Traveller's tree and others...

Over the past few weeks, I've taken photos of some of my favorite plants here in French Guiana.  (Click on photos to enlarge).

Bromelia are really popular in our area. Some species, like the one below, are so flashy that it reminds me of a bursting firework. Nature is so amazing.

Alpinia, or red ginger, are also prevalent in most gardens and backyards. Alpinia are mostly red, but we've also seen pink and white ones. 

Lastly is the traveller's tree or Ravenala. It's originally from Madagascar and has been imported to French Guiana as an ornamental plant. It's big, beautiful, and... invasive! It thrives in the tropical climate here and can grow really tall.

Here's a closer look at the base of the palm leaves which nature weaves together so beautifully.

Our Christmas vacation begins in three weeks. Jack and I will be driving over the border to the Brazilian town of Oiapoque for a couple of days and then we'll be spending Christmas on the Salvation Islands. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share...

French Guiana's Orchid Garden

A French couple of botanical scientists have just created a unique orchid garden about 40 minutes from our home in Cayenne. They've spent over a decade collecting and studying specimens and have created a jewel of a botanical garden to show the public over a thousand orchid species indigenous to French Guiana. This is a definite must for all nature lovers! (Click on photos to enlarge)

We learned that many orchids can grow very tall like this one:

There's also a greenhouse offering over a hundred varieties of orchids for purchase. This one really impressed us by it's size.

They also research and produce vanilla which are some of the oldest orchids still in existence since prehistoric times. Only a few flowers on the vanilla vine will actually produce a vanilla bean which is one of the reasons why it is a rare commodity.

This fiery red orchid is called Renanthera Philippinensis. It's a giant orchid that can grow taller than a person. We bought one in the greenhouse and have already enjoyed blossoms in our backyard!

The orchid garden has been beautifully landscaped to create little areas of shade and rest like this small lily pond.

Some of the orchids were planted in the ground. Most, however, were niched in trees and had drooping garlands of blooms.

It is really amazing to see how orchids come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors. I think this variety was one of our favorites.

Return to Paramaribo

Ok, you trivia lovers... What small South American country, formerly a Dutch colony and independent since 1975, has the capital named Paramaribo? We're speaking about... Surinam, of course!

Jacques and I just got back from a week's vacation in the Surinamese capital. This is the second time that we've gone there and we really enjoy the attractions, food, culture, and historical buildings we can find there. (It's also a lot cheaper than French Guiana!)

Here are a few of the highlights of our stay. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

Paramaribo is a city full of art and old buildings. Some houses have a very old look to them while others are carefully restored and figure among UNESCO's world heritage sites. We liked this one for the famous Surinamese figures painted on the fence.

A large part of the population in Surinam is from Indian and Hindustani descent. There are many Hindu temples around the city like this one near the Surinam River.

After some sightseeing, a refreshing Parbo beer at a local café really hits the spot!

Paramaribo's oldest monument is Fort Zeelandia built in the early 17th century to protect the colony's plantations. The Dutch architecture is easily recognizable.

We also made a few friends while in Paramaribo and got a special treat... A private cooking lesson to learn how to make "pom" a traditional Surinamese dish. Thanks Elfriede!!

Our favorite part of Paramaribo is the shady Waterkant area along the river. Some of the city's most beautiful historic wooden houses are located there.

 This was our favorite building.

To complete our stay, we visited the famous orchid market held every Sunday morning. Hundreds of varieties are found there for sale, each unique and captivating. The prices are unbeatable!

It's really too bad that Surinam is unknown to most travellers-- the country has made great strides to preserve its history and offer good quality touristic services. How fortunate that our jobs in French Guiana have allowed us to discover this little country.

The town of Tonnegrande

Not too far away from the zoo is the town of Tonnegrande, a quaint village along the Tonnegrande river. Jack and I went there for a quiet walk along the riverside. (Click on photos to enlarge).

 We saw a pretty impressive mango tree next to this foot bridge...

 The picture above is supposedly a really nice restaurant along the river front but it was closed on this lazy Sunday afternoon. Too bad.

It only took us about twenty minutes to walk around the center of the village, but there were a couple of nice buildings in colonial style architecture such as the post office...

 ... or the church.

We're well into the dry season now so every day is hot and sunny. A lot of people take advantage of the dry season to go for walks in the rain forest since the trails aren't muddy or slippery and wet. Perhaps we'll try that next week...

