 | Kourou Things To Do | Tips 1 - 5 of 5 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (5) The Kourou Carnaval starts about 2 weeks before the Rio carnaval and consists of about 20-30 floats and bands from the local area and from all over Guiane, what's really interesting is that there are groups from many different countries that are living in Guiane that take part, so you can see traditional dancing and costumes from places as diverse as Columbia, Canton, Argentina, Brazil, France and Amerindia.
The whole town pours out to watch the procession and there is a great ambience to the afternoon, not so great if you've still got a headache from the night before's partying though.... Leave a Comment Address: Kourou, Cayenne, St Laurent Main streetsDirections: The main street and Avenue des roches, if you're in Kourou, you can't really miss it |
Made famous by the book and film 'Papillon', the islands are located about 11 miles off the Kourou coast. There are daily excursions there both by motor boat and yacht, expect to pay between 30 and 40 euros per person for the day.
There are 3 islands in the group, Devils Island (the most famous, but you're not allowed on it), Royal Island (which has a very good restaurant and hotel) and St.Joseph Island (which has a foreign legion and gendarmerie post).
The islands offer a fascinating history into the politcal prisoners of France, the conditions they lived in, the hospitals and quarters are still standing, I'll stick more photos and info in the travelogue.
It is well worth reading the book 'Papillon' before coming here as the islands have mostly now been taken over by palm trees, which wasn't the case when they were prison islands and when its a beautiful sunny day, the hardship that the prisoners went through is very easy to forget. Leave a Comment Phone: +594 594 25 10 10Directions: Either go to the Pontoon at the end of the bourg or the nautical club at the hotel des roches, the number provided is for a catamaran called Tropic AlizesWebsite: www.tropic-alizes.com |
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Around 5 times a year, ESA launches an Ariane 5 rocket from the spaceport here in Kourou, if you're planning on coming to Guiane, its worth looking up if your visit coincides with a launch, you can check on the ESA website.
There is also a dedicated CNES channel which gives numbers to phone and dates of launches, if there is one near.
Generally everyone heads to the beach to watch the launch, but there are 2 observation areas closer to the launch site (nearer to Sinnamary), and one atop a hill with a big screen to watch the countdown and then the launch itself, but you have to reserve a place here, so its best to know someone living around here that can get your reservation in early.
One of the best places to watch from though is the montagne des singes, or monkey mountain, it takes about 30 minutes to get to the carbet at the top and you will need a torch to see, but the view is spectacular (third photo). Leave a Comment Address: www.esa.intDirections: The base is restricted access, to get to the beach head towards the 'Hotel des Roches' its signposted in town. |
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Besides the Space Museum, which in itself can be quite interesting, the Space centre also arranges tours to look around the Space centre itself, including visiting the mission control room, visiting the launch pad of Ariane 5 and visiting some of the more interesting places on the site.
The tour guide on the bus also speaks English, so it's OK if you don't speak French, the tour around mission control and the Space Museum also do tours, but you have to take a kind of walkman with you if you want the English tour. These may or may not work depending on the day. Leave a Comment Address: Arrange the tour at the space museum |
Every year around the end of October there is a special little race that takes part in traditional canoes (pirogues) there are usually around 8 teams that take place from all over French Guyana.
The course is 3 x 4km and the aim is to arrive at the end of the race with a palm frond of fire intact, competition is fierce to win, but if the fire goes out then the race is all over.
You can join a team if you know who is forming one, as there is quite a bit of training involved, the rest of us just have to watch, cold beer in hand.
The beach is set up to cater for the spectacle with a number of shops selling local goods setting up tent on the beach as well as bouncy castles and things for the kids. Leave a Comment |
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on February 20, 2006
