April 19, 2000 - Blakawatre, Suriname

Suriname is as beautiful as ever and things are good.   Since our last journal we have found both a Spanish teacher and a Dutch teacher, so much of our time has been spent learning.  Our Spanish teacher is a 20 year old  missionary from Columbia.  He is quite interesting and for 20 years old has many stories to tell.   He is also a good teacher.  Our Dutch teacher is an older lady who is Surinamese and is a school administrator.  She's also a good teacher, but I'm afraid that the Dutch is taking a bit longer to learn.

This past weekend we went on our first trip to the interior.  We went to a few places which were all very tranquil and beautiful.  Our tour guide and our cook were quite knowledgeable about the places we visited and also knew many of the Amerindian people that we met along the way.  It is amazing that in year 2000 so many people still live in huts and hunt and fish for food.  Their only income is selling handmade pottery to the few tourists. We also found it amazing that most of them speak 3 languages; Dutch, Taki-Taki (the local street language) and also their own tribal language.   They put us to shame in the language category.  The place we finally spent the night was called Blakawatre, which means "black water".  They call it this because there is a large creek there which flows black water.  It actually has the exact colour of coca cola!  It was very peaceful there.  We swam, made a fire and did all the wilderness stuff, including getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Better precautions will be taken next time.

This weekend we go to Galibi to watch the leatherback turtles lay their eggs.  I'm excited!   It is right on the border of French Guyana, so are hoping to spend one of the days there eating French food!!  Also my friend Wendy arrives next Tuesday for a 2 week visit and we have many things planned for us to do with her.  Never a dull moment.  More soon.

Ana

April 4, 2000 - Paramaribo, Suriname

Things here in Suriname are going very well.   This past weekend was wonderful!

Saturday we spent going around town getting food at the butcher and the baker.  It was fun.  We took a stroll downtown and it was pretty interesting.  Kris says it reminds him of Pakistan but cleaner.  Lots of shops selling everything you can imagine.  And lots of fake stuff, purses, perfume etc.   You name it, they re-make it.  One thing I found really interesting is that you see all these people walking around with these bird cages with small little birds in them.   Kris thought maybe it was a good luck charm for one of these backwards religions.   But as it turns out, they have these "bird chirping contests" and they carry these winning birds around like a status symbol!

We found out on Sunday that you don't have to travel too far in Suriname to lose touch with civilization (not that Paramaribo has much anyway). This weekend, Angelique, a co-worker of Kris', took us to this creek for a swim. It is about a 40 minute drive from our place. The creek water is clean, but is the darkest blackest water you'll ever see.  It was really spookyl.

After that we went for a drive down one of the roads which leads to the interior. After about 5 minutes on a semi-paved road, there was a dirt road. But not your regular dirt, it was RED, really, really red. Apparently this place is full of bauxite, that they make aluminum with and that is why the soil is red. We drive another 5 minutes and there in the middle of a field is a Bush Negro (apparently that is the proper name) village. No electricity, no cars, nothing. It was quite extraordinary.  All this is about 40 minutes away from our apartment, I can't imagine what it is like farther in.

I have finally found website work.  My first job is for a tour operator.  The owner was telling me yesterday that  there is one place called Galibi and that is where these huge turtles lay their eggs on the beach. We have decided to go there for Easter weekend with a group from work.  I'm really looking forward to it.

As far as weather goes....it's hot and humid. This time of year is suppose to be rainy season, but like in all other parts of the world, the climate is screwed up here too. So it has been sunny and hot most days.   Today it is raining but you still sweat from the heat....I love it!

Hope all of you are well.  Still waiting for info for our Amigos page from many of you!

Ana

March 28, 2000 - Curacao and Paramaribo, Suriname

Well it took a while, but we finally arrived in Suriname.  Our shopping days in Miami went extremely well and we managed to spend my website earnings in one day!!  But it was well worth it.  Kris even seemed to enjoy it!!  I also got my driving fix. I hadn't drove since we left Canada and I really missed it, so we rented a great little automatic car and I zipped around Miami like a pro!! 

We got to the Miami airport well ahead of schedule and had some last minute sushi.    Moments later we find out that our flight from Miami to Curacao was on time but our connection from Curacao to Suriname was cancelled and we would have to endure the sun and beautiful beaches of Curacao for two days.  The Olson/Borges horseshoe strikes again as many would say.  We knew nothing about Curacao, except that it had beaches, so we picked up some brochures at the airport and did a quick overview of the place.  We ended up staying in the Sheraton hotel, on the beach, and with a few of my Sheraton points were able to upgrade to a suite!!  We actually needed the room just for our luggage.

