AMAZING Surinamese Seafood + LEATHERBACK TURTLES | Galibi, Suriname

And that means, like, pepper soup, basically, right? Yes, yes, yes. You can smell it. Oh, wow. And you have the wild boar right there. That looks so good. I'm ready. And I want some of this drink. What's up, everyone? This is David Hoffman from David's Been Here. Coming at you from Albina, Suriname, South America. This is a town that basically is on the border with French Guiana. Look, French Guiana is right there. We're on the Marawena River. Marawena River, which basically divides both the countries. So, French Guiana, Suriname. What we're doing today is we're getting on this boat right here. And we're going straight up to the Atlantic Ocean to Galibi. And Galibi is the northeasternmost town in Suriname. And there we're going to look for leatherback turtles. Leatherback turtles, I cannot wait. I've been dying to see one my whole life. And here you can see it in the wild. It's going to be hard to see at night. I mean, basically, we get on a boat. And then we're going to go out with, like, a red light and see if we see them nesting. Hopefully, we do. We're also going to have delicious food there. So, you guys ready for this adventure? And before we get on the boat, what we're doing is we're going to get some gas. Basically, when you come here and you hire the boat, you have to go fill up the gas with your guide and the boat driver, right? So, we're going through Albina. And I really can't be filming, like, up in people's faces because people here really don't like it. They get a little aggressive, a little hostile. See, I'm not doing that. I'm just getting some wide shots of the town from out here. And that's it. I got some stuff at the beach, which is epic. But, yeah, man, Albina. Albina. Whoa. Gas station, huh? Yes, here. Right there? On the other side. Whoa. I've never been to a gas station like this. Right along the river. I mean, this is a great view right here. This is a great view. Gas station looking at French Guiana. This is awesome, man. This is so sick. Wow, I see all the boats right here, all the docks. The docks are, like, falling apart. Just walk down here to the river. Let me see. Whoa, this is, like, scary. Tomorrow. No, if I wanted to. Yes. I want to go to French Guiana. I can just enter? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But not this one. The other one with the cap. Okay. Yeah, this one, they go to upper up to the Marouane. So, they go south? Yes. Okay. They go south. Oh, sorry. And what does it cost to go to French Guiana? Where do you go? Some, like, €3. €3. And where do you go? What town? What's the town? Saint-Laurent. Saint-Laurent? Yes. Okay. So, Saint-Laurent is the town that's right over there, French Guiana. So, I would need my passport, obviously, right? Yeah. I would. Yes. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I don't know. Maybe some people here know, but I need my passport. Whoa, this is really cool. The docks is, like, super colorful. Yeah, this is, like, it feels like some places I've been to in Africa. Just, like, the jungle feel. It looks like Lake Hivu a little bit, but without the boats, obviously. Just, like, the picturesque beauty of the backdrop. Just, like, never-ending green lush over there with French Guiana. How much gas did we buy? How many liter I got? It's 55 liter. 55 liters? All this? How much did it cost? Expensive? €350. Like, $30. Okay. Yeah, but it's the half. Tomorrow, he has to buy back to go home. Okay, okay. Wow. So, it's $60 US to do this, basically. $100 US. $100 US? Yes. Just to go there and come back. Yeah, go back, come back, to go see the turtles. Wow. It's, like, 100 liter. Wow. We need, yes. Yeah, because we're using the same guy tonight, right? He's taking us out. Yeah. So, we basically contract him to be with us for the next, like, 24 hours. I'm still stunned by this. It's, like, so different. It's also, like, it feels like I'm back in some places in India as well. Just, like, the scenery and how it looks. But this is, like, almost like a barren beach. As you can see, huge tree fell right there. All you have is boats. Unfortunately, I'm going to be in the sun for the next, like, two hours. Look, I'm going to burn tonight. Like, burn. I got to change my clothes. Dude, where's my bag? That boat looks heavy. How do we get on? Yeah. There? Yeah, let's go. Hold on. It's tough because there's an anchor in here. And I have to change shirts because I don't want to burn for the next two hours. All right. So I don't get wet. Perfect. Get farther back here. The floor is wet. Oh, this is going to be sick. Can't wait. Almost two hours. Wow. Okay. Two hours. Let's enjoy this thing. You have to jump? Yeah. All right, I'll jump. Ready? Oh! Made it. Woo! And then right here we have a little plank that goes over all the mud. Whoa. I know, it's quicksand. This is like really off the beaten