French Guiana

If life is really about the journey and not the destination, simply arriving at places builds very little character. To help us grow as people, AT and I ventured this spring break to French Guiana during a nationwide strike. 

The trip began with some stress because until two hours before we left, we didn't have passports. They had been sent a month prior for a necessary visa to Suriname and arrived right before AT got on a flight to Miami. Our reunion in Miami was genuinely heartfelt.*

When we left Miami for Cayenne, French Guiana, we were told we wouldn't make it that day due to strikes in Cayenne. French Guiana is a territory under French rule. The people are protesting for more monetary support and political power from the mainland and have timed their strike with the upcoming French election.** The lovely Air France employee told us we would spend the night in Guadeloupe and get to Cayenne the next day. She laughed when we asked if it was safe to go there still. We were still in Miami but she was very French. 

  

No bigs, right? A night in Guadeloupe*** courtesy of Air France and a day at the beach. We have experienced worse fates. The beach was everything you could ever want and the hotel was the opposite. No one was harmed by coconuts. 

We did fly to Cayenne the next day and arrived with no problems. We were one of 7 passengers on the first leg of the trip and the second leg was filled with mainland French folks who were also delayed in getting to Cayenne.

Once landed we got ourselves to our hotel through one strike-imposed roadblock. The strike was super calm and peaceful. It looked more like people hanging out at a block party than a coup. There was the occasional tractor in a rotary but, really, what party is complete without a tractor?****

The country was basically a ghost town with businesses shut down. There was hardly anyone on the roads or even out and about the entire time we were there. From what we did see, it looked like France was displaced into a South American jungle. It was clean, everyone we met and talked to was very nice and couldn't believe we spoke no French, and rainforest was everywhere. 

 

Most of our itinerary was canceled,***** but we did day trip to a set of islands, Iles du Salut, off the coast. It was an hour boat ride to Royal Island that overlooks Devil's Island. Devil's Island was home to the prison camp popularized by the book and film "Papillon."****** You can not go to Devil's Island but you can go to the island that overlooks it where they housed other prison facilities. Now it is open for people to camp, several of the buildings have been converted to a hotel, and you can dine with various wildlife. 

 

 

For our final French Guiana excursion, we had to leave. The plan had always been to drive to the border and take a boat across the river to Suriname, but the strike called everything into question. In the end, it was a go with only a few literal roadblocks. Our driver sweet talked one guy and solidarity fisted the others and we got through. 

Once we got to the river, France ended and the third-world South America/Caribbean began. We hopped a boat and were ferried away to Suriname where things are just as jungly and far less French. 

We are exploring Paramaribo for the next day before we go on to Guyana. C'est bon!

*The reunion of me with my passport, of course. It was also great to see AT. She's got a great hair color going on. 

**Just call Putin, amirite???

***POINT

****Hi Kyle!

*****We did not go to the space center where I had planned to reenact every Houston field trip ever where I pretended to be way more interested than I really was. 

******SPOILER ALERT: he escapes.