My French Guiana adventure: Day 1

Why French Guiana? Everyone asked me this question.

Truth be told, if you had asked me back in January, I would have never guessed that my next trip was going to be to French Guiana.

I became fascinated with the Guianas (British, Dutch, French) after reading this fun book. Even though I majored in Latin American Studies, I never studied these countries because they are more Caribbean than Latin. But what clinched the deal was my desire to take Air France's Island Hopper for fun. It used to fly from Miami to Port-au-Prince to Guadeloupe to Martinique to Cayenne. (Air France stopped flying to Haiti.) And of the three Guianas, the French one is the safest.

As this was a solo trip, I wanted to travel on the cheap as I have a high threshold for inconvenience. So I flew to Miami on Southwest Airlines for free, using my points. I had to make a connection in Dallas, with a very short turnaround time.

Getting a free flight meant waking up at 3:00am to catch a 5:30 flight. I parked next to this Pontiac at long term parking.

A lot of people on the Oakland to Dallas flight were going to a rodeo!

I landed in Miami and went straight to the hotel. Fortunately, there was a Peruvian chain restaurant next door. It was pretty busy, and I was the only gringo there. I felt like I left the country already.

I walked back to the hotel like a zombie. The portions were huge, the humidity wet, and I was exhausted from waking up so early. This old sign was in the hotel parking lot. Good night!