From Paramaribo to Georgetown

[Werner]

Hi Guys,
The ferry across the river to Guyana was sheduled to depart at 11.00. This would mean that I'd have to leave Paramaribo at 6 at the latest, without breakfast (included in price of hotel), and I hate riding 234 km on empty. So I went to New Nickery, Suriname, instead, and went for the ferry the next day. South Drain, where the ferry leaves, is about 40 km south of New Nickery on a dirt track, terrible, bumpy with lots of loose sand. All your riding skills learned in the Sahara will be called up again. Unbelievable that the only surface connection between Suriname and Guyana is in such a bad shape. The ferry itself is ultramodern, and left right on time. Checkout with Suriname interesting. The customs guy checked all my documents, including my "insurance" paper. I guess he was fishing for something. Caught nothing. Cost for ticket, about US$25 for bike and rider.
On the Guyana side, a half hour later, Moleson Creek, check in was again interesting. First I had to buy a form for about 50 cents. Fill it out in duplicate. Then they wanted me to write down my policy number of my "international insurance," and expiry date. No problem (so don't forget to bring your certificate, whatever it is). That was customs, the police went over everything again. Again no problem. I got to keep one copy of the form, to be handed in when leaving the country.
Road to Georgetown not too bad, but unique to this Guyana is the fact that there are hundreds of cattle, goats, sheep, and kids of all ages roaming the road. Hit one of any of these and you're in deep shit, deeper than the one you find splattered all over the road. At New Amsterdam, about halfway, there is another ferry. I knew about this from a previous visit, but where was the dock? No sign of any description. So I asked. The gentleman said, "return for about 4 km and ask for the 'Stelling'." This I did, and lo and behold, that is where the ferry leaves. Cost about 1.50 for bike and rider. Road the rest of the way excellent, except for all the critters wanting to cross right in front of you. This one of the three Guyanas is definitely the most exciting one. What else do these people do beside drinking rum and making babies?