Mardi Gras in Cayenne

The carnival season is in full swing and will last six weeks this year. Some people are a bit discouraged because it had lasted eight weeks last year. Anyways, French Guiana can boast of having the longest Mardi Gras season in the entire world.

I took nearly a hundred photos of today's parade through the streets of Cayenne, the capital. I've selected some photos I'd particularly like to share. (Click on photos to enlarge).

The parade is full of characters known in the Guianese culture and traditions. The first characters to appear are the "sweepers" who symbolically clean the streets and prepare for the festivities.

 These colorful ladies dance and sweep to the sound of the bands' drums. They can really move their booties and give everyone a great laugh.

 I didn't understand these characters. Are they supposed to be Creole smurfs?

 Lastly, the parades are full of men in drag. The guys parade around and act as ridiculous as possible to get everybody's attention.

 Lastly, this character is called a Touloulou. She's covered from head to foot so as to completely disguise herself and avoid recognition. Touloulous are the real queens of the parade. If one of them asks you to dance, then you can't say no... you're not allowed to refuse a Touloulou's wish!

More to come next week...

The Salvation Islands

During our Christmas vacation, Jack and I spent five days on the Salvation Islands and even celebrated New Year's Eve there. The three islands are just 14 kms off the coast of Kourou where France launches the Ariane rocket. Getting to the islands is actually a rough ride on the small ferry as we're sailing against a strong current. Many people were sick... except me! Having been to the islands before, I took my motion sickness pills before leaving and was even able to almost enjoy the ride. (Click to enlarge)

Royal Island is the only one of the three Salvation Islands with tourist capacity. There's a wonderful hotel with a view of Devil's Island from the balcony.

Saint Joseph's Island is visible near the port and offers some lovely pictures as well.

There's a lot of wildlife on the islands to discover, but it was mostly introduced by man. Therefore, the birds and monkeys are quite used to seeing tourists and don't run away. There was even one macaw that would come visit the tourists as they were eating at the island's only restaurant, hoping to get a few scraps off plates.

Royal Island is very small and it only takes about an hour and a half to walk around the entire island. There's also a museum on the history of France's penal colony.

All three of the Salvation Islands were occupied by the French penal colony. Prisoners were held there in appalling sanitary conditions and death was common. Moreover, the prison staff disposed of dead bodies by dropping them into the sea: this attracted large sharks which made escape by swimming quite impossible. The ruins of the prison are still visible but are rapidly deteriorating since being abandoned in the 1940's.

During our stay, we enjoyed quiet walks around the island's interior to spot the monkeys and birds. There are a number of paths like this one.

We also went swimming every day in the convicts' pool, a swimming basin created by the convicts to protect themselves from shark attacks. There are rocks that surround the basin and there's a fantastic view of Devil's Island.

All in all, the Salvation Islands are one of the most beautiful and peaceful places to visit in French Guiana today-- and such a paradox in light of its reputation as "hell on earth" during the penal colony years.