Visiting Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni

Jack and I stayed two days in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. After visiting the old prison, we walked around the riverbank.  Although it looks like the sea, it's really only the Maroni River; on the other side is the small country of Suriname. (Click on photos to enlarge)

We found a shipwrecked boat which seems overtaken today by the vegetation.

We also saw a memorial to the victims of France's penal colonies-- to the many convicts (some of whom had only committed shoplifting) who endured Guiana's hot and humid climate in deplorable jail conditions.

We also saw many tropical plants as we walked around such as this pineapple.

The most beautiful building in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is supposed to be the private residence of the préfet (like the governor).

Although the photos I've taken of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni may seem rather nice, I didn't much like this town. First of all, it's very dirty; littering is very commonplace and I frequently saw people throw their trash on the ground and just walk away. Few people seem to care about the Guiana they'll leave for their children and grandchildren. Some places were simply disgusting-- a shame to see-- and I felt distressed to witness the situation. Secondly, hungry, skinny stray dogs are everywhere. They roam the streets, bark, and fornicate. They pull apart garbage bags in order to look for food and scatter more trash. This caused me more distress.

Finally, the majority of the population in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is Saramacan, the descendants of escaped black slaves from Suriname. I was disappointed by our welcome, mostly distant and a lot of unfriendly looks.

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni will soon be the largest city of French Guiana as the birth rate in the Saramacan families is extremely high-- usually between 8 and 12 children. Moreover, the Surinamese immigrate massively to this city as the river border is easily crossed. Hm...

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni prison

After visiting Iracoubo, Jack and I spent last weekend in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the second largest city of French Guiana. It's on the Maroni River, just across from Suriname.

Much like the British did in Australia, the French government of the nineteenth century decided to solve the problem of overpopulation in prisons and the colonization of a new territory by exiling convicts to French Guiana. All prisoners were sent to this "transportation camp" in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to be sorted out. Some stayed and carried out their sentence here; others were dispatched to other jails in Guiana.

Here's the entrance to the old Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni prison, now a fascinating- but dismal- museum. (Click on the photos to enlarge)

The prisoners had to wear a striped uniform. No suntan lotion existed in those days to protect them from sunburn-- just a large straw hat.

The prisoners were treated more like animals than humans. They had little food and the sanitary conditions were appalling in their overcrowded barracks. In fact, many prisoners quickly died from the unhygienic environment. Worse still, nobody back in France really cared what happened to them... The prisoners also had to strictly obey rules like "No leaning against a wall". If they did, they could be forced to stand in this sunny courtyard for several hours, where the guillotine was placed.

Some prisoners were put into a tiny cell for isolation and were deprived of food for several days. Here is what the isolation cells look like.

Other prisoners were chained by the foot to a wooden table where they lay for days. Depending on the mood of their guard, their foot was either chained under the bar (thus severely bruised) or their foot was chained over the bar (circulation cut off which led to gangrene and amputation). In this picture, Jack has his feet over the bar which meant, if he were a convict, that he'd lose them from gangrene. Normally, only one foot was chained; the other was left free. A pot was placed under the table which the convict had to (try to) pull out to go to the toilet. And there were no lights...

Few convicts survived. In one cell we visited, we found this graffiti inscribed in a corner of the wall which says "Adieu maman" (Farewell, Mom...)

The Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni prison was used until the 1950's. Today, it's falling into ruins-- a process accelerated by French Guiana's baumy climate.

Iracoubo

Last week, Jack and I went from Cayenne to Saint Laurent du Maroni, the town furthest west of French Guiana and right on the border with Surinam. We past through the small village of Iracoubo which is quite famous for its church. (Click on photos to enlarge)

The rainbow was an added bonus as we discovered this monument, built in the latter half of the 19th century. Let's push open the main door and take a look inside...

As you enter, your first impression is that of a small, modest church.

However, you need to take a closer look. In fact, this church is also an amazing work of art done by a French convict named Pierre Huguet. Between 1892 and 1898, Huguet painted over 600 m² of surface: ceiling, choir, nave, chapels, and pillars are all richly decorated by his hand.

