French Guiana, September 2010 (16-17 sept)

Long due post...... continuing from where I stopped a year ago! Thursday, 16th Sept We woke up at 5.20 and left home at 6, to get going before the traffic jams. Long way driving and the first stop was the hill of monkeys. Started walking when Ka's flipflop broke. Us 3 continued while she went back to come via another, shorter, way (it was a circular route). Nature was beautiful and I was the last one of us. Suddenly I saw a snake, or I thought I had seen is, went back half a meter to check who or what if was. It was a well-masked brown one, 30cm from the way we had walked. I showed to H, who had read THE book (about poisonous animals in French Guiana) and she thought is might be bothrops. Ku took a few pictures of it. After that we were more careful and walked slower. St Laurent du Maron was a town by the border of Suriname, only the river Maron separates them. The town is a prison town, but seems the most beautiful from the ones we had seen so far. Colourful houses, friendly people. Bought some food before returning home and then wrote a mountain of postcards, because I had promised to send to a few people. My legs are burnt, red. Skin is still intact and I use lots of cream. Friday, 17th September Woke up 5.20. 7.20 was our ship from Kourou to Salut Island. First, King's Island, where the conditions had been the best for prisoners: a few hours of work and they made sure nobody escaped because this would make the living conditions more harsh. We walked around the island, ate lunch by the ocean (baguette and quite liquid camembert). Ku opened some coconuts. Ku and Ka also went swimming, me and H watched and took photos (I watched because my skin was already peeling away and was very painful, not a nice time to expose it to salt). Another ship took us to St Joseph's Island where solitary prisoners had been kept. The ship could not go close, so we etered the island by small boat. Walking again, this island had signs everywhere "Do not go out of the path, dangerous". Going back, others were sunbathing on the ship, I covered my legs with a green towel that was constantly trying to escape due to strong wind. At home we played board games. Jam bread with cheese, tea.....I do not remember more because wrote about this day the day after. Oh, I took many pictures of palm trees and ocean. To be continued [yehhh it will be until 27th Sept]