We went on a private Jodensavanna cultural tour and river resort Overbridge with the driver who was also our guide Kenneth, during our vacation to our home country Suriname for Christmas holidays in 2023 with the family which was the first time that we visited all 10 districts in one vacation.

He picked us up to do this amazing day tour of a 90 minute drive from Paramaribo to the Jodensavanna site in district Para that's in the middle of the rain forest where we've seen different animals, like tropical birds, slots, monkeys in trees (small ones), salamanders. This preserved site is an old Jewish settlement with rich history that shows how Suriname was ruled by Dutch Jews in this area during slavery and the exploited lives of their African slaves.

Kenneth was very knowledgeable about this history, able to answer all my questions and showed all parts with different installations and creations (some perished, but traces are still there), so you could see the difference made between the Jewish slave masters and their slaves. For example, the Jews were burried with a gravestone with their names on it, while the slaves didn't. Also the slaves that were mixed with Jewish blood didn't get a gravestone and were burried with the other slaves, since they were not 100% Jewish. I've learned that this old plantation was one of the thoughest and unkind. I've also learned that the descendents are one of the most notable peoples in Suriname (doctors, lawyers) and even the founder of the national soft drink company.

We ended the Jodensavanna tour with delicious lunch in picknick style at the site. Afterwards we went to visit the river resort Overbridge. The idea was to chill at the water and in the natural pool (they made a pool right in the front area of the river with the river water that is separated with low walls, very innovative), but it started to rain heavily. Well it's still in the rainforest area and the restaurant staff also said when we arrived that we were lucky that it was sunny, as it always rains. That was correct, since after 10 minutes chilling in the water it started to rain, too bad. We then got a small tour in the car, around the resort to see the cottages for overnight stays, before heading back to Paramaribo. We enjoyed the day trip!