Today, Iracoubo is one of Guiana's most famous monuments, and a remarkable example of naive art. Although Huguet's paintings appear somewhat childish in their technique, they actually convey emotion to the onlooker in a very powerful, personal way.

Pierre Huguet was still under prison sentence while he painted the church. During that time, he benefited from more comfortable living conditions... and was less closely guarded. Eventually, the temptation for him was too great and he ran away-- only to die in a tragic accident. Yet the angels he painted still remain in Iracoubo, watching over all those who visit this unique church.

What is it?

It's time to put on your Sherlock Holmes detective cap for a little investigation. Your mission is to unlock the mystery of this object. Hint: I bought it at the market. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

It's quite big and somewhat heavy. Let's open it up and see what it looks like inside.

Hm. It's starting to look more and more edible, isn't it? How about if I remove a section and peel off some more of the white skin so we can get a better look?
Amazingly, it now looks very much like grapefruit! However, you can't eat any of the white skin I'm peeling off because it's too rubbery. Moreover, it's juicy and does indeed taste like grapefruit but with none of the bitterness. So... it must be... a shaddock! It's a real treat here in French Guiana because it's refreshing, inexpensive, and big enough to feed a family of six! This shaddock cost me 1€60 and it's one of our favorite fruit here.

the Intertropical Convergence Zone

French Guiana is swept yearly by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This is the line of clouds that form at the meteorological border between the northern hemisphere (anti-cyclone of the Açores) and the southern hemisphere (anti-cyclone of Saint Helen). The Intertropical Convergence Zone gets positioned over French Guiana twice a year; it's the rainy season with showers pretty much every day. When the ICZ is positioned at a higher or lower latitude, it's the dry season with clear skies and strong sun.

Mid-August is the time the Intertropical Convergence Zone leaves French Guiana to position itself further north. For the Caribbean and the United States, that means hurricane season begins but for us, it's the beginning of the dry season. This year, the ICZ is lingering a bit longer over Guiana... there's been a lot of rain lately and more to come next week too.

The rainy season is also rainbow season since the sun always emerges between two showers. I've seen dozens of rainbows this past week, so I decided to take a shot of one from our apartment balcony the other day.

Yes, in French Guiana every cloud has a silver lining... and a gang of illegal gold miners searching for the pot of gold.

Native Peoples' Day

From August 8th to 10th 2014, Cayenne hosted the fourth annual Native Peoples' Heritage Day. Native tribes from all over Guiana assembled in downtown Cayenne to expose their culture and handicrafts, as well as their concerns and distress, to their fellow French citizens and the local government. (Click on photos to enlarge)

 They were accompanied by representatives from other ethnic groups living in French Guiana such as the Creoles...

...and the large Hmong community (from Laos).

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the Saramaccan delegates.

One of the main objectives of this meeting was to promote the value of traditional cultures, in opposition to globalization, and remind our local government of its promises and duties to advance the native populations' needs and requests. For this, there were parades, conferences, dances, music, shamanic ceremonies and a march against illegal goldmining...

Each year, an estimated 6 tons of gold is illegally mined and smuggled out of French Guiana by  illegal aliens from Brazil, Suriname and (former British) Guyana. Organized into gangs and networks, these heavily-armed criminals cut down trees in the middle of the rain forest to mine gold, creating a wasteland of erosion and pollution where vegetation can no longer grow. Worse, the illegal miners use large quantities of mercury to help them find gold by amalgamation. The mercury runs into the rivers, poisoning the waters and intoxicating the wildlife. The Native Indians (especially the Wayana tribe) are the most heavily impacted by these outlaws-- malformations, miscarriages, nerve damage, and mental retardation are killing their people. Their leaders cried out in desperation to the French government officials present and asked them why France doesn't protect them adequately. Don't they have the same right to live safely and peacefully in their villages as any other French citizens? Doesn't France send soldiers into many other countries like Mali or the Ivory Coast? Why can't the borders of France's own territory be protected? In this photo, the numerous tribal chiefs banded together to unite their voices... (one of the Indian chiefs is a woman)

As consumers, we too have a role to play. Don't hesitate to ask your jewelry store where their gold comes from before buying it. If they don't know the place of origin, chances are you'll be buying illegally extracted gold connected to contamination, deforestation, and criminality. How much suffering and pollution is gold really worth?

