Prison in Paradise

6 January 2012

Isle Royale, French Guyana

Today dawned clear and sunny – and hot and humid – but no surprise there. We awoke at anchor in the harbour off of Isle Royale, Ile du Diable and Isle St.Joseph – collectively known as the Salvation Islands.  The French government under Napoleon III opened the penitentiary and it remained a prison until 1952.  Escape was either into the ocean or into the jungle. Neither was a particularly survivable option.  It is said that 80 000 prisoners were sent to the island and only 30 000 survived.  Most prisoners were  returned to France at the closure of the Prison but if you had been incarcerated for greater than 8 years you were not allowed back to France but were given land and a wife in French Guyana.  Today, tourists wander amidst the solitary confinement cells, the 2 lunatic asylums and the chapel and nunnery. Interestingly the tiny islands are also a base for the launch of nearly half the commercial communications satellites circling the globe.

We left the ship early to try to beat the worst of the heat and took a small boat in to Isle Royale. It is a picture postcard kind of island with swaying palms along sandy beaches. Colourful macaws flit through the trees and monkeys and cicadas make noise deep in the forest. You can look out across impossibly blue lagoons and see the mainland and buildings of the city of Cayenne (capital of French Guyana). And then you go inland and there are the reminders of what this island was once mankind got hold of it.  18^th century prison blocks in the midst of terrible heat and humidity. Cemeteries and decaying infrastructure of guard posts and a catholic church to save your soul providing you had one left after your time here. What is sobering is knowing that humans are still holding others imprisoned on idyllic islands in less than humane conditions.

                                                                 the hospital building

                                                                    the size of the cells

The jungle is encroaching on the remains of the prison and has softened the edges of it but you can still stand in a solitary cell and you can still imagine the horror of being abandoned here. You can also understand the need for 2 lunatic asylums as a very short time in such confinement in this climate is easily enough to make one’s mind want to take a very long holiday.

                                                                       Agouti

                                                               Yes - these are wild birds

It was very interesting to see and there is also lots of native wildlife running and flying about the place – we saw agouti, iguana, macaws and more.  Agouti are a mid-size member of the rodent family. They are about the size of a housecat, do not have a rat tail and look very similar to capybara – only smaller.  The hike around the island was challenging in terms of unstable and uneven footing on cobbled and stone pathways as well as some seriously vertical stone stairs amidst the vines and randomly falling coconuts.  By the end of our visit we were seriously overheated and ready for some cooool showers and a refreshment or two. 

This afternoon we weighed anchor and are now on a northwesterly course for Trinidad and Tobago which we are scheduled to reach on the 8^th. Tomorrow will be a day at sea so time for reading, visiting and maybe getting some postcards written.

We are informed in the vaguest of terms that there will be some unspecified dinner entertainment this evening courtesy of our British friends. I will take my camera and may or may not share the results with you tomorrow!

Adieu from the Islands -