Greetings!
The European Space Launching Facility is located in French Guiana, not far from where we stayed last night. That big black thing next to this paragraph is a mock up of one of their latest rockets without the outer skin. It was used to make sure all the buildings were large enough along the production route for the real rocket to fit.
We started early from our hotel to drive to the site, as it was quite a way down the coast, and is surrounded by 80 square miles of protected forest. Once we arrived, we were given a tour of the entire facility, starting with the production of the bottom stage of the rocket and proceeding up the fuselage. Finally, we were taken into the control building and shown the row upon row of computer stations from which all of the space agency personnel monitored the many aspects of the launch and flight.
Leaving the European Space Site, we stopped at a local Supermarket for lunch on the way to
Cayenne, the capital of French Guyana. Home to the pepper, it is the most populous French-speaking city in South America. Better than that, it promised a meal of duck, steak, french onion soup, baggettes, and burgundy wine. Patience was the key, but we are well on our way to great meals surrounded by friends who test our ability to understand their language.
Similar to Guyana and Suriname, French Guiana has a history forged in indigenous original residents, invaded by foreigners, who imported slaves to grow and dig for resources for exportation. Because it has remained colonized and supported by France, it has become the home of many fleeing allied colonies and desperate countries. Tensions are rising over immigration practices between newly-arrived refugees and long-time residents as worries over future economic security.
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