French Guiana sits sandwiched between Suriname and Brazil, starkly different to its Latin compadres in more ways than one. Take the Francophone styles and traces of French colonialism that endow the capital at Cayenne; there is the crumbling Fort Ceperou, the Parisian-esque bistros along Avenue General de Gaulle, the official membership of the European Union, and the French language that has permeated the corners of this vast land in defiance of the Portuguese and Spanish tongues that dominates all around. Then there is the country’s exalted status as one of the most affluent sections of South America. However, for all its seemingly Continental nuances (the space centre at Kourou being yet another one), this nation remains indelibly wild. There are hardly any paved roads piercing into the densely forested heartland of the country. The great massifs of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains rise above and out of the jungles there, leaving the capuchins and spear-nosed bats flitting around the green, green canopies below. French Guiana tour guides also recommend visiting the beautiful, secluded coastal reaches, and the eerie yet enthralling Devil's Island, a former penal colony of the motherland and the backdrop to the iconic movie Papillon.