#642 Paramaribo, Suriname

The charming riverside city of Paramaribo may be the capital of the small South American country of Suriname, but it has the feel of a small town with friendly citizens, quaint restaurants and a cute harbour. Farms are a short drive from the city centre and you can be in the wild tropical jungles of the national parks on the outskirts within a couple of hours. Of the three Guianas, it's capital is probably the safest and most dynamic, with a bizarre European feel of Amsterdam meets the Amazon, and it is famed for the diversity of its inhabitants, including Creoles, Hindustanis, Maroons, Javanese, Indigenous, Chinese, Europeans, Lebanese Brazilians, Guyanese and Jews despite it's relatively small population of just under 250,000 inhabitants.

Known locally as 'Parbo', it is located approximately 15 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean on the Suriname River, and it's riverside main street is still adorned with the historic old settlement homes, recognised by UNESCO for its connection to the Dutch colonial settlement from the 17th and 18th centuries and laid out in a grid pattern from 1683, although much was destroyed in a fire in 1821.

The homes are all in timber with elaborate decorated balconies, some in various states of repair. The best ones along the 'Waterkant' riverside road catch the afternoon sun which makes their white paint sparkle. There is even one of the oldest synagogues in the western hemisphere dating back to 1685.

Just off Independence Square are the Presidential Palace and Ministry of Finance building. Independence Square also hosts early morning 'whistling bird' competitions.

The Palmentuin (Palmtree Garden) in the middle of downtown Paramaribo near the Parliamentary palace is a charming oasis of calm amidst traffic noises and bustle.

Fort Zeelandia
Originally a wooden structure built by the French in 1640 near an indigenous village and from 1651called Fort Willoughby by the British until it was captured by Abraham Crijnssen in February 1667 and renamed. The 17th century era star-shaped fort built to protect the Dutch East India Company's interests in what was then Dutch Guiana. It has been well restored and holds a small collection of historical buildings on the riverside near the Waterkant and home to one of the main museums in Paramaribo, the Stichting Surinaams Museum.

The Harbour

Small fishing boats line the riverside of the Waterkant, along with ferries and small canoe-like boats that cross to the plantations and settlements on the other side of the Suriname River.

The modern centre of Paramaribo in a tropical afternoon storm.

Sunsets over the Suriname River are pretty spectacular.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramaribo
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/940
http://wikitravel.org/en/Paramaribo
http://www.britannica.com/place/Paramaribo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Zeelandia_(Paramaribo)
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-guianas/suriname/paramaribo/sights/museums-galleries/fort-zeelandia

#649 Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The only 15th century European city in the Americas, Santo Domingo, is amazing in that its layout and much of its architecture remain almost exactly as they were created. Above you can see the most modern pedestrianized street (El Conde) which holds most of the taller and newer buildings, while on the right is the Iglesia de de Altagracia, which sits next to monastery ruins left to the ages.

Many modern homes are one story, some with art deco remodeling, most with criss-crossing power lines, and all with ornate gates or doors.

Torre de Homenaje inside the Fortaleza Ozama

From the Fortaleza Ozama (a.k.a Fortaleza de Santo Domingo) with its tall Torre de Homenaje in the middle of the southeast corner of the city, to the charming cobbled street of Las Damas peeking into the fort, where rich colonial women would promenade on nice evenings and with Christopher Columbus' house at one end (the Alcazar de Colon), to the quaint colonial houses with pretty courtyards and balconies, slowly being restored into restaurants and boutique hotels, I think my favorite thing was still the fact that it is a current, active city and not a museum. Men and women sit on the benches in the park and gossip or play dominoes. Children still play on the streets, and it is still very much owned by the people.

Founded in 1498 by Bartholomew Columbus (although this was actually on the east bank of the Ozama River and Governor Nicolas de Ovando moved it to its current location on the west bank in 1502), it was the first to be laid out on a grid plan, which was just one of many firsts. It also saw the first cathedral (St Mary of the Incarnation), the first monastery (St Francois), the first university (St Tomas Aquinas), the first hospital (Nicholas de Bari), the first fortified city, and of course, the first headquarters of Spanish power, from where many of the New World conquistadors set out. 

Parque Colon with the Cathedral behind. This statue of Columbus is controversial and politically incorrect, partially due to the Taino woman grasping at his feet.

While I was there, huge amounts of reconstruction were going on. Roads were closed all over the Zona Colonial.

The former Jesuit monastery and church, Convento de San Ignacio de Loyola, which since 1958 has been the National Pantheon, holding the tombs of the country's presidents, heroes and a tomb intended for Trujillo. 

Museo de Las Casas Reales, a reconstructed early 16th Century building which was in colonial days the Palace of the Governors and Captains-General, the Audiencia Real (Supreme Court made up of three judges designed to check the power of the governor) and Chancery of the Indies. 

Looking up and down Calle Hostos

The beautiful ruins of the Fuerte de San Francisco.

Catedral Basilica Menor de Santa Maria

The city walls have been lowered so a modern road can pass through, but I love that they've ensured no one will forget by leaving the remnants of history as cobblestones. In a similar way, the old wall has been surrounded by modern apartment blocks, and cunning staircases traverse it. 

As mentioned by UNESCO: "The Colonial City of Santo Domingo, surrounded by its walls, has preserved, almost unaltered, the extension of its territory, its grid layout and most of its architectural monumental structures. Apart from rare but dramatic exceptions, it has retained its traditional scale, the width of the streets, the plots and heights of the buildings. Throughout its historical development, its has incorporated architecture of the various eras with their forms, styles, materials and construction methods that have enriched the knowledge and interpretation of its economic, social and cultural development as a living historical center."

Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/526
Footprint Caribbean Islands, 15th Edition, 2004