Whiskey Jack Adventures: Isle Royale, French Guiana

Yesterday evening we had dinner in the buffet restaurant then played trivia. We were short two players again. Later we attended a musical concert featuring an excellent musician who played multiple instruments including a "headless" guitar which he said that was all he could afford.

In the morning we attended the naturalist’s lecture on porpoises and whales of the Caribbean and the Amazon. Perhaps we will see some pink dolphins when we get to the Amazon.

We arrived at Isle Royale at about 12:30 only to find a freighter in our way. What was worse was the “moderate” seas refused to subside which resulted in the cancellation of our trip to the island. There is no docking for our cruise ship on the island so the tenders (small boats) used to transfer us could not safely operate. We are disappointed but understand.

One of the most notorious of French Guiana’s prison colonies was located on the Islands of Salvation, three small islands, now serving as nature reserves and day-trip holiday destinations for the French Guianese. During prison times, they were collectively called Devil’s Islands, a name that remains with the smallest of the three. We were to visit the largest of these, Ile Royale, to tour the prison remains and attempt to understand what life was like for the prisoners.

Instead, in the afternoon Norma went to the theatre to see the murder mystery movie: “Death on the Nile”. Doug was going to go because he thought they announced the title as “Death of the Nile” and was expecting a biologically oriented documentary. Norma laughed at him. Well not really laughed. Just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

By the way, the sea is featuring some darker streaks in the water as we sail along the northeast coast of South America toward the Amazon – we have entered the so-called Orinoco-Amazon plume which refers to the silt-laden river water spreading along the coast. As the nutrients increase we should see more wildlife –sea birds, etc.