Driving 200 kilometers southwards on the RN2 road from Cayenne will lead you to
Saint Georges a border village with Brazil set on the Oyapock river. Note that the asphalted portion of the RN2 road between Regina and Saint Georges was completed in 2004.
Saint Georges is a quiet typical Guyenese small village where the connection with Oiapoque (Brazil) is made with pirogues commuting on both sides of the Oyapock river. In 2011 a huge
cable-stayed bridge connecting the two cities was built. The road on the Brazilian side is not yet completed therefore the bridge is not open yet to traffic. This is planned in 2013 (?). Therefore, a kind of
cathedral in the
desert at the moment...
Before having a glance on Saint Georges, the short history of the border line between French Guiana and Brazil is worth to remind. This argued border was initially set by the
Utrecht Treaty in 1713.
In the
Contesté franco-brésilien, the following sentence of the 1713 treaty was the causing the issue:
"
Que la navigation de l'Amazone, ainsi que les deux rives du fleuve,
appartiendront au Portugal, et que la rivière de Japoc ou Vincent Pinson
servira de limite aux deux colonies."
It took roughly 200 years to understand what the diplomats at the time meant with spelling of the word "Japoc". For Brazilians (who became independent in 1822) this word was clearly designating the Oiapoque river but for the French the Araguary river (part of the Japoc region?). A Swiss arbitration in 1900 gave right to Brazil on their interpretation of the treaty adding a surface corresponding to half the surface of France to the Northern part of their territory!
En passant, the history of the western border (between French Guiana and Suriname) is not more glorious for France. There is even still an area situated on the high Maroni river which is under argument...For further reading on the topic click
here...
But let's come back to Saint Georges. The most active part of the city is organised around a large square sitting, on one edge, along the Oyapock river. On the opposite side of the river, a refreshed town hall can be observed, the rest of the perimeter being filled with small restaurants, a grocery and some usual houses. In the middle of this square, a memorial sadly reminds the names of the local citizens who lost there life in the
first world war (1914-1918).
A closer view on it unveils the long list of people who were sent to remote european battle fields in 1914 somewhere between other borders: those of France Belgium and Germany. They likely had no clue where it was before leaving French Guyana and what were the reasons of this conflict. Considering the small size of the village and the amount of human losses, it easy to understand the importance of the 1914-1918 tragedy.
Today, it should be reminded all the time that the period of ca 70 years of peace and growth that benefited Europe since 1945 was due to the development of the European Union process between the the old fighting nations. Contemplating this monument, it is easy to understand why this process should be pursued and consolidated today to face the challenges of the new surfacing world.
The town hall can be easily be identified by its blue and yellow colours on the facade. The city blazon with the bow in the left corner can be noticed. A slogan beneath the city blazon "M'arc boute
POC à POC" reflects an
onomatopoeia, related to the noise of a bow when it is arched. The presence of a
Jaguar fighting with an indigenous man on the same blazon is peculiar enough to be mentioned as well.
On the right hand side of the square (when looking at the town hall) stands a small restaurant with the lovely name of "Chez Modestine". The restaurant terrace faces the square. From there, you can observe taxis commuting on the river.
For literature lovers, Modestine refers to
Robert Louis Stevenson, a famous Scottish (travel) writer. If everybody knows the
Treasure Island, few people only knows
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. Modestine was the name of this unpredictable but lovely donkey who brought to Stevenson's trip some unexpected surprises... At the restaurant, no donkey, just a nice
scarlett macaw on the signboard.
Before starting the river crossing to Brazil, don't miss the only "monument" of the village: the church. It is at this very place, that "
donkey's ears" ago, deported prisoners discovered in the soil some Dutch coins representing Saint Georges while they were building the church. This may be the explanation of the village's name.
Eventually it's time to embark to Oiapoque (Portugese spelling) i.e. the Brazilian border city on the other side of the river. At Saint Georges pier, a "taxi"driver is almost waiting for you round the clock. The transfer will last 15 minutes and cost 5 euro for a single ticket per person. Click
here to get the journey impressions.
On the other side, this is the Oiapoque "harbor" as you will discover it:
It is not sure that the vast majority of Rio de Janiero or other Brazilian citizens from large cities would recognise Brazil at this very place or even precisely locate this nice city on the map. Anyway, welcome to Brazil!
A warning notice plate written in Portuguese and something between French and Creole languages tells you about risks across the border. For sure this represents a promising discovery as important as the
Rosetta Stone for archaeologists of the next millennium :-)
In case you get homesick, you still have a chance to see the French Guyana bank from the Brazilian side. Then you will realise two things:
Secondly, that the river is not a real border but on the contrary a link between the peoples.
