A small country in the North of South America that’s not really a country. It is a departement de France and therefore a member of the EU. In 2010 they voted against the opportunity to become independent: the inhabitants choose to stay a part of France. So obviously they speak French here, the cars have French licence plates and officially the flag is also the flag of France, but French Guyana does have it’s own flag as well. Being part of the EU obviously benefits the inhabitants, both financially and politically. It is definitely the better developed one of the three Guyana’s. Yes three because at one point there was also British Guyana (now just called Guyana) and Suriname was once called Dutch Guyana. More about these two countries will follow.
The culture is definitely French but there’s a strong South American / Caribbean feel to it. Wooden houses, colonial buildings, dirt roads and lots of jungle. And a more outdoor lifestyle, in the city there are lots of little food stalls on the streets, there are street vendors and people go out in to nature more. Sadly hunting is a big part of the outdoor culture 🙁 There are hiking paths and carbets, a wooden shelter where you can put up a hammock or pitch your tent under the roof. Most of these carbets are privately owned and you have to pay around Eur 15,- pppn for them. But there are some public carbets, free to use, as well.
Most of the people who work here in jobs that require a certain level of education (like a teacher) come from France or they were educated in France since there’s very little higher education in French Guyana, just a few courses in agricultural and forest management. People often come because of the higher salaries but life here is more expensive as well. The rent is higher and everything has to be imported. Imagine a single leek costing Eur 3,-…. And if something doesn’t arrive by boat, then it’s just not there. The tropical climate made us think you could easily grow fruit and vegetables here, but we were wrong. It is also very humid and there are apparently lots of fungi and plant diseases that make it very hard. Of course tropical fruits and some vegetables do well here, but things like tomatoes or apples have to be imported. The same goes for building materials, outdoor equipment, animal foods and clothes. So there isn’t much industry. But gold mining here is still a profitable exploitation. Not all of it is legal though and this damages nature. It is difficult to stop, given the culture, the dense jungle and the many (small) rivers. The police and the foreign legion work together in this, but we have no idea how successful they are.
Because France used to colonise Indo-China there are a lot of Asian (mostly Chinese) people living here and they own a lot of restaurants and stores. This also means lots of yummie Asian food! But you can also enjoy quite a few French and European dishes here and some Creole food. So it is quite a divers country with the indigenous people, the African people, the Asian people and the Europeans. Generally speaking it is the white Europeans who have the higher income, they are usually better educated. While we were there we noticed that these different groups don’t mingle a lot. Although the European people who are born and raised in French Guyana seem to mix better, especially with people from African descend. This is not typical for French Guyana though, people tend to stick to their own groups. Rightly or wrongly, this is how it is.
The capital is Cayenne and the only other two cities that are worth mentioning are Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Kourou. In Kourou you will find the launching area for the European Space Agency. Unfortunately there were no rockets launched while we were there as this would definitely have been an impressive sight!
