Blogs from French Guiana, South America - page 2

Sidan sidast…. Eftir sidasta blogg gengum vid upp Champs Elysees i leit ad godum veitingastad, thvi midur voldum vid ekki vel… Vid letum blekkjast af fyndnum buningum thjonanna sem voru i sjolidabuningum, rondottum peysum med hvitar kollhufur. Maturinn vakti ekki eins mikla lukku, franska lauksupan var meira eins og kjotbollusosa en supa og crepe-id var gratt a litinn, bragdid var lika frekar gratt.. En eftir ad hafa fengid okkur godan eftirrett annarsstadar forum vid upp i Sigurbogann thar sem Svenni tok margar margar flottar myndir. Thegar vid komum nidur vildi hann lika taka myndir af boganum upplystum i myrkrinu og sa ad best vaeri ad gera thad liggjandi a gangstettinni, thad thotti folki skondid en myndirnar eru geggjadar. Daginn eftir, a manadar brudkaupsafmaelinu, aetludum vid heldur betur ad gera vel vid okkur og fara m.a. fint ... read more

I wasn't even sure this deserved a blog, but in the end I decided to do one for two reasons: first of all for continuity, otherwise some of you might wonder how I teleported from Cayenne to Rio; then because when I was looking for info on the Cayenne-Macapa route, I remember there was very little available, so it might turn out to be helpful to someone. I had to be in Rio on the 1st of May, so I left Cayenne on the morning on the 29th (don't worry, the route involves getting on a plane!). My friend dropped me at the bus station where I caught a shared minibus. Thinking that because you're in a French county, the standard of driving might be slightly improved would be a serious mistake and the ride from ... read more

My visit to French Guiana started well, with a guided tour of St Laurent du Maroni in a police car. The first shop I saw was a boulangerie and that's when I realised “I'm in France! This is home! Well... Kind of...” Then I stumbled across a couple of French supermarket chains and was almost laughing to myself. It felt good to be “home”, probably better than it has felt going back to France every now and then over the last few years. It was a bit like having a break from the travels without actually having to fly half way around the world. I was only in St Laurent for a couple of hours, waiting for the bus that would take me South, to Kourou. With all the Suriname débâcle, I was arriving a little ... read more

I was laughed at by the Brazilians in Oiapoque when I advised that I would cross into French Guiana by bridge - it was due for completion in 2007. However, it is far from finished; in fact, it seems far from started! So, I cross by boat to St Georges from where I catch a shared minibus to Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana. It is 1.5 hours on the road before we arrive at passport control; beforehand, the road is littered with burnt out cars; the after effects of the French police torching the cars of those illegally entering the country from Brazil. Cayenne was a bit of a let down; I had expected a vivid blend of French and Carribean cultures but am confronted with a town that seems to be lacking an identity. ... read more

We left Paramaribo in the morning via bus along a ridiculously rough paved road to the border town of Albina. We crossed the river by boat and got stamped into French Guiana. We would use the country’s capital Cayenne as our base so boarded further transport to take us the rest of the way. The country, as a French territory, uses euros and is a horrendously expensive place. Thirty five euros to travel the three hours confirmed the rumours! Our journey wasn’t without drama, a young lad and an old man were talking away before the conversation turned a little nasty. It seems that the young lad was from Paris and had moved to Cayenne because that’s where his family came from. He wanted to get away from ‘racist Paris’ but found the people of French ... read more