24 July St Laurent town

looking back to the dinghy dock

Town hall

July is the end of the rainy season. While we were here it was still raining heavily every afternoon. It was better to do our exploring in the morning and to get back to Jackster for lunch before 2 o'clock. A sail repair that was required to the main sail also had to be done in the morning before rain stopped play.

the prison

On our way to immigration yesterday David gave us a tour and history of the town. St Laurent began as a penal colony; the first port for all prisoners transported from France. Some stayed at the prison which they built and the rest were redistributed to islands near Cayenne or to Ils du Salut.

France supports French Guiana financially. There are grants for restoration of the historic buildings and economic support for the community. The mother of any child born here receives €450 per month for child care and every child has a place at school. The policy had encouraged large families and large scale immigration of Surinese people from across the river. David told us in St Laurent there are 10 babies born every day and the average age of the town is 15 years. Just 40% of the adult population are employed.

St Laurent seems to have three distinct zones; the historic centre dating back to the penal colony, the Surinese community I government provided housing and the native Amerindian town. The last one is clean, the houses and gardens neat and well maintained. This area is safe to walk as is the historic town. But. David told us not to walk south beyond the water tower in to the Surinese community. This unkempt area was definitely not a safe place for tourists.

Later when we were walking or cycling around town we noticed a strong police presence. Many armed police men and women were on the street. Of course they could have stopped us for cycling on the wrong side of the road, or behaving like tourists, but they didn't.

at the Wednesday market

Our cycle tour started from the jetty up the main street past the prison, the town hall and the law offices. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings there's a fresh market held in the town square with a nice selection of local produce. The bikes were great for trips to Super U. We love French supermarkets with their shelves laden with cheese, pate, sausages, baguettes and, of course, the wine section. When we left St Laurent we (us and Jackster) were definitely heavier with the good food we'd eaten and stored under the floor and in the freezer.