Christmas 2015 on the Salvation Islands

After visiting Oiapoque in Brazil, Jack and I spent six days in my favorite spot in all of French Guiana: the Salvation Islands. These islands (Royal Island, Devil's Island, and St. Joseph Island) are three small land masses seperated from each other by only a short swim. They're located 14 kilometers off the coast of French Guiana, and it takes an hour by ferry to get there. Royal Island is the only island with a hotel and that's where we celebrated Christmas Eve and Day, in 30°C weather, and a refreshing dip in the Caribbean Sea.

I had a lot of papers to correct during my stay, however. My hotel room had a nice balcony with a view of the sea and Devil's Island. The sound of the waves pounding actually made correcting a very pleasant experience... for once! (Click on photos to enlarge)

Another much needed activity was relaxing. There are a few spots on the island where we like to go to look out at the sea and enjoy the calm.

Since it was the holidays, I decided to grow a mustache! 

Many palm trees grow in awkward places...

Here's a better view of Devil's Island from the hotel restaurant's balcony. In the 19th century, Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil's Island which was supposed to unescapable.

Lots of monkeys inhabit the islands. Here are two fellows who were as much curious about us as we were of them. They liked the look of our backpacks, probably thinking we had a snack to give.

Who's greener? Jack or this wall of plants?

One of my favorite times of the day was sunset which we never missed. The clouds and the colors changed every few minutes and it was a spectacle worth watching. I already miss the islands and can't wait for our next trip back...

Visiting Oiapoque (Brazil)

Our Christmas vacation gave us some much needed rest and relaxation from our stressful jobs. One of the activities we did was travel. We drove down to the river Oiapoque, the natural border between French Guiana and Brazil. We crossed by boat and spent the night in a really nice hotel on the Brazilian side.

Strangely, all the boats seemed to have prayers printed within them asking for a safe passage... (Click on photos to enlarge).

As we were crossing, we caught a glimpse of the famous Oiapoque bridge, financed by France to commemorate Brazilian-French relations. Although the construction was completed in 2011, it still hasn't opened because the Brazilian government hasn't even built a road on their side of the bridge-- it just connects into rainforest! Now it's just aging uselessly, awaiting some unknown future date and has cost French taxpayers over 10 million euros. I guess relations are not as good as politicians claim...

After getting our passports stamped, Jack and I walked to our hotel. It has a lovely bridge and is nestled in a lovely garden setting.

There's nothing much to do in Oiapoque except go for walks or do a little shopping. Jack and I strolled downtown and took some photos near the river.

Here's the local church...

Everywhere we saw messages about God and Jesus, even on store signs like at this fruit stand.

Poverty and unsanitary living conditions are much more visible here than in French Guiana. Most of the streets are unpaved and dust and garbage are everywhere.

After returning to French Guiana, Jack and I made another little trip during the holidays. In fact, we spent five days in my most favorite place in all of French Guiana which is... (to be continued!)

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.