We spent the first day in the downtown checking out the local brew and some of the Dutch style shops. It was quite nice and the most interesting part was this moving bridge, that would sound an alarm and start floating sideways when a boat needed to get into the harbour.  In the evening we went on a spectacular night dive and saw some amazing underwater fish and a big turtle.

Our short stay in Curacao was a much needed break from Costa Rica and prepared us for the new location....Suriname.  We are now here and so far it is wonderful.  Our apartment is huge and beautiful.  We have a great deck that looks onto the Suriname river only a few feet away.  We also have a pool which is very appropriate for the hot humid weather.  The town itself is a lot more developed then we expected.  There are lots of shops and restaurants.  There is one resort in the city and it is in a great little area with a bunch of nice restaurants, all with patios....even a great cafe with cappuccinos!!  The mix of people here is unbelievable.    There are the native Surinamese, Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Brazilians and even a few Dutchmen.  They speak Dutch and English and their own native language as well which is called Takki-Takki.  The surprising thing is, everyone seems to get along!!  In fact downtown there is a mosque right beside a synagogue!!

This weekend we plan to go into the interior with Kris' new kickass half-ton Shell truck to see some of the jungle.  We are also planning at some point in the next few weeks to go on a tour to see these huge leatherback turtles lay their eggs at a beach on an island near the French Guyana border.  Oh and of course I'm looking for website work!!

That's all for now,  more news from sunny Suriname to follow.

Ana

Here is Kris' part:

Yip, we have finally arrived in Paramaribo, the capital (and only) city of Suriname.  On my first day of work they gave me this cool half-ton truck that kicks ass!  It is big enough to drive right through the potholes and through the ditches.  I can't wait to drive that beast into the jungle and run over some monkeys.

Since our apartment is right next to the Suriname River we can see all the little fishing boats going by in the morning.  As well, there are a thousand little crabs which live in holes along the muddy banks.  This place made us decide we definitely want to live beside water.  On the way home I stopped at a local Indian shop and picked up a couple of Rotis which were delicious and cost a grand total of $3.

We are starting Dutch lessons this week so by the end of our stay we should be able to say "Two Beers Please" I hope.  I have not done a beer review on the local brew Parbo yet as I have only had one.  I will do a more thorough sampling this weekend then write a full review.

Over and out.

Kris

March 21, 2000 - San Jose, Costa Rica

Our stay in Costa Rica has come to an end.  Our flight is tomorrow and to be honest I've had enough of this place.  I'm looking forward to our new location in Suriname.  From what we've heard there is lots of jungle and not a lot of tourists....it should be very interesting.  We do have a stop in Miami before we arrive in Paramaribo Suriname and we are taking advantage and doing some shopping!!!  I can't wait!!! I'm also looking forward to having my adventurous friend Wendy come to visit us with her boyfriend Bob.  You'll get all the details and some pix on the site soon.  Don't worry Wendy...no bikini shots, I promise!

I've been spending a lot of the last week or two collecting money for my website work.  Of course debt collecting is never a pleasant experience, but it is nice to see some money after all this work.  Kris is wrapping up last minute things at Shell and is happy that the project has gone very well here.

Hopefully when we get to Suriname, setting up internet will be fast and easy.  We'll keep you updated.  As well, I have updated the "Reach Us" page, so if any one need to reach us the information is there.

Looking forward to hearing from more of you on the Chatboard. 

Ana

March 10, 2000 - San Jose, Costa Rica

We finally have our domain name ready and the site buffed up.   Welcome!!  I know a few of you have seen the site already via the IP address, but now you will be able to simply type in www.lifeisgrand.org.

We only have a week and a half left here so are getting quite excited about another move.  My boss Rafael, his wife Cynthia, and another one of the people on this project, Claudia, are all here for the duration.  I am afraid we haven't had time to show them much other than the insides of shopping malls and a few restaurants.

We received an announcement yesterday about the hottest website on the net.  You can find it at  www.internettrash.com/users/houseofillrepute and it has some great shots of the Olson boys and friends getting drunk.

In other news, after more than thirty years of smoking my mother has quit!  So all the years of giving her a bad time has finally paid off.  Way to go Mom!

Guess that is all for now.  I am still waiting for ideas/pictures from all of you who were once part of the crew of the Lost Shaker.   Also, we are working on a very special page for all of our friends and family so you can keep in touch with each other as well as us.

See you soon!

Kris

February 24, 2000 - San Jose, Costa Rica

We apologize for our lapse in communication via our website.   Unfortunately we had experienced some technical difficulties and were unable to edit the site.  But here we are again, back bigger, bolder and hopefully better than ever. 