Un jardin extraordinaire...

Jack and I visited a private garden called le Jardin bois de rose about 25 kilometers from Cayenne. If Claude Monet had lived in French Guiana, I'm sure the Jardin bois de rose would have inspired him just as much as Giverny. We met the owner, an old Creole lady about 70 years old who explained that she's invested all her time and money into the creation of her garden. The visit begins by following the secret path... (Click on photos to enlarge)

As we walked, we admired a cacao tree (used to make chocolate)...

...and flowers that seemed to be nesting in the undergrowth, waiting for the attentive eye to spot them.

Some flowers looked like pinecones with small orchids growing out of them...

In fact, we saw many varities of orchids like these tiny but fragrant Encyclia (I'm using my guide book to help me with a few names...)

or these...

We admired many different varities of palm trees and enjoyed lazing in their shade.

Then we reached the lily pond. Chairs were placed for visitors under the gazebo and allowed us to take our time contemplating the scene.

Dragonflies were busy, zipping around us, and the frogs gave a lovely concert of nature sounds. The reflection of sky and clouds on the pond's surface gave a special feeling to this part of the garden. Claude Monet's spiritual presence seemed to hover over the lily pads, perhaps near the heliconia?

...Or behind some of the other brightly orange-colored flowers? This one resembled flames licking a fiery object.

Unfortantely, we couldn't stay as long as we wanted because amongst the garden's inhabitants there were also some pesky mosquitos! We left along this path...

...and admired the tropical Hibiscus.

Once back home, I tried to imagine which flower I had admired most of all in the Jardin bois de rose. I think I preferred this rare specimen which, according to my guide book, bears the Latin name Jackibus Baratiae...

The latest purchase

Guess what I bought!

It's a used electric piano that I found locally thanks to the internet. I've been rather downcast since I sold my real piano in Le Mans, and I haven't played for over a month. I've lost most of the music from my memory, but I'm happy to be practicing again. I'm going to enroll for piano lessons, but I have to wait for the music center to open sometime around the end of August.

On a less happy note (pun intended!) my mosquito bites from Paramaribo, Suriname are really killing me. I've got 17 bites, all of them around my ankles. The itching is the worst I can every remember-- a flaming itch that smoulders and rages all day long, especially when I walk. Even in French Guiana, we don't have mosquitos that dangerous. I've been having to use a hydrocortisone ointment for the past days but the welts just don't seem to be going down...

Commewijne boat tour, Suriname

The last few days of our visit to Suriname were spent visiting the plantations along the Commewijne River, just a few kilometers north of Paramaribo (the capital of Suriname). It was the most historical part of our trip, and in my opinion the most beautiful-- but also the most infested with mosquitos! (Click on photos to enlarge.)

We began at Fort Nieuw Amsterdam. Built in 1734 by the Dutch, it was meant to protect the 600 very prosperous and lucrative plantations of the area. Apparently, there were English and French pirates looting cargo ships...

The Dutch built a powder house in 1740 to store the gunpowder needed for all the cannons.

However, the powder house became quickly too small to handle the needs of Fort Nieuw Amsterdam. A second one was built in 1778.

We continued our journey along the Commewijne River and visited two plantations. The first was Frederiksdorp, a coffee plantation dating back to 1700.

A prison was built there just after slavery was abolished in 1863, and the prison has now been transformed into a lovely restaurant. Today, it's hard to imagine all the sinister moments of Frederiksdorp's past.

The restaurant had a remarkable garden area with all sorts of orchids and other tropical flowers. My favorites are these heliconias (bractée du balisier en français).

The second plantation we visited was called Rust en Werk. Unfortunately, I have no photos of it because we were literally eaten alive by swarms of blood-thirsty mosquitos. Even five seconds of standing still to take a picture was impossible.

As we left by boat to return to Parimaribo, I admired the countryside all along the way. Jack, however, preferred doing something else...