After two days sailing the Atlantic we reached the tiny
French settlement of Devils Island a part of French Guiana. There are three
small islands with Ile Royale being the one with extensive remains of the old
goals.
The islands are infamous as prisons from 1852 till 1953.
This is where the story of Papillon originates along with Captain Alfred
Dreyfus. It was a cruel and barbaric place. Strangely flowers now grow close to
the cells and prison blocks.
The Old hospital
The remains include old prison cells and hospitals and even
churches.
Just across the narrow straight is the small island of Ile
du Diable or Devils Island a name synonymous with suffering and punishment. The
piranhas and sharks made escape an option that few tried
2 comments:
Piranhas! Eeek - no going for a dip there!
Not as imaginative a name as "Pinchgut" - as our ferry circled it for 20 minutes on Saturday while a cruise ship left the quay we considered jumping overboard and swimming for it, but then thought of the sharks...
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