Saint Laurent du Moroni - Devil’s Island

After breakfast, we transferred by road to the dock in Kourou for our departure to the Iles du Salut. What is commonly referred to as "Devil's Island" is a triangle of three islands - Îles du Salut, or the Salvation Islands, which are seven miles off the coast of Kourou. We set sail aboard a catamaran towards our first stop, Île Royale. The islands played a central role in French history as far back as 1762, when they were first used as a transit point, first for explorers, then slaves, and later for political prisoners and convicts. Île Saint-Joseph is the southernmost island and was known as the silent island, as inmates were not allowed to speak to either the guards or fellow convicts. Papillion claimed to have spent two years here in solitary confinement. St. Joseph was known as the ‘man-eater’ for obvious reasons.
Île Royale is the site of the oldest and most extensive buildings on the islands, featuring an old church, administration buildings, officers' quarters, and today, a restaurant and lodging facilities. Ironically, the actual Île du Diable (Devil's Island) is inaccessible to visitors due to dangerous shoreline conditions. This is the island where the prison's best-known occupant, Alfred Dreyfus, was famously secluded. Papillion claimed that he escaped the island on a coconut raft.
Our boat docked on Isle Royale. The prison buildings here are quite well preserved, and we could meander through the cell blocks, dormitory buildings, and other structures, such as the children's cemetery behind the old hospital.
Around the shore, there are sea turtles among the rocks near the dock, but I didn't see any.
We had a picnic lunch before later returning to Kourou by catamaranRead more