After more than a decade of intense and adventurous travels around the world, traversing overland and reaching corners many tourists will never set foot, I consider myself a remote travel expert. Having ventured from the great vastness of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to circumnavigating Africa in a self-built truck, there is still one remote journey that surpasses the rest. This destination is one that can only be reached by air, or possibly by a long journey floating down piranha infested waters through the jungle. If you are looking for a remote destination, without having to completely leave your comfort zone, SURINAME is the place for you. 

Palumeu and Kabalebo are both fantastic options for escaping technology and civilization and truly getting back with nature in an extremely remote location.

I was uneasy stepping into both the 20-passenger twin otter planes that took us into the heart of Suriname’s rainforest.

Paramaribo, the capital city, disappeared and transformed within minutes into dense foliage and meandering chocolate rivers. Below there was absolutely no sign of civilization for the entire hour flight. As we began the short decent to landing, my palms started to sweat as I saw nothing but a tangle of green jungle below. “Where are we supposed to land this thing?!” Ready to brace for impact, I was amazed and relieved at the last second to see a tiny slice of dirt posing as a runway in the carpet of green.

Palumeu was my husband, Kees’, choice for its remote Amerindian village located in the tropical rainforest just a short walk from our straw hut resort situated on the peaceful, unpolluted river.

With no more than 30 people, including staff, where we were staying, I really felt how isolated we were, especially when that tiny plane took off into the sky, leaving us essentially stranded. If communication between us and the “real world” was lost, I felt we’d be instantly forgotten and deserted.

An airplane overgrown with vines was being digested by the jungle since the 1950’s when it crash landed, just a short walk from our resort in Kabalebo, another reminder of how remote we were.

In both Palumeu and Kabalebo we found ourselves surrounded by nature. Between kayaking and floating down the river in dugout canoes and taking nature walks we found turtles and caimans basking on logs, capybara rustling about in the bushes, possums lounging, toucans and beautiful macaw parrots screeching overhead, vivid green and blue lizards jumping from tree to tree, crabs skittering across the sands, fish jumping, frogs and toads hopping on the paths and tarantula’s creeping out of their holes under the protection of nightfall. We knew there were anaconda lurking in the waters and along the muddy shores too. What we didn’t realize until they started pulling them in on a hook and line was that we were swimming with massive piranhas. We got our fill of piranhas, literally, by swimming with, fishing and eating them.

Domestic and urban sounds were replaced by nights filled with rustling of bats in our roof, frogs croaking, crickets singing and curious rats creeping out of the walls to investigate our luggage. Day broke with a cacophony of chirping cicadas, screaming parrots and distant howler monkeys roaring.

 One of the most fascinating parts of this remote location was the medicine tour where we discovered all kinds of hidden treasures mother earth has to offer.

The medicine gardens were pungent and oozing with spicy, bitter and wild smells and tastes similar to garlic, almond, anise and many more, all with incredible healing powers. 

Suriname provides a holiday so powerful, educational, relaxing and isolating yet doesn’t force you to venture too far out of your comfort zone, making it an ideal REMOTE holiday destination.

Last week on #TRLT Twitter chat we discussed, you guessed it, REMOTENESS! Today we’re chatting WEIRD AND WONDERFUL. I’m really excited about it. So don’t miss it. The chat is an hour-long and starts every Tuesday at 1pmNYC/6pmUK. Search the hashtag #TRLT on Twitter to find us and don’t forget to include the hashtag #TRLT in your tweets to participate with fellow travellers! You can find me each and every week hosting with fellow founder Shane Dallas (public speaker, visited 100+ countries) and amazing travel hosts Jessica Lipowski (accomplished author and “foodie”) and Anton Magnin (specialist in family travel). 

Safe travels and see you next week!

Savannah Grace