Paramaribo

CCIV

The next leg of the Worldflight was one of the shortest, consuming just under five hours of flying time despite the fact that the Electra fought headwinds and had to divert around blinding rainstorms at times. It was during this leg that Amelia heard the last of dependable WQAM Miami, the confidence-boosting English-language commercial radio station whose DJs called her by name, spoke directly to her on-air, and served as her best source for Caribbean basin weather reportage. As WQAM and the other Florida stations faded away, broadcasts in Dutch (emanating from her next stop, Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana) and other languages took their place.*

Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan deplaned in Paramaribo, there to be met by Dutch officials and the American Consul. They were whisked away to the grandly-named Palace, which served as the local Pan Am hotel, thoroughly fed, and then went shopping for workmen’s overalls so that they could assist the mechanics on site without getting too dirty. After a solid night’s sleep, they departed Paramaribo at 7:10 AM on the fourth of June

*The wonderfully polyglot Caribbean is a place where one can hear English (in Jamaica and other isles plus British Guiana, now Guyana), French (in Haiti and French Guiana), Dutch (Dutch Guiana, now Suriname), Creole (Haiti again), Spanish (in many places), Portuguese (in Brazil), native patois, and a smattering of other tongues.