path. Man, I don't know anybody that's been here. I have no idea anybody that's been here. Maybe you guys come here. Hello. Let's see the room. Yeah. Welcome to the room now. We have room number... This is so sick. I'm going to sleep right here tonight, looking out here. All right, so I think I'm off here. Up there, yeah, but I think it's so full of mud, I'd rather not. Right there. Okay, this is 13. That's all I need, man. A bed. Got mosquito net. No, we're going to my girlfriend. Okay. And we're going to eat some traditional Amerindian soup with roasted white pork. And maybe she has some, like, crabs too. Okay. And, yes, there we go. Let's do it. The sand over there was very, very soft, so we decided to walk along the beach. It's a way nicer walk, very breezy. The sand is really hard because it's been, like, soaked up and then dried out, right? And we're going to have to jump over this. So all the boats are parked along the beach, and they're tied in, right? So from the front and the back, so the anchor's in the water, and then they're tied to a tree. Wow, this is gorgeous, man. And you know what's amazing is that the reason why this resembles Africa is because the piece where South America used to fit in, Africa, is along, like, Guinea, Sierra Leone, all these countries. It's funny because we keep having to go over all these ropes, like, nonstop ropes. Man, I can't wait to eat the wild boar. You have so many things. Yeah. Yeah, luckily our little captain over there, he brought over everything. The water, the bags, some alcohol, but the alcohol is the two percenter. There's no alcohol there. It's like, it's a super refreshing drink. It's wine, right? That was the wine. Yeah, I like the wine. Another location this place reminds me of is Tortuguero in Costa Rica. Same, like, Caribbean-style vibe along the Caribbean Sea. This is obviously on the coast of South America, so it's very different. The same time, same feel. This we call peprewatra. Peprewatra in English is hot water, pepper water. Yeah, you see the pepper? Peprewatra. And that means, like, pepper soup, basically, right? Yes, yes, yes. Because if you do it with peppers, you can smell it. Oh, wow, and you have the wild boar right there. Yeah. That looks so good. I'm ready, I'm ready, and I want some of this drink. This is the crab. They have two different crabs here. They have the curry crab, which is like India crab, and then they have the local one. It's only water and salsa. That's a lot of crab. Is this for me? One dish for me? Oh, okay, okay, we share, right? We share. This is so good. Alcohol drink. This is so good. Hey, cheers, cheers. Cheers. Cheers, cheers. Cheers. Prost. I love it. Hi. Nice. So, guys, this is the cassava bread. Yes, you can use it with everything. And this is quark from cassava. Crab in water and salt only. Crab in curry sauce. Crab brains. Okay. And pepper water with white pork. Spicy. Love it. Perfect. Natural, huh? Yes. So, it's basically cassava dried and then turned into grains. Crab brains. Yeah. Okay, that's complete. And here we go. Basically, curry crab, regular crab, and crab brains. We have the picante soup with pork wild boar right there. And we have the cassava. Cassava, like bread cassava. And then we also have it in, like, fine grains. So, basically, what they did is they dried it out and they pounded it. And that's how they made it. And what he said to do is to try some of the soup first. Oh, wow. It's spicy. Picante. Wow. So, I'm going to try some of this boar. Break out some of this wild boar. I love it. They caught it right here. Whenever you eat wild animals, always bones. One bone. Wow. Some spicy, spicy pork. It's a nice, light soup. And then it has, like, a super high. Oh, my God. So, it's a nice, like, light soup. But at the same time, it has this, like, kick to it with the pepper. Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to grab some of the bread. Cassava bread. He said to grab some. Break a piece. Like right there. And then go in and dip it and get some pork. So, like that. And I dip it. It's hard, though. The cassava is really hard. So, just do it like that. Get enough. Here we go. The cassava is really hard. I'm going to let that piece absorb all that soup. It has to get a little, like, moist. Because right now, it's way too hard. But the pork is very nice. Besides the bones, it's delicious. Super tender. Very gamey. Really good meal. I love this. Like local village food. The best. Hey. Yeah. Picante, right? I think the best thing to do is what you said. Just dip it in there, right? Break off a few pieces. And let them absorb the soup. That was a really nice bite. And he said to get some of this. Some of the cassava. Oh, my God. It's almost like rocks, man. It's so hard. But it's nice. It has an earthy taste to it. Very grainy. Oh, yeah. I love this pork, man. Wild boar. Who would have known? Yeah, just let this