We had a fun filled day on the National Holiday of Holi Phagwa. It began with a visit to a butterfly farm. The tour guide taught us all about the lifecycle and process of exporting the butterfly cocoons around the world.
After the butterfly park we headed to Jungle Camp Carolina, a beautiful campground with a few homes on the land. We were able to escape the heat a bit and enjoy a swim in the “coca cola” water. The water is a very dark color due to the leaves that fall into the water and dye it, very similar to what the mangrove leaves do in the Everglades.
On the way back to Paramaribo we made a stop at a Flamboyant Park where there was a Holi Phagwa celebration occurring. As we entered we were handed a pink powder we were a bit confused as to what you do with it. Ed & Ine our hosts immediately started pouring the powder all over us! As the evening went on people would walk up to you and spread an oil based color on your skin or spray a colorful powder on you!
Holi is a festival that commemorated good harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colors and saying farewell to winter. It also has a religious purpose, commemorating events present in Hindu mythology.
Upon returning to Ed’s house (where Bob is staying) we began to wash the powder off, which came off just fine, we soon realized the oil based product was not rinsing off….there was a bit of a panic since we all had blotchy red stained skin!! We moved onto scrubbing our faces with soap and rubbing alcohol! The majority has been removed, but as I write this, my hands, face, and hair (I now have a few red highlights) are stained a light pink color!
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