There is NO escape...Devil's Island (6/10/17)

Ile du Diable (Devil’s Island) is actually one of three small islands called Iles du Salut located just off the shore of French Guiana in South America.  The island we visited is actually Ile Royal, the largest of the three islands.  There is no way for a ship’s tender to actually land on Devil’s Island, so you can only actually view it from the ship or Ile Royal.  Discovered in 1503, and still considered part of France, it is best known for its’ use as a penal colony from 1852 through 1946.  It is part of the European Union, using the Euro, and is the most prosperous territory in South American with the GDP per capita.

There were no organized tours today, as the island is not really developed.  After a short tender ride, we decided on one of the three paths available to the top of the island where most of the old prison buildings are located.  We opted for the longest, least strenuous path.  Although we have crossed back to the northern hemisphere, it is still very hot and humid as the islands are only about 4-degrees north latitude.  As we leisurely made our way along the path, really an access road, we spotted our first wildlife, an Agouti.  Really, a large rodent, reaching 2 feet in length, it raced across the road in front of us and into the thick vegetation.  Little did we know that we did not need to rush to get a picture, as we would be encountering several more through the day.

The highlights of our walk to the top were the small monkeys that were everywhere.  As we rounded a curve, several other passengers were gathered in a small group on the path.  Two squirrel monkeys were sitting on a branch very close to the road.  They appeared to be posing.  As we drew closer, they hopped to a different branch and then began to play what seemed to be the equivalent of tag.  Every 10-20 yards, they entertained us for the remainder of our hike to the top.

Also on the path, we passed at what is called the children’s cemetery.  I was curious as to why children would be at a penal colony.  The reason lies in fact that the guards were also permanent residents of the islands and therefore lived there with their families.   Being at Devil’s Island was a harsh life for not only the convicts, but also for the guards.  Disease killed almost 85% of the convicts before they completed their sentences.  Even today, Yellow Fever is still rampant, although we did not encounter any mosquitoes on our visit to the island.

Life at Devil’s Island was known for its harsh treatment of mostly political prisoners.  It is thought to be escape-proof, due primarily to being so remote, but the guards would also throw meat into the surrounding waters to ensure that the waters would be shark infested.  Henri Charriere, a former prisoner that claimed to have escaped, published a memoir of his time there.  However, prison records indicate that he was never on Devil’s Island, but actually served time on the mainland.  The book was later made into a movie, Papillion, which was available for us to watch in our cabins during the cruise.

Once we made our way to the top, we explored the mostly abandoned buildings.  A chapel was being renovated and the original reception building has been converted to a guesthouse, with a small coffee shop.  A few of the old cellblocks are currently used as housing for those that work at the Guiana space tracking station located on the island.  French Guiana has been the equatorial launch site for the European Union since 1964 and is found on the mainland a couple of miles away.

The area around the old buildings provides additional wildlife sightings.  An old quarry held turtles, lizards and even a black caiman.  We spotted lots of the Agouties, free-range peacocks and Macaws.  We opted for the same path back to the tender launch as several people reported that the steps on the other paths were very slippery and a few passengers had already fallen.  The island was much more interesting than I expected and those we talked with were very glad that it was on our itinerary.  We were also lucky to actually make it ashore, as the channel where we anchored is quite narrow and usually too rough to use the ship’s tenders.

Link to today's photos:

Devil's Island photos (6/10/17)