Touring French Guiana-Not your Typical Vacation
It’s tough to shake off the dreary impressions of Devil’s Island even long after one is through with Papillion-the book written by French outlawed Henry Charriere. In an intrepid soul the book evokes extreme fantasies about this ‘land of labor’. And the land doesn’t disappoint to the curious! French Guiana is not for those who are looking for an idyllic break in some remote corner of the planet where the sensual pleasures reach to their zenith only when the existence is devoid of any kind of struggle. The region of 86,500 sq kms challenges the basic ‘you’ to consummate the relation fully.
In the South American island, French Guiana is part of France and is thus also a part of European Union, with the President of France republic being the head of state. The area was a French penal colony till as late as 1953 where the hardened criminals were brought down to wage a hopeless war against their fate. It is surrounded by Brazil and Surinam except for the north where the Atlantic borders the country with a big coast line and provides habitat to the majority of citizen in the coastal area thus formed. The remaining approximately 90% part of the country is covered by tropical rain forests. The weather for most part of the year is hot, steamy and rainy and the ideal time to visit would depend on what one wants to see in Guiana. The ‘Carnival’-only major cultural attraction of French Guiana takes place in February whereas the famous leatherback turtles could be seen between April to September. If you are on a vacation and believe in comfort first philosophy then dry months between July to December are ideal.
Warning-French Guiana is a very expensive place !If nothing then at least the French heritage of ‘expensiveness’ is kept intact .The currency here is French Franc and it’s not a problem to get that for US dollars / Travellers’ Cheque in Cayenne, the capital city of French Guiana, besides all the major credit cards are accepted. For a moderately comfortable stay be prepared to shell out approx. USD 100 per day.
Of 50,000 visitors that the area attracts every year almost every body goes to see Cayenne and Kourou.The former is the slumbering capital of the region on the banks of river Cayenne and the latter is a small ex-penal town on kourou river 40 miles west of Cayenne housing European space agency and French space agency and throwing many Ariane rockets in space every year.
In Cayenne you can relax at Place de Palmiste while sipping coffee or munching in hundreds of food stalls or you can stroll around in Place Grenoble –one of the oldest colonized areas. Alternatively you can decide to visit beach Remire-Montjoly that also has the remains of Fort Diamant.
There is not much to see in Kourou though and you can quickly move on to Ilues de Salut (Salvation Islands) 9 miles north from there. These islands are what gave the French Guiana its notorious reputation for more than a hundred years and Devil’s Island is one of these. Accessible by boat from Kourou one has to be extremely cautious about the vehicle as the currents are very strong and the water is heavily infested with sharks.
To more adventures there are other attractions in French Guiana. Cacao, the village of Hmong refugees from laos in 70’s, Kaw-the wildlife haven of French Guiana across the kaw river that offers some rare bird species, are some of other adventurous possibilities.
Last but not the least-the trek to the interiors of the country and deep in Amazon jungles are an experience worth a life time but only the braves should venture!
