Few local restaurants

There is a large choice of restaurants in French Guiana. Though there are held by people from different origins (Chiese, Brazilian, Surinamese, Creolian...), some typical Guyenese dishes are often available on the menu, for instance: Pimentade d'accoupa, Grilled Mérou sauce chien (or maracuja), Ragout de cochon bois (Pécari or Pakira stew), Fricassée de poulet au curry (Chicken carry), Crevettes au lait de coco (Shrimps in coco milk), stuffed crab, Rougail de Porc (Porc Rougail) or boucané, etc... and  as side dishes, salade the couac, lentils, red or green beans, rice are the most frequent ones...
Never forget the gratin de papaye (or sometimes the choucroute de Papaye) which, when finely prepared, are so delicious that you would not be surprised to find them on the menu of a three star restaurant in Paris or Lyon...
Regardless the way they are prepared, ALL restaurants serve outsanding fish dishes. This can may be explained by the the fact that they are extremely fresh i.e. they are cooked (almost) the same day they are fished. Fishes seem to be still abondant along the Guyenese coasts and local fishing is not as massive as in in the rest of the world. On the top of that, fishing seems to be a national hobby here.
As far as meat is concerned, one can see cattle grazing around as we already reported in this blog. Mainly: zebus and water buffalos. Beef meat is also imported from Argentina (via Paris!). Games is very popular on the menu but fortunately controls punish regularly places that served protected species (click here to see the list of endangered species in French Guiana).
Funnily enough to be mentioned: No italian restaurants around, but pizzas are served everywhere and most of the time you would be amazed by the quality.
So in one word: Food in Grench Guiana is really a nice surprise to be discovered with a bit of patience, education and curiosity. Just dare, you will never be disappointed :-)
Last but not least we should never forget few talented members of the Thales crew who prepared meals for the whole team at certain points in the campaign. Namely Salvatore (speciality: Spaghetti ai gamberi), Gerard (Pissaladiere) and Roger (please pronounce "RoDger", don't forget the D). One of his numerous recipes is the Marinade d'Acoupa (he fished and prepared the fish himslef). Certainly the best guy to have with you if by mistake you get lost in the jungle or the rain forest :-)
The few pictures below will give an idea, not on the food, but about the atmosphere you will enjoy in the various restaurants which have been visited by the MSG-3 teams during the launch campaign.
1-Le Saramacca, quartier Simarouba, Kourou (French/Creolian)

2-Le karting, Kourou (French/Creolian). Excellent grill. MSG-3 "canteen". if you ask for Erci, you will be red carpet treated!

3-Chez Mathilde (Dominican Republic), Kourou, Pimentade de Mérou and Gratin de papye***

4-Le Mistral (Brazilian), Quartier Monnerville/Monnerville district, Kourou. Excellent Pancakes.

 5-Mansoa del dorado (Pure Creole), Mana. Don't look at the menu just listen Sylvain, he will advice the best you can have.

6-Chez Modestine (International local cuisine :-), Saint Georges sur Oyapock

7- Wayki Village (Creolian), Roura.  Marinade d'Acoupa à la tahitienne **

8-Oiapoque, Carbet restaurant on the river. The view is likely the best there.

9-Breakfast at Hotel Floresta, Oiapoque, Brazil. Gorgeous fruits ***

10-L'Ancre Bleue, Vieux Bourg, Kourou. Guyanese specialities for a very reasonable price.

11-Kaz Kréol, Au Grand Pavois, Montsinéry. Good cooking and service, extremely nice location

12-Le Massalé (Pure Creolian), Quartier de Roches/Roches district, Kourou
Photo to be published later
 
13-Restaurant of the Ariatel (Novotel), Kourou, nice location...

14-l'Oasis Plage, located in Remire-Monjoly, excellent shrimps prepared according a secret recipe :-)

15-La Belle Amédéee, 5900 route des plages, Remire Montjoly, Cayenne 97354

16-Le Delili, 68 Avenue des Iles, 97310 Kourou (Chinese)

17-Le Pakira, 22bis rue C. Verderosa, 97315 Sinnamary. Nice location with a carbet terrace situated along the river. Excellent Guyanese cuisine (Pimentade d'Acoupa, Columbo de porc…)

18-Le Perroquet, 1 rue Jérémy, 97356 Bourg de Montsinéry. Cuisine Créole. Beautiful view on the river

This list is of course not exhaustive and may surely be complemented by other nice discoveries...

Few local churches

Christianity came to French Guiana together with colonisation and is still very present today. The Catholic group is the largest Christian community through the French Guyenese region. Local catholic practices have sometimes mixed with popular beliefs. The number of churches in each village all across the French Guiana reflects the importance of this presence even today. It is striking to observe the various architectural styles and materials that have been used for their construction. Some of these churches have been built (and decorated) by forced work prisoners.
Some of them may be noticed for a particular feature: For instance, the cathedral of Cayenne is the copy of Saint-Jean Baptiste de Grenelle in Paris. At Iracoubo, wooden interior of the church has been so remarkably painted that the church belongs now to the list of Monument historiques...
The few pictures below is just a poor selection of all this rich patrimony that can be seen when travelling through French Guiana.
1-Church in Roura

2-Church of Montsinéry

3-Church of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock

4-Church of Sinnamary

5-Church of Mana

6-Church of Saint-Laurent du Maroni

7-Cathedral of Cayenne (bell tower)

8-Church of the Royal Island (Ile Royale)

9-Church of Iracoubo

10-Chuch of Regina

Few local houses

Habitat is a fascinating topic. The genius of all human communities from nomadism to neolithic has always been reflected in habitat concepts. Yurts, igloos and later large urban areas showed continuous human inventions to adapt to various harsh conditions in order to develop family, social and economical links.
Housing in French Guyana is interesting to observe as it combines different factors like hot/humid climate, wooden materials, indigenous cultures, remains of the colonial times and requirements of modern life.
The (very) few pictures below during give a flavor of what can be see when traveling across the (accessible) parts of this country.