With airplanes, boats and cars one can actually see all three of these countries (French Guiana is actually a Republic) in a week!  Luckily I discovered a travel agency called “Travel the Guianas” that not only made this possible but did it with nonchalance. While there were different guides and drivers in each area they offered  adventures, cultural experiences, and history lessons throughout the tour.

The logistics of arranging a rather complicated trip for us was made much simpler due to the excellent guides and an abundance of cell towers, even in the jungle.  Because everyone was connected there were no mishaps in getting us to where we needed to be even though we crossed borders four times. 

While I did not know any of my fellow travelers ahead of time, we shared many commonalities; love of exploring and visiting new places were definitely in our DNA.  In fact four of them left their spouses at home knowing this trip was a little more adventurous than they preferred. I never felt in danger but food and lodging were not exactly 5 star.  Fresh fruit was always available as were proper toilets and AC at night. Local beer was plentiful as well.

I will cover Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana separately in upcoming blogs. Tourism is relatively new to the area but I hope it will be flourishing in the near future.  Right now Europeans, Chinese and people who were descendants of past residents are more typical but hopefully word of mouth will bring more people to this delightful area.