soak up that soup. Then here we have a nice piece. Mix the cassava, the pork. Now this piece of pork. I'm going to mix it with the pepper. Spicy. The best thing to do is to have this. It washes it all down. I love this, man. Like rose wine. They have so many things here in Suriname I've never tried before. I've tried the cassava before. Never like this. Never tried this dish. The amount and the variety here is insane. And we have still a little piece of pork. So we got to do here. This is the bone, right? So I get in. You got all the flesh next to the bones. The flesh is always on the bones. It's way more delicious. No? Like ribs? So we're first going to start off with the crab brains. This is the head. And so I've got the brains. And what he's saying is throw some salt on top. A little bit? A little bit. Just too much. Okay. And then dip with the cassava. So cassava is basically the chip they use to get all the brains. Okay. Go in. Oh, my God. This is like gelatin. I don't know, bro. I hope it's good. I'm a little nervous. It's hard to get it. Oh, that's just like so like slimy. Reminds me of an oyster. All right, guys. Wish me luck. That's different. That's definitely different. I don't even know if I got the right amount. There it is. Look at that. Just break off the flesh of the brain. Man. Crab brains. I won't lie. It's not my favorite thing. It's very like slimy. This is exactly what it is. Super slimy. Look at this. I need some more of this to cool it down. I don't recommend the brains. No. I'm good with the brains. Okay. All right. Crab curry. So just go in. Break off a piece. Just like that, right? Hold it. I got too much. I got like this. Break off. Go in. So break off a piece. Right there. You got all that flesh. I didn't get it. Maybe I'll show you. You have to break it. It's easy to break it. I know I got this. Get the flesh. But you definitely have to break it. How do I break this? You guys don't have a breaker, right? Do you have a breaker? Oh, even better. This is not easy. A lot of flesh though. I like this. I like the flesh in here. Oh, it's nice. Nice curries. Not spicy. The main thing with crab and all these that you have to understand it's going to take a lot of effort to eat. Right? Nah, it's so easy. Right there. I'm just scared of eating all that shell. Break it. Hopefully something comes out. Nothing comes out. Break it again. Pull it out. I'm not going to sell it. I'm going to break it here. There's actually like no flesh in this one. Dude. This is so good. This is way more adventurous. It's like, remember, it's hard to get into the crab. Got to be careful. Oh, I broke that guy open right there. Finally got it. Pull it out. No, you don't pull it out. You just pull it up. That's what you got to do. Just keep going at it, right? Until you finish it all. Every single piece of the crab has flesh. Just got to find it. Not easy. I hate when I eat the shell though. Nah, man, it's scary. Okay. And then. One more. I'm going to break it over here. Like that. One time. Wow. Look at that. So much flesh. Best way to do it. That was the curry one. This one, oh. Mmm. Look at that flesh. Oh, this one's more like butter. Oh, yeah. Just want to break this guy. You guys ready? Ready? Right there. Look at all this flesh. Not easy, my friends. Look at this. Pulled all this out. Same thing with these guys. Break them. You can't get in. Crack them. Crack them completely. Right there. Wow. This is so much effort though. I really enjoy seafood, but sometimes it's annoying. Alright. A lot of work. Wow, the best food though. Super healthy. Super light. Okay. I guess I'm done with the flesh. I mean, if you want more, you can get more. I'm good. I think I'm going to eat something else later. Oh, yeah. Right there. Okay. Mmm. Nice. Oh, it's a lot of flesh. Just careful. You don't want to break your hands here. Ooh. Best thing to do is come over here and just like a savage. Look at that. Mmm. Oh. It's the best thing to have. And now we're going to go in and rip up the claw. So you got to break them here. Always pull him up right there. Because sometimes the whole thing comes out. All the flesh. Sometimes it doesn't. And why does it happen? Right there. It exploded though. Right off the shell. Mmm. So much meat. That was the best. Oh. Everything's flying. And there's the piece I've been waiting for. Mmm. Crab feast. Done. A spider. He showed me a spider right there. A tarantula right in there? Yeah. No way. Yeah. Small one. No way. Dude, that's scary. I don't even want to see another one. What are you doing? You're going to pull it out? Oh. Again, again, again. He doesn't like that, huh? We're walking back to the guest house. And we're taking the path that we didn't take earlier. We took the beach. Now we're taking the path, you know, cars pass through here. I guess it's not cars. It's probably just ATVs. There's no cars out here. There's