It's time to say goodbye ourselves, so we headed inland just one more time to say goodbye to the people on Apiapaati and the village Bende Konde. Together with Sietse and Jos we made our way to the island first to relax and fish. After only being able to catch a big catfish, we decide to ask a local fisherman to help the guys out and share some tips. Meanwhile, I brought all materials needed to make a Tapakoto (a piece of cloth used to cover a man's chest, which is beautifully decorated with bright coloured stitching). As I had made a design already for Dick's tapakoto, I only needed to draw the design on the cloth and let Teda show me the ins and outs of the traditional way of working. I'm still not even close to finishing, as the women produce one after three weeks of non-stop work. And they are experienced. So I recon it's not going to be finished for another three months haha.
On Sunday, we left for Bende Konde with three bags of clothes (kindly donated by many interns, you know who you are ;) ). The women were extremely excited about the clothes and less so about us leaving. However, they did expect us to return with "many babies" haha. Can't wait to see them again next year! And the baby part, let's keep that on a hold for just a while longer haha xD.
That night we had company from tourist visiting the island, who had not seen any animals although they had been along the Suriname river for over three days now. So we took the liberty to show them the island life. This included iguanas, snakes, parrots. And even saw a snake strangling a bat, and swallowing it whole soon after! An amazing way to show that there are animals around.
The next morning, we said our final goodbyes to Teda and Papada, whom have been taking such good care of us. We will definitely see them again next time!
The next morning, we said our final goodbyes to Teda and Papada, whom have been taking such good care of us. We will definitely see them again next time!