimate Home video (8.90 Mb) Obviously we are not the only people in Surinam who embellished their house. The Flodder family (as they are nicknamed in their neighbourhood) owns a piece of land that looks like a dump place for old cars and other unusable stiff, and their home with all kinds of Christmas decorations looked very special indeed.

In the meantime two of the three wooden bridges are replaced by concrete ones, so now we can reach Domburg again and join the sailors happy hour. Cora and Stan make their living with playing music and organised two marvellous dance parties. Stan as a Joe Cocker clone and Cora playing her saxophone so lovingly, professional and swinging that even the locals joined the party. The other way round people from Domburg can reach our house again. Mae (who cooked our dinner every day in the period when we worked on the house) came to cook (and eat) for JW’s parents. It was so successful that she left her wadjang behind, expecting to have to return in a couple of days. She was quite right because JW’s parents invited their Surinamese family for a Christmas dinner. It was great to have such a good help (or chef) in the kitchen, while we ran around with the bottles. We decided that our old Toyota Starlet was not good enough to drive JW's parents around, so we hired an ATV with airco. Although it is nice to drive around in such luxury, this expensive looking car attracts all kinds of people who ask for a beer or just money. Many acquaintances congratulated us with our new toy, but we hurried to explain that the car was only hired and that we keep driving our old heap. But it was comfortable cruising to New-Amsterdam, Colakreek, Lelydorp etc., as an ATV seems to flatten the potholed roads, although JW's parents found the rides still rather bumpy.

By having guests from Holland we noticed that our perception of the environment has changed considerably; or we became more relaxed, that is also possible. Mosquitoes? They are a fact of life. Potholes and bumps in the road? Well, yeah. Hot? Don't be afraid for some sweat and cool down under a cold shower. (One afternoon we digged up our fleece sweaters, as we were shivering with temperatures of only 23°C.) We also have a lot of work on the boat and everything that is included with it. Such as the outboard engine, that broke down temporarily, due to cooling problems. The spare impeller we brought along from Holland, melted in half an hour because a washer was missing A new impeller for our European Yamaha was not available and we also could not wait for a posted package from the NL, so we bought an American impeller wrapped in a brandnew outboard engine. So we'll have two outboards next year, when the old one runs again after our visit to Holland next year. JW’s parents left Surinam after Christmas, so we now prepare the boat for the next sailing trip. First we have to be hauled out for extensive maintenance (a.o. replace the upper rudder gland) and as soon as we are ready we'll sail into the Caribbean again.

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