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Departing cosmopolitan Forteleza from Fernando de Noronha.
Local fisherman brave the elements. These guys were 20 miles offshore!
Our route to French Guyana would take us past the Amazon River
The first days sail was boisterous, day 2 gave us a nice spinnaker run
Day 3 brought us into the doldrums and motoring became a theme on our 5 days to French Guyana
Crossing the PRIME MERIDIAN. After 3 years, Beach House was back in the Western Hemisphere
A painted ship on the painted ocean
Well…we were ready to sail..:-)
Classic doldrum weather where the northern and southern hemispheres meet
Many of our days were “exercise days”
Arrival at Devil’s Island, French Guyana…. The island made famous in the film “Papillion”, with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
Ille Royale… The main island of the infamous prison
Solitary confinement entrance being renovated
Placard marking the entrance to the solitary confinement cells
Entry way to the solitary confinement cells being renovated
Solitary Cell Block
Solitary Cell. This reminded us of when we’d visited Alcatraz Island last year.
Heavy wooden door to solitary cells
Renovation
Local residents
Peacock on Ille Royale
Indigenous Scarlet Macaw
DEVIL’S ISLAND… We couldn’t go ashore here and with our dinghy tour saw only this one building in through the dense foliage
River anchorage in Cayenne. The current would turn us up and down river every six hours or so
Cayenne Marina. Pretty much totally dilapidated
Fueling up in Cayenne – we hired a car
Cayenne, French Guyana
A bustling French “ville”
1950’s-1960’s archetecture
Internet Cafe…we stopped for a nice lunch too
Nikki in the park.
Dredging ship… Large craft drawing up to 15 feet can enter here only because of constant dredging
The mud is picked up and just pushed outward of the channel. Sisifusian Style
Leaving Cayenne, en route to Korou….Cardinal Mark… Not used in the USA, but everywhere else in the world they are. This one means, “Stay NORTH of me”
This is the EU’s “Cape Canaveral” 20 nations participate, but the French run the show. The entire tour is in French
EU Space Center
Russian Soyez launching pad
Italian Vega launching pad
Main Space Center
Mission Control
Arienne 5, Soyez and Vega models
These are the three commercial rockets currently being used
The tour was booked for 3 weeks! We went standby and just got in
For size, you can see Scott and Nikki standing at the base of the Arienne 5 rocket
Arriving Georgetown, Guyana. Nowhere to anchor, dock or go ashore…at least that felt safe. we quickly departed
Fishing fleet on the 4 mile entrance channel had to be watched for
Ocean meets River
Upmarket Resort, closed for the season, up the Mighty Essequibo River, Guyana
River currents and hazards had to be watched for. Sometimes the current would exceed 4 knots!
Upmarket homes just down river from Bartica
Downriver from Bartica…nice. Bartica….not so much!
