Devil's Island, French Guiana

DEVIL’S ISLAND, FRENCH GUIANA

We sailed north making our way to the Caribbean to the Iles du Salut or Salvation Islands. These are three islands: Isle du Diable, Isle Royale and Isle St. Joseph located off the coast of French Guiana. We stopped at the most famous of these French penal colony islands: Devil’s Island which was opened by the French in 1852 and where the most hardened criminals were sent: political prisoners, thieves and murderers. The harsh conditions and rampant spread of disease, the remote location, rocky coastline and treacherous waters made escape virtrually impossible. It was nicknamed the “Green Hell.” In 1938 France stopped sending prisoners and in 1952 the prison was closed forever.

In 1931 Henri Charriere was convicted of murder and sent to Devil’s Island. He tried to escape several times but was caught and sent to Isle St. Joseph for two years in solitary confinement. He feigned madness, escaped in a boat, was caught and was sent to Isle Royale where they put “incorrigibles” in chains. His last attempt at escape was successful: he tied sacks of coconuts together, threw them in the ocean and floated on them to Venezuela. He wrote his story titled “Papillon”(butterfly) which he published in 1969. He was pardoned by the French government and in 1973 the film version of “Papillon” came out. A new version is now being filmed in the Canary Islands. This is a great film, try to rent it if you can. It starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

There is no port here, we were taken to shore by tender. We walked around the island, looking at the remains of the prisons, walking on the crude stone roads and climbed the uneven steps. We saw the cemetery and could not help but imagine ghosts and history of the people who lived here so many years ago. The island is lush and beautiful. We climbed to the top for a breath-taking view of the three islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was a memorable visit into the past.