car accident

I had a pretty serious accident last week that has now put my trusty '98 Opel Corsa out of commission permanently.

I was driving along the main road between Cayenne and Rémire-Montjoly, but the traffic was pretty bad and kept slowing down. The truck in front of me stopped, so I stopped too. The truck behind me, however, wasn't watching the road and hit me rather hard. My car was projected into the truck ahead of me so I got squashed in both front and back.

My back window shattered into tiny pieces, showering me in broken glass and I had a nasty whiplash.  I had to go to the hospital and must now wear a neck brace for the next ten days. The driver who hit me was actually a young Hindustani man from British Guyana who is working in French Guiana. He was driving his company's truck.

Our insurance company here is completely incompetent and is unable to assist in any way-- such as lending me a vehicule until the Corsa gets repaired. Although we contacted them and pleaded with them for a temporary car (we pay them for this service!) they just "forgot" us. (Evitez la GMF à tout prix, ils sont nuls !)

So, Jack and I have found a rental car on our own and it's costing us €15 per day. Also, there will be an expertise done on the Opel Corsa by our rotten insurance company to see whether it's worth repairing. If the repairs surpass the value of the car (which they undoubtedly will) then the insurance company will just give us a thousand euros or so compensation for the purchase of another car.

The bright side is that I'm feeling better and am grateful for not being seriously injured.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Willemstad, Curaçao

During our February vacation, Jack and I flew to Curaçao. Although it only takes four hours of actual flight time from Cayenne, we had to change planes in Paramaribo (Suriname) and there was a stop in Port of Spain (Trinidad). In all, we needed roughly nine hours to reach our destination.

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Willemstad, the capital. It's a big stop for cruise ships so it is well-kept and brightly colored with cozy restaurants and high class shopping. Jack and I were quite startled by the contrast with other parts of Curaçao which were dirty, full of litter and poverty-stricken.

Willemstad is most famous for it's mobile bridge and fancy waterfront.

There are a number of nice museums which inform visitors about the island's history. This picture was taken in the courtyard of the Kura Hulanda, an impressive history museum.

 As we roamed the streets, we were impressed by all the flashy colors of the local architecture.

 This picture was taken near a posh restaurant where we had lunch.

 Next to the remains of Fort Riffort, now an upscale shopping center, is where the cruise ships dock for the day.

 The flamboyant Dutch colonial architecture was fun to photograph.

 This pastel green building is actually the maritime museum. Unfortunately, we preferred the outside to the inside.

 On our second day visiting Willemstad, we had lunch in an eccentric restaurant called Mundo Bizarro. It looked somewhat like an attic that once belonged to the Addam's family. The food was fantastic, but portions were too small... so a great place to bring friends who are dieting.

 Colors, colors, colors...