ions of Gilles. It was a day and night
of partying and experiencing the lo-
cal cultures.
Kourou is infamous for a very in-
triguing story, that of Papillon; Henri
Charriere, a man who was impris-
oned at the French penal colony, in-
correctly named Devil’s Island. The
story was made into a major motion
picture in 1973 starring Dustin Hoff-
man and Steve McQueen. Amazing-
ly the story of Charriere, Papillon,
is considered nothing more than a
fictional account of life in the prison
and is often regarded an almost iden-
tical re-account of a story written by
Rene Belbenoit, written 30 years ear-
lier and perhaps is a more accurate
account. Either way, the account
makes for a great story.
French Guiana was operated as a
penal colony for almost 100 years to
1946, it was considered one of the
most brutal and inhumane of all the
worlds such establishments.
Following the coast north, the bor-
der with Suriname soon beckoned
and the Arrondissement of Saint
Laurent du Maroni, the crossing of
the Maroni River. It brought further
challenges; no ferries working. The
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