We’ve been here about 3 weeks now (just can’t believe it!!) and are having a lovely time.
The marina here is being put into place by Davide and as yet it has few facilities and is not really a marina as we know it as there are no pontoons just mooring buoys. He had put 10 buoys in and has been very busy putting in a further 10 in the last week or so. He offers great assistance, with help booking in and runs to the nearest big supermarket and petrol station for diesel but there are no showers and no plans for any!! He does plan to put in a restaurant and currently you can get beers and soft drinks from the marina office (as part of a non-profit making association the bars are 1 euro for a 500ml can :-) ) – where we tend to congregate these days from around 4.30pm until 6.00pm when he closes
The marina here is being put into place by Davide and as yet it has few facilities and is not really a marina as we know it as there are no pontoons just mooring buoys. He had put 10 buoys in and has been very busy putting in a further 10 in the last week or so. He offers great assistance, with help booking in and runs to the nearest big supermarket and petrol station for diesel but there are no showers and no plans for any!! He does plan to put in a restaurant and currently you can get beers and soft drinks from the marina office (as part of a non-profit making association the bars are 1 euro for a 500ml can :-) ) – where we tend to congregate these days from around 4.30pm until 6.00pm when he closes
For the last two years he has organised the Nereid’s Rally from Trinidad/Tobago to the Guianas to help promote his marina and Saint Laurent. The rally takes place at the end of September and is a great alternative way to escape the hurricane season in the Caribbean rather than staying in Trinidad - but it is about a 600 mile sail to windward so not for the faint hearted.
The rally had ended in SLM on 5th October but when we arrived here there were still 4 rally boats here and just one or two others including Nicky and David on Baloo who we had met in Jacare. Unfortunately David has not been well and was at that time in hospital Kourou 200 kms away!
We’re having a great time here BUT, (there’s always a but!!), unfortunately our dinghy is not enjoying it as much! We knew we had a small problem in Jacare as one of the seams round the transom (back!) was coming apart. Chris got some glue (meant to be really good stuff) and stuck this back – it seemed to be ok but not stick brilliant.
On the Tuesday after we arrived, we pumped up the dinghy (we got it out on deck on Monday – one thing at a time as it’s pretty hot here!) and dinghied into the marina arranging with Davide to pick up a buoy the next morning. Once on the buoy we went over to the office to pay and arrange for internet cover etc. There we met Amanda and Rick from ‘Duplicat’ (from the rally) and were asked across for sundowners that evening and I was also asked to the ‘Ladies Lunch’ the next day. Brilliant! That evening we went out to get into the dinghy only to find one of the tubes had deflated badly so we brought her back on board to pump up and have a look. OH DEAR!! The cone at the end of the tube had come away and was letting air out at an alarming rate! That put paid to us getting over to Duplicat in the dinghy but one of the other yotties was about and let Duplicat know and very kindly Rick offered us a taxi service there and back! We had a great evening and Rick kindly agreed to pick me up when he took Amanda ashore for the lunch the next day.
On the Tuesday after we arrived, we pumped up the dinghy (we got it out on deck on Monday – one thing at a time as it’s pretty hot here!) and dinghied into the marina arranging with Davide to pick up a buoy the next morning. Once on the buoy we went over to the office to pay and arrange for internet cover etc. There we met Amanda and Rick from ‘Duplicat’ (from the rally) and were asked across for sundowners that evening and I was also asked to the ‘Ladies Lunch’ the next day. Brilliant! That evening we went out to get into the dinghy only to find one of the tubes had deflated badly so we brought her back on board to pump up and have a look. OH DEAR!! The cone at the end of the tube had come away and was letting air out at an alarming rate! That put paid to us getting over to Duplicat in the dinghy but one of the other yotties was about and let Duplicat know and very kindly Rick offered us a taxi service there and back! We had a great evening and Rick kindly agreed to pick me up when he took Amanda ashore for the lunch the next day.
Off I went and was introduced to Sue (& Malcolm) from Piano; Amanda (& Mikey) from Silent Annie; both with the rally and Americans Marcie (& David) from Nine of Cups and Davide’s mother (brilliant Italian lady of 86). It was very enjoyable although I was not too keen on the food!! Chris had spent the day sticking up the dinghy but was beginning to feel it was rather a lost cause as every time he stuck one bit anther bit came away! The glue had just completely given away. We felt that it was just too risky to continue to use it and decided to order a new one to be sent over from France - finally managing to complete the transaction about a week after we first ordered it!
