East Coast, Pacific to Atlantic, the end

Oh yeah! We’re almost there!

On the boat that will take me to the famous East Coast, I meet three little French guys who are traveling together: Mathieu, Nico, and Louka. Nico lives in Guyana, Mathieu is traveling, and Louka is a friend of Mathieu’s studying abroad in Rio. We quickly bond over a drink called beer and spend the second and last evening on the boat playing poker. The game drags on, and the cans pile up. On the boat, there is also a Syrian family who are also heading to French Guyana. They offer to take me with them the next day in a car that they will pick up. We dock at 1 a.m. in Santana, near Macapa. The family stays on the boat for the night, so I do the same. However, in the early morning, I learn that they left an hour ago. Oops, I got up too late; I missed the car that could have taken me. No worries, I grab my bag and will hitchhike!

I slowly advance towards the last roundabout before starting the straight path that will take me to Guyana, and once at the roundabout, I will struggle to move forward. About 45 minutes to 1 hour of waiting between each car. But I end my hitchhiking day with a Brazilian who will drop me off at the village of Calçoene.

I arrive in the village, the inns are super expensive so screw that, I decide to sleep by the river. I get to the corner of the street and come face to face with a 2CV that I had seen earlier in the day! So I go over to greet them: Laurian, French, and his girlfriend Sidney, Canadian. Next to them is a good group of Brazilians who came to swim and have a barbecue evening. All these people mix together, and the Brazilians invite us for drinks. Trap in sight!!! I who dreamed of a quiet evening in my hammock to go to bed early, that plan goes down the drain. The evening goes well; we manage to mumble in Portuguese, we also talk in French, and then the night shifts to a small bar nearby. It’s time for me to slip away to go to sleep! Except that I misidentified the spot, my hammock won’t hold in the desired place. I wander off with my backpack to search for another spot (which I will never find), and to make a long story short, I ended up sleeping in a hammock at one of the Brazilians’ place from the evening.

The next day I leave quite early to start hitchhiking, goal: the border! At 9:30 AM I put my thumb out. At 10:30 AM, my thumb is still extended. At 11:30 AM, I see the 2CV coming from afar. They stop, and we rearrange the car so I can fit in. We debrief about the previous evening; they too had a mishap during the night and had to move at 3 AM. We laugh while progressing with this antique. Laurian tells me a bit about the car’s history: it’s a 1970s 2CV that his parents bought in Senegal, if I remember correctly. With the 2CV, his family is retracing the route of the Aéropostale. What is that, you ask? It refers to the first flights connecting Africa to Europe and then Europe to South America to deliver mail initially. Following in the footsteps of Saint Exupéry, the car traveled through West Africa and then crossed the Atlantic to continue its journey along the Aéropostale trail in South America. If you are interested, here is the link to their website for more information: raid-aeropostale

The car needs a break approximately every hour to cool down the engine. It’s a good opportunity to stop and swim in the rivers we cross. We progress slowly; the road is in good condition until we reach a reserve. That’s where the trail begins. A stretch of dirt in the middle of the jungle. On the polarstep of the 2CV, you will find incredible drone images at [drone incroyable](http://Vê a visita de Raid Aéropostale a Oiapoque (“Raid Aéropostale “): https://www.polarsteps.com/RaidAeropostale/14969422-raid-aeropostale/220641933-oiapoque). We’re making good progress, despite the potholes that are absolutely everywhere. Sidney narrowly avoids a pickup truck that was heading straight for us – what a scare! A few bird names were mentioned; don’t take them as insults towards the birds. I think this is one of the most beautiful roads in the world that I’ve ever seen; it’s incredible. After exiting the reserve, the pavement resumes! We can speed up a bit (within the limits of the 2CV). We arrive in Oiapoque, a border town on the Brazilian side. We decide to spend the night in a hostel (me in a hammock in a barn) and then go out to grab a bite to celebrate this crossing.

We leave the next day for the French-Brazilian border. In the car, it’s Ukulele and singing. Stamp on the passport and entry into French Guiana! I leave my companions at the border, as they continue their journey for another ten days before sending the 2CV back to France, while my companions return to Canada. Nico and Mathieu will join me on the road a few hours later, and the three of us, along with Paulo, a Peruvian and his cat, will have a drink to mark the end of this adventure.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for me to take a little break on this long journey. It has been quite a while since I have stayed more than 2 months in the same place. French Guiana will be my stop in South America for the next few months, as I take some time to do a few odd jobs before setting off again with renewed energy!

Ladies and gentlemen, the return of the adventures of 2 cécé in a few months!

Bisous

« For the future, it is not about predicting it but making it possible. »

Antoine de Saint Exupéry