Day 9/9, Monday, January 13, 2020: Ile Royale, French Guiana

The ship anchors off Ile Royale around 10:00 am. We will tender to shore. We were told there are no vehicles on the island (although I saw at least two) and it only takes about 45 minutes to walk the entire perimeter. The island accepts the Euro but not the USD.

The tender will take us to the largest of the three inhabited islands, Ile Royale, that make up the former penal colony of Iles du Salut (Salvation's Islands), so named because the original missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland in 1763. There is hotel on the island, Auberge Lies du Salut.

The main part of the penal colony was a labor camp that stretched along the main land border with Dutch Guiana, which today is Suriname. Île Royale was for the general population of the worst criminals of the penal colony to roam about in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape from the island. Île Saint-Joseph was for the worst of those criminals to be punished in solitary confinement in silence and for extra punishment in darkness of the worst of the worst criminals of the penal colony. Devil's Island was for political prisoners, including Dreyfus in 1895-1899 after his conviction in metropolitan France for treason. Devil's Island itself normally did not have more than 12 prisoners at one time.

From the map we were given upon reaching Ile Royale. Devil's Island is to the north and Saint Joseph is to the south. Ile Royale has most of the administrative buildings and house most of the prisoners.

Left: Ile Saint-Joseph, Middle: Ile Royale, Right: Ile du Diable

Two tenders were used to make the roughly 15 minute trip from the ship to the dock.

We started our walk to the compound along the same stone road used by the prisoners from 1852 until the colony's complete closing in 1953.

The current hotel and restaurant.

The quarry turned water reservoir 

The guard community

Single soldier's cells. These were not much larger than those of the prisoners

The condemned prisoner block

Quarantine hut for those with contagious ailments

The indoor accommodations 

The general prisoner's cells. About 5 foot wide by 10 foot deep with only one barred window above the door. Very dark inside.

 We saw some monkeys playing on the Presbytery roof and coming down the rain down spouts.

The church

The military hospital.

There were some ruins between the church and the hospital. Not sure what it once was, but they were nice looking ruins.

Ile Royal is in the flight path of the French rocket launches from the French Guiana Space Center on the main land. When they make launches, they evacuate the islands, but they also have tracking systems and a heliport.

Lighthouse built in 1934.

Children's cemetery behind the lighthouse. The grownup cemetery is on Ile Saint-Joseph.

Denise
Courtalon
28 June 1905
9 October 1905
Regrets

Lots of termite nests stuck to trees throughout the island.

Lots of Capuchin monkeys!

The hotel rooms resembled motel rooms.

 

Devil's Island from the Ile Royale Hotel

 We saw many Agouti rodents scampering around in the rain forest.

The north shore of Ile Royale was very windy and rugged.

 

At the northern tip of Ile Royale, the waves were coming in from several directions simultaneously and colliding. The currents between this island and Devil's Island must be very confused indeed.

Slaughter House

Remains of the Pig Pen, conveniently located close to the Slaughter House

The only building we could see on Devil's Island from Ile Royale

Work shops

Ile Saint-Joseph to the south

 Back to where we started, we realized we had not seen the Lunatic Asylum. We could not leave without paying our respects.

The road was treacherous and blocked with fallen trees. We had to hike through the dense brush to circumvent the blockage. I think we were the only ones to get to the asylum.

Most of the asylum was fenced off due to falling stones, but we found an unblocked stairway and walked up to the roof to get a view of the interior.

Asile D'Alienenes (Lunatic Asylum)

 I collected a stone from the asylum wall and one from the roof. Those walls assuredly could tell many a story.

We returned to the dock and caught the next tender back to the ship, where hopefully the internet service was improved.

We put in  4.0 miles with an elevation gain of 330 feet. But, it was a "leisurely" pace, taking about 2.5 hours. We did not knowingly encounter any mosquitoes, but we noticed it was a good idea not to stand too long in one place in the rain forest because the ants were everywhere and very busy.