SLM was the base of the French prison colony and has a huge prison camp just next to the marina made famous by the film of Papillon and also the political prisoner Dreyfus. Those who had been on the rally had already had a tour but Marcie and David had not, so after our Ladies Lunch, Marcie and I booked tickets for a tour the next day – with a promise from David that they would pick us up if the dinghy was out of action.
It was an incredible tour of the Transportation Camp, a large rectangular enclosure where over a period from 1852 until 1953, 70,000 convicts had been housed some in transit to Devil’s Island. The system was just SO brutal. There was a Special Maritime Court with special jurisdiction for any prisoners breaking the prison rules. The sentences could range from solitary confinement for periods of 3 months to 5 years and even the death sentence. Over the years 35 men were put to death by the guillotine. The prisoners were kept in the ‘prison within a prison’ and in atrocious conditions, being shackled round the ankles at night (or in some cases for 22 hours out of 24!) to iron bars welded onto their sleeping benches – unable to move, even to use their toilet bucket. The prisoners were not allowed to touch the walls or lean against them and special charcoal paint was used on the bottom half of the walls which rubbed off if touched – a cause for further punishment. We were shown several cells where the prisoners had marked the walls and also cell no 47 which was Papillon’s cell. (Henri Charriere). | |
After that we felt we deserved a beer and as the marina would be closed walked into the town to Le Toucan – a well recommended restaurant. We won’t go there again – the only beer (well lager) they had was draught Heineken and ended up costing 14 euros a litre!!! The cost of living here is much higher than in Brazil but that was ridiculous!
Later that evening we went over to Piano, Sue & Malcolm, for sundowners with Malcolm operating a taxi service for us. Another good evening.
Later that evening we went over to Piano, Sue & Malcolm, for sundowners with Malcolm operating a taxi service for us. Another good evening.
Saturday is market day and Sue and Malcolm took us over and Sue showed us around and where to buy Mong soup – a great bowl of soup and noodles. A super market with amazing fruit & veg.
Unfortunately, when Sue called to ask Malcolm to pick us up, he told us that the outboard had packed up!! (They had had their own dinghy and outboard stolen a couple of nights before we arrived but luckily had been able to borrow a dinghy and outboard from Joe, another rally person .
Rick came to the rescue and picked us up and Chris suggested that as we had no dinghy and they had no outboard we could put them together and lent S & M our motor.
Unfortunately, when Sue called to ask Malcolm to pick us up, he told us that the outboard had packed up!! (They had had their own dinghy and outboard stolen a couple of nights before we arrived but luckily had been able to borrow a dinghy and outboard from Joe, another rally person .
Rick came to the rescue and picked us up and Chris suggested that as we had no dinghy and they had no outboard we could put them together and lent S & M our motor.
Over the weekend, two boats we knew well from Jacare arrived – Kevin on Opela and Christoph & Barbs on Taurus; it was great to see some more familiar faces.
It was decided that on Wednesday, we would all dinghy up to Leper’s Island where (in the film) Papillon had escaped to and asked for help from the lepers there. It was a great day – very relaxing and it was shaded and lovely and cool with a beach for swimming. Chris had gone up with Sue and Malcolm as our outboard was playing up a bit and I had gone with Marcie and David. We swopped for the return journey as M&D were going away to Cayenne for a few days and had offered us the loan of their dinghy while they were away so Chris wanted to get a feel for it. It was blowing up a bit with wind against tide on the way back and in the borrowed dinghy with S&M I got SOAKED to the skin – literally! |
Over the next few days, Silent Annie, Piano, Duplicat and Joe (can’t remember his boat name!) all left to go back north with hopes that we meet up again in the Caribbean. However, two new boats arrived with Augustine & Simone and Luis & Mali–as so often the case known to 2 or 3 of the others already here.
Saturday night was Halloween and although they had planned to leave, Marcie persuaded David to stay an extra day as she felt like a Halloween party! Samuel, Davide’s assistant, agreed to open the bar for us and we put up some decorations. By now David (Baloo) had come out of hospital so there was quite a good gathering including Samuel, his girlfriend Gabriella and a couple of their friends and we all had a really great time!
Sadly we said goodbye to Marcie & David the next day.
Hopefully we will meet them again somewhere.
Enough for now, I promise I will try to be quicker with my next post!!