FRENCH GUIANA (France)

Location - South America; Capital - Cayenne; Population - 250,000; Currency - Euro

Flying into Paramaribo, we headed straight for Kourou in French Guiana, in 2004. French Guiana is an overseas department of France and therefore, bizarrely, part of the European Union..

Which means that the Euro is French Guiana's currency

The hotel balcony view in Kourou

Kourou's beach, on the Atlantic Ocean

It was carnival time in Kourou.
A slave on the left, a crocodile on the right

What can I say? Kourou carnival

Costumes made of banana leaves, Kourou

Kourou carnival

Bright colours at Kourou carnival

I'm not sure which bird this is (maybe a dragon or mosquito?) - Kourou

A Kourou angel

Kourou carnival

The Guiana Space Centre is at Kourou, set up by the French government.
It's also the centre for the development of the Ariane rocket

Space Centre control room, Kourou

The sailboat from Kourou to the Iles du Salut (The Salvation Islands)

The Iles du Salut comprise Ile Royal, Ile St Joseph and Ile du Diable (Devil's Island). They were a French penal colony, and made famous in the film Papillon

More info on Devil's Island and the Iles du Salut here

The ruins of the 19th century penal settlement buildings on Ile St Joseph

The ruins of Ile St Joseph

Nature reclaims Ile St Joseph

Ile St Joseph's beach

A view of Ile Royale in the foreground, leading to Ile St Joseph beyond

The former prison hospital on Ile Royale

Ile Royale was the French administrative headquarters for the penal colony

Political prisoners were kept on Devil's Island.
Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned here. Henri Charriere, better known as Papillon, spent time on Ile Royale and Ile St Joseph but apparently not Devil's Island.

Enjoying a beer at Bodega Bar in Cayenne

The city centre of Cayenne

A decaying colonial buidling in Cayenne

The Place des Palmistes in Cayenne

Stopping off on the road to Cacao in the French Guiana interior. We hired a car for a few days to explore areas away from the coast, as public transport is pretty much non-existent

Cacao is a town with many refugees who left Laos in the 1970's

It's only possible to get to Kaw by boat, down the river of the same name

The village of Kaw is a base to explore the beautiful Kaw Nature Reserve

Buffaloes at Kaw Nature Reserve

Kaw Nature Reserve - there's also a lot of birdlife in the area

A night time trip in search of caiman at Kaw Nature Reserve

Looking perfectly at ease holding a caiman, Kaw Nature Reserve

Don't worry, he's still alive! The guide was proving that their bite is worse than their bark - Kaw Nature Reserve

Fourgassier Falls can break up a journey to Kaw

Montjoly beach lies just outside Cayenne. Leatherback turtles can be seen here in season

Colonial buildings at St Laurent du Maroni - on the left, locals are selling their wares from wheelbarrows

The Town Hall in St Laurent du Maroni

Prisoners arriving in French Guaiana were all processed at the Transportation Camp in St Laurent du Maroni

Prisoners' feet were shackled to the bar in this Transportation Camp cell, St Laurent du Maroni

The Transportation Camp was built in 1857, St Laurent du Maroni

The Maroni river divides St Laurent du Maroni from its neighbour in Suriname, Albina

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LINKS

www.tourisme-guyane.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Guiana

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.