French tried to colonize this archipelago several times – with no success. Now, in the only settlement on the island – Port aux Francais limited number of scientist and technical staff live here: 73 people now – in the summer and only 50 in the winter. I had a chance to visit the base. They have satellite tracking station, meteo station important for the air and sea traffic, a big canteen, library, post office and the shop. It sounds ridiculously but today in the
shop they were accepting only payment by cheque of the French Bank. In the post you can pay also by cash euro. But nobody, (also the staff on the ship) accepts credit cards. Do they know that you can use “plastic money” to pay evenin Russia and China?
On the outskirts of the base, on the hill they built a big chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Winds. The name is so right! – at any time strong and icy wind is blowing there and only fat elephant seals residing around do not care
about that. You will be surprised to find not too far from the church a little, well-fenced garden where they grow a local endemic plant – the Kerguelen cabbage. Why it is fenced? To protect them from the local plague – the rabbits,
introduced years ago by the people from Europe. If there will be no fence -there will be nothing to show to the visitors. Rabbits are everywhere! Not only the rabbits, also wild cats. And nobody knows how to fight with them!