no roads here. No roads. Incredible. And, like, right back there is the jungle. So from here to the next, like, major road is the jungle. And in there, there's everything, including jaguars. He was telling me, he's like, I've seen jaguars. I'm like, whoa. Goddamn, I see a jaguar right now. They're elusive. Just like leopards. Almost the same thing. Huge cats. No, we have to protect the shelter. That's why they have the red lamp. Oh, wow. Let me see it. That's something most people don't do, especially on game drives as well at night. They don't put, like, huge flashlights that serve the animals. So you do the red light, you still see them, and they don't get blinded by it. Fish dish. Fish. Hope you guys can see me. I'm in the dark. So here back at the guest house, we have two different dishes to try. And it's called takobi. So it's like a snapper from this area. And we have the red tomato sauce with rice. And we also have it with the spicy soup. So it's going to be the spicy soup that we had earlier. But instead of pork, we have the fish. I don't know. Should I try the soup first? Yeah, why not. Spicy as ever. Super spicy. This is actually a little creamy. It's a little creamy, this one. Lemon sauce. Sorry. Lemon juice. Yeah, lemon juice, not lemon sauce. Thank you for the water. Perfect. Kobi. Kobi, snapper. Perfect. So what I got to do here is I have to get into the fish. And be careful. He said there's a lot of bones. So you have to like literally break it up in pieces. Yep, I see bones right in there. So get some of the flesh. Right there. Get some of the juices. It's like identical to snapper. Identical. Yeah, I mean, this is a great way to eat. I like it a lot. Having a spicy soup. Nice flesh of the fish right here. Be really careful. Bones. How do I break this? Nice buttery flesh. Oh, I love this fish. Just got to be really careful with the bones. Bone right there. Boom. Bone right there. Oh, this one has a lot of bones. Hopefully this one doesn't have that much bones. Now it's time to jump on the tomato base sauce. Oh, wow. So the best thing to do is just break it up like that. Careful. Bones. Get some of that. Get some of the rice. And here we go. It's actually a glazy tomato base sauce. I'm just very nervous right now. I love this. I love it. So you see the bone right there? But then you open this. Get some of the flesh. Put it there. Get some more of the flesh. Like that. Separate it. Get that. So yummy. I feel like this fish had less bones than the other one. The other one was like really full. Alright, it's so dark outside. It's like 8.30 at night. Pitch black. Let's go see if we see any leatherback turtles. We need the red light, huh? Yes, we need the red light to protect the sea turtles. Perfect. I can't even see. Oh, my God. How are we going to even get on here? Whoa. Hey, how are you doing? Hi. Looking for the sea turtles. Let me hope that we can see one. I mean, it's going to be so hard for you guys to see this. I can barely see forward. I mean, it's pitch black. Nothing out here. Wow, the stars though. Alright, so basically we were here for like 25 minutes. We just went up the beach. Just, you know, shine the light the whole time. We saw nothing though. We saw a few birds there. We saw a person. And that was it. Alright, let's go. Let's cross. Alright guys, so we just got back from seeing the sea turtles. Well, we didn't see any of them. We only saw a caiman. We went up, you know, all the way to French Guiana to the other side. It took us 20 minutes to get there. We went up and down for like 30 minutes. Then we crossed back over another like 25, 30 minutes. Went up and down for another 30. I mean, total was like almost 3 hours. It's 11.20 right now. So, we went out there at 8.30. So, yeah, almost 3 hours. You know, it's a hit or miss. But we came here in the worst time of year to come. You know, July is when the season ends. February, it starts. So, I'd recommend coming February, March, May. Those are probably the best times. You can see the sea turtles. I mean, sometimes you can see sea turtles actually like babies, like hatching. But, you know, next time. So, yeah, I mean, amazing day here in Galibi. I mean, just get coming here from Albina. Epic, 2 hours. I definitely highly recommend getting a shirt that covers your entire sleeves because it's really, really hot. The sun is beaming down. Then we got here and went straight to eat some crab. Crab was delicious. The brains were a little exotic. I don't know. I don't suggest that. Then my favorite thing there was the spicy pork soup. We came over here and had some spicy fish soup. And then we had the tomato-based one. It had a very sweet sauce, like a glaze. And guys, if you love this video, please give me a thumbs up. Leave me a comment below. Subscribe to my channel for more awesome travel content. I'll see you in the next Travel Food Adventure in Suriname. Peace.