Lama Prévôt High School

School has started once again! Before all the students arrived in early September, I decided to take some pictures so I could present my job. 

Lama-Prévôt high school is located just outside of Cayenne in the suburb of Rémire-Montjoly. It's one of the newest high schools in French Guiana and is supposed to be very ecological with all of its solar panels. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Although solar panels are an excellent idea, this means that all of the classrooms are exposed to full sunlight-- shade is to be found nowhere. What's more, there's no air conditioning or fans-- just windows to open for air. As we're situated on a busy avenue, the roaring traffic and noisy motorscooters often make it hard to concentrate or even hear one another during class.

Here's our un-airconditioned school cafeteria. Sometimes there's no wind despite all of the open doors and windows. We all get really hot and sweaty as we eat our hot lunches.

The classrooms are mostly bare, just furnished with tables, chairs, and a whiteboard. Although it's possible to temporarily borrow equipment from the computer technicians, I've found this a very long and tedious process. Therefore, like most other teachers, I've purchased my own laptop computer to bring in, my own videoprojector, and my own computer speakers in order to work in more modern conditions. For the moment, we're also not yet linked to WIFI for internet access.

Although my working conditions are exhausting, I find the students globally pleasant and well-behaved. Also, the surrounding hills and vegetation are simply a gorgeous backdrop to the high school.

The Montabo walking trail

 One of the really easy and picturesque walks to do around Cayenne is along the Mantabo trail.  It takes about two hours round trip and you progressively walk through luxuriant plant life along the beach front into rain forest before arriving at the beach on the other side of the mountain.  (Click on photos to enlarge)

 We were surprised to spot lots of flowers we'd never seen before like this reddish cluster that sort of ressembled honeysuckle.

 We also caught a glimpse of the giant blue morpho butterfly, here with its wings closed. (Sorry!)

 On the other side of the mountain, we overlooked the beach where Jack and I regularly go for a swim. Here it's high tide so it doesn't look like much of a beach.

 Unfortunately, we found no garbage cans or bags along the trail. As in many countries, the unconcerned hiker just carelessly throws their trash onto the forest ground and spoils the landscape. Yet if man can do such incredible things like send satellites into space, create new and amazing computer technology or discover cures for mortel diseases, why is it impossible for him to just keep a forest clean?!

Visiting Montenegro

During our summer holidays in July, we went back to France to see family and friends. We were also lucky enough to be able to schedule a one-week guided tour through Montenegro with Niels and Julia.

Montenegro is part of ex-Yugoslavia and it is also a very mountainous country that borders the Adriatic Sea. The landscapes are truly marvelous. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

 We visited a 17th century monastery called Ostrog built high up on a high vertical cliff...

 The churches are mostly Orthodox and some are very small like here in Cetinje (Montenegro's former capital).

 One of our favorite sites was the Black Lake near Mount Durmitor.

 We were 15 people in all on our guided tour, and everyone got along well.

Prices are a lot lower in Montenegro than in France which made eating out and buying souvenirs very affordable. I guess our one disappointment was the difficulty we faced communicating and the somewhat cold reactions given by many people. Although our tour guide had taught us how to say "Hello" and "Thank you" and "Please" and "Goodbye" the most frequent response we received from Montenegrans was just silence and a scowl. Hmm... we were not too sure how to interpret that.

Chou-aï, the sloth sanctuary

The rainy season is officially over, and the dry season is now bringing more sun and heat... but the humidity is slightly lower.

One of the exciting things Jack and I recently did was to visit a sloth sanctuary just outside of Cayenne. (Click on pictures to enlarge)

 Here's a mommy with her baby...

 As the population in French Guiana grows, more and more trees are being cut down to clear space for construction. With their habitat shrinking, sloths are becoming an endangered species due to this increase of human activity. Some sloths are found wandering on roads here about to be hit by cars or near housing developments where dogs will attack them. Concerned people pick up the stray and sometimes injured sloths and turn them over to Chou-aï, the only sloth sanctuary in French Guiana.

 This sanctuary does a really good job at informing the public all about sloths and how we can try to protect them better. What really impressed us was the possibility to take a sloth in our arms. I can honestly say they are one of the mildest and most inoffensive creatures I've met. They love three things: sleeping, eating leaves, and being cuddled...