Our hotel in Kourou, Le Gros Bec, is within walking distance of the boat terminal servicing the Salvation Islands. It's about an hour long boat ride to the islands and the return day trip cost us €42 each. It was a sensational day, hot and sunny and with a cruise ship also docked nearby their were quite a lot of tourists scattered around the island. We spent all our time on Royal island, and as well as wandering around the derelict prison cells and administrative buildings, we saw agoutis and capuchin monkeys at every turn. It's easily walkable and we must have walked close to 10km during the six hours we were there.
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| Hotel Le Gros Bec in Kourou |
The Salvation Islands were made infamous by the book by Henri Charrière and subsequent film Papillon starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Used by the French as a penal colony up until the early 1950's, many of the worst convicts were sent here, but Charrière was one who always professed his innocence.
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| Some of the derelict prison cells |
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| The hospital on Royal Island |
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| The entrance to the hospital |
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| Looking towards Devil's Island from Royal |
The following day we went to the excellent Space Center where the Europeans launch the Ariane, Soyuz and Vega rockets. The tour was in French but the tour guide was gracious enough to translate for us whenever she got the chance. The restricted area is enormous and the tour took close to three hours but it was well worth it, and free. We didn't get back to the hotel until about noon and we needed to be back in Paramaribo in Surname that night. Things were about to go pear shaped.
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| The European Space Center in Kourou |
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| The Vega launch site |
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