April 11, 2025
DEVIL'S ISLAND, FRENCH GUIANA - Don't know that this port counts - we never got off the ship - just a sail by!
I feel like I saw this Island ! We watch the 2.5 hour movie Papillon from 1973 with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman the night before ( it was 2.5 hours I will never get back - not a real action thriller and ending fizzled out, like there budget got removed! It was a true story - so gave us good insight to prison there. Sadly the water was too choppy for our rented tenders to safely board passengers. They tried several times all morning, will no luck. So we had to simply sail by. A big disappointment for a lot of us who had watched the movie in anticipation.
There are actually 3 islands here called the Salvation Islands of French Guiana. Devil's Island is the one in the back behind the other two.
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.