Spectacular in Suriname

The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about an hour’s flight south of the capital, Paramaribo. On our May ’03 trip we flew in a Cessna around Tafelberg, which is a tepui, or flat-topped mountain, and saw its 12 lovely waterfalls cascading over the sharp edge of the top, the largest a golden color — quite spectacular. We were lucky to have seen Tafelberg after some rain, since the waterfalls are seasonal and they do seem to be a miracle appearing from nothing.

We were thrilled to see part of the area that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World.”

Then we headed north again toward Raleighvallen, a favorite camp site, and circled the famous rock formation of Voltzberg, which is like a purple version of Ayers Rock in Australia.

We landed at a camp on Faroe Island in the middle of the Coppename River. The lush vegetation exuded a sweet frangrance. We saw a few of the 400 species of birds. After a walk and some pictures, it was back in the plane again, from which we could see many meandering rivers. There are no roads in the reserve, and no fishing or hunting is allowed there.

MARGO SPEARS
Reno, NV