Travel to The Guianas – French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana – Episode 362
categories: south america travel
Hear about travel to the Guianas (French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Marcello Arrambide from wanderingtrader.com about his recent trip to these three South American countries.
All three countries in the upper right corner of South America were former colonies (France, the Netherlands, and Britain) but only French Guiana is still a territory while the other two are independent. Each has a culture heavily influenced by its mother country. All three countries have a vast rainforest.
In French Guiana, Marcello was particularly captivated by the sea turtles coming on the beaches to lay their eggs. French Guiana is also the former home of the infamous Devil’s Island prison but Marcello was not allowed to visit the island at the time of his visit. The European Space Agency has a launch platform there which you can visit. Of the three countries, French Guiana had the most sophisticated infrastructure.
Marcello did not come away loving the countries equally, but Suriname, in particular, is now one of the favorite countries of this well-traveled day trader. Part of what fascinated Marcello with the country was the unique blend of peoples in Suriname and particularly in the capital of Paramaribo. He also enjoyed a visit to the Galibi Nature Reserve where you can play with sloths, sea spiders the size of your hand and the monkeys are jumping on you.
In Guyana, Marcello was able to visit and enjoy the beautiful Kaieteur Falls and Orinduk Falls. He does recommend if you visit Guyana going on a tour because of some issues with crime and corruption in the country even though the language barrier for English speakers would be much less.
right click here to download (mp3)
right click here to download (iTunes version with pictures)
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Show Notes
Wandering Trader
History of the Guianas
French Guiana to be Newest Spaceport
Iwokrama Canopy Walkway
Galibi Nature Reserve
The Day Trading Academy
El Dorado Inn in Georgetown
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by Chris Christensen
Chris Christensen is the creator of the Amateur Traveler blog and podcast. He has been a travel creator since 2005 and has won awards including being named the "Best Independent Travel Journalist" by Travel+Leisure Magazine.+Chris Christensen | @chris2x | facebook
2 Responses to “Travel to The Guianas – French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana – Episode 362”
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Tags: audio travel podcast, french guiana, guyana, podcast, suriname
adolfo Salgueiro
Says:March 25th, 2013 at 10:44 am
I just finished the Guianas episode and enjoyed it very much. The guest knew his way around and explained in great detail what you could expect and what not.
My only shock during the episode was the recommendation of Papillon the movie instead of Papillon the book when your talked about Devil’s Island. The movie is all chopped up and poorly told. The book by Henri Charriere is one of the greatest adventure books of all-time.
I enjoyed the reference to the Synagogue and the Muslim temple being side to side. My son and I were once going to church in Pembroke Pines, Florida and not only saw a mosque and a synagogue very, very close to each other, but there was also a chiropractor next door. We laugh all the way to our Christian church a few hundred yards down the road.
Patrick Mans
Says:June 18th, 2018 at 11:38 pm
I’m not sure who Marcello talked to while in Suriname, but being from Suriname, I know for a fact that most people there speak and understand English.