For those of you who have lost track of us, we are still in Costa Rica.  We will be here for another month and then we are off to Suriname on March 23.   I'm really looking forward to it. We really haven't enjoyed Costa Rica as much as we had expected.  The city is quite dangerous so we are quite limited to what we can do here.  The weekends have been lots of fun. We have seen both the Caribbean and Pacific side and its beaches and spent much time in Costa Rica's rain forests.  It is truly a beautiful place except for the thieves.  We have done one extraordinary thing...we've learned Spanish.  We took 4 weeks at Christmas and went to an intensive Spanish school.  It was great.  Kris has done wonderfully, I'm really proud of him.  Unfortunately in Suriname they speak English and Dutch so the Spanish won't come in handy.   

Work for both Kris and I has been going really well.  Kris likes his job here and thankfully no long hours yet.  I've been really busy.  I have a few websites that I am working on right now.  Mostly English speaking clients thankfully. 

We have had houseguests quite steadily here in Costa Rica.  My parents visited for two weeks in January and my two friends Jennifer and Angela were just here last week. My parents did all the touristy volcano tours and the beach.  They had the time of their lives.  The girls and Kris and I  spent a good part of the week they were here on a beach on the Pacific coast called Jaco.  It was nice and really great weather, so they went home with the necessary tans. 

This weekend Kris' boss and his wife arrive from El Salvador for three weeks here on the project.  We are looking forward to having some familiar faces around.  As well, we are off to Belize next weekend for a quick 4 day diving trip.  We are meeting a few friends from Bahamas....Mike, Nola and Karen.  It should be a blast!!!.  We'll keep you posted.

If you haven't noticed we have a new Chatboard, so please let us know what you think of our new site.  Be careful, the whole world can see your comments.  Welcome back friends....more soon.

Ana and Kris

November 30, 1999 - San Salvador, Guatemala, Ana's Birthday

Hello everyone, our apology for not writing sooner, but it's been quite busy lately.   For those of you who didn't know my birthday was last week on the 25th of November and it was quite an event.  Kris took me out  for lunch and promised dinner with friends at a nice restaurant.  Well what a surprise to find all of our friends at a surprise party at the hotel roof top patio. Kris had arranged the entire event....cake, food, beer and even a piñata.  It was a wonderful way to turn 28.

This last weekend we finally got the opportunity to take out long awaited trip to Guatemala.  It was great.  We took the public bus system to get there on Friday morning at 7:00 am.  For $45.00 return you get a meal and drinks.  We ended up in Guatemala City, the capital and had lunch at a cute Italian restaurant in Zona Viva...or Zone 10.  It is the tourist area or wealthy area of the city.  Later in the afternoon we met a work friend of Kris who drove us to Antigua.  It is a small tourist village about 40 minutes outside of the city.   It was the highlight of the trip.  We proceeded to look for a place to stay for the night and found this cool hotel.  It use to be a house with several large rooms with cathedral ceilings and a garden in the centre of the house.  After settling in we went for a walk around the town.  It is filled with bars and nice restaurants.  Many foreigns and backpackers have discovered this place, but it's still not commercial.  We give it a few more years before the Mc Donald's and Burger Kings invade. 

Apparently this town was filled with monasteries and many many churches centuries ago.  Then a earthquake destroyed many of the structures and today there lies the haunting memories.

The next day we decided to tour around.  We had breakfast at the most gorgeous and unique hotel I've ever seen.  It is called Santa Domingo and it use to be an old monastery.  They have taken the rooms where the nuns use to live and converted them into hotel rooms.  The wonderful thing about this place is that they have not tinkered with the original architecture but just enhanced it.   The reception is at the alter for example and near the pool is an area of ruins that can be explored during your stay.  It is a popular spot for outdoor weddings.   Apparently they are booked for events years in advance.  I'm not surprised.  

Well after a day of exploring we returned to Guatemala city to have dinner at our friend Eric's home.  He and his wife Rosa fed us well.  We went for a brief drink after dinner at a local bar.   Kris was in shock to know that last call for drinks in Guatemala is an early 12:30 pm!!!  Unusual for Central America. 

The next day was our last day and we took advantage of a local spa we found and I had a massage and our friend Karen also on the trip, was pampered as well.  A perfect end to a perfect weekend.

As our final days in El Salvador approach we are sad.   We have recently met some wonderful friends Jessica and Memo.  I  met on my diving course and they are wonderful.  We are sad we can't spend more time with them.  Hopefully they will visit us on our travels.

Our last week has also been busy with work.   We've been wrapping up last minute business and I've been finishing off some of my websites.  Work in Costa Rica looks promising so I'm happy about that.

That's all for now.  Please e-mail us when you can.

Ana