Our second port of call was in the South American country of French Guiana. In comparison to the other countries in South America, it is considered tiny with a population of 221,500 people that speak French and Creole. A department of France, French Guiana uses the Euro for currency, and is considered one of the wealthiest countries due to money provided for a stable base for satellite launching. Since 1980, 2/3rds of the world's commercial satellites have been launched from here at Centre Spatial Guyanais.
Foods common to this country are "gibier", a bush meat like capybara, wild boar, agouti (guinea pig), which are all legal to hunt. These dishes can be found on restaurant menus as well. "Jamais goute is a delicate freshwater fish steamed in banana leaves. It goes well with ti'punch which is a small punch made with local rum, lime juice, and sugarcane syrup.
Our actual destination was far different from the modern world. It was the Salvation Islands or Iles de Salut, off of the coast of the capital Cayenne. These islands consist of Ile Royal, Ile St. Joseph, and more notably Ile du Diable or Devil's Island. A penal colony was created on all three islands in 1852 and lasted for 100 years until it was officially shut down in 1953. France sent their most dangerous prisoners here, including political prisoners, thinking it was as far away from France as they could send them. It turned out to be the most brutal, horrific penal colonies surrounded by shark-infested waters. Few escaped, but of the 56,000 mostly male prisoners, 90% of them died of disease (yellow fever and malaria) and abuse. If you have ever read the book Papillon or watched the movie, you would get a hint of what life was like here and really appreciate the haunting and eeriness of these islands.
In a nutshell, Ile Royal housed both prisoners and the guards that managed them. Those who gave them no trouble were able to stay and work on Ile Royal. If they tried to escape from here, they would be moved to Ile St. Joseph where conditions were much worse. The prisoners would not be allowed to talk and were kept in dark cells. Last but not least, Ile du Diable was reserved for the political prisoners who were kept isolated. There were a total of 12 of these political dissidents. When the guards and their families were assigned to this penal colony, they were faced with the same diseases that killed off the prisoners. Evidence of that is on the headstones in the cemetery showing many families with children that perished.
These days, tourists can tour Ile Royal while locals from the mainland can take catamarans here with a guide and see both Ile Royal and St. Joseph. Devil's Island is off limits to everyone. Today the responsibility of these islands have been given to the Guiana Space Center.
We left the ship at 10am after the last of the heavy showers dropped rain on the islands. The sun peeked out and it remained dry for the rest of the day. But the rain had left the air extra humid with temperatures in the high 80's. Very sticky to say the least. Although we have priority tendering, we seldom have the need to be the first ones off. The nice thing is that we do not have to get tender tickets…..just show up at the stairs to the gangway, and we are free to go down to a waiting tender boat. The loading was working well with two boats being loaded and off-loaded from the same exit.
The ride over was quick, although a bit rough. If memory serves us right, these waters are turbulent with strong currents, another reason escaping from here was so dicey. And there are the ever-present sharks too. We have been to this part of the world several times, and with each visit, we have seen new things and learned more facts. Helping with understanding the history, were the new signs at every site. The prevalent language was French, of course, but on the side there was an English version. Really a great improvement since we were here back in 2020.
After leaving the tender landing, we always take a right turn and follow the dirt road around the outer edge of the island. It was not as muddy as we had expected, although the grass was quite damp. We passed by the ruins of the workshop, pigsty, and the butchery. Further up, we saw the rock tower that connected a wire to Devil's Island for transferring food and supplies in buckets to the prisoners there.
The prisoner's swimming pool was next, and there were actually some local tourists swimming there. The water was so murky, they would never see sharks if they were present. Continuing on, we hiked uphill to the center of the island passing the Commandant's House, then onto the Hotel. The patio around the hotel was already filled with people from the ship, although we did not see many of them with purchased beverages. We had been allowed to bring our own bottled water over today, so that's what we did. A thermos full of ice water. At the bar in the hotel, they were selling smaller bottles of local beer for either 7 Euro or $8 USD. Sodas were the same price. The downside was that they were not cold.
Just as we arrived, an elderly lady had taken a fall here, and cut her head as well as shattered her glasses. It seems to happen with every visit. The steep steps to access this hotel do not have any handrails, which is an accident waiting to happen. We did notice many folks having problems due to the high heat and humidity. Good thing there were several places for folks to stop and sit for a spell in the shade.
From there, we self-toured the solitary cells and the cell blocks. Next was the church, the hospital, the lighthouse, and the cemetery. Directly across from the lighthouse was the helicopter pad and equipment we suspect belongs to the Space Center. What was missing were the variety of birds we also saw up here. Where did the macaws, peacocks, and chickens go? We spotted one peacock, and one tiny hummingbird feasting in a flame tree. In a flash, it was gone. Perhaps the birds have been removed to keep the area cleaner….who knows?
But we knew there were monkeys nearby as some friends reminded us where to find them. Always near the cemetery, we came upon a large troupe of capuchin monkeys. Our buddies had just come up that way and warned us that some guests had fed them cookies brought from the ship. Not sure that is "legal", the monkeys love the sweet treats. But watch out when you give them the last cookie, because they will become more aggressive and come closer to look for more. After capturing numerous photos of the amusing antics of both the adults and the babies, we took a seat alongside the road to continue watching them. Just then, two gals we know, came down the road and warned us that some large males were right behind us in the trees. We knew it, but they were starting to get too close for comfort. The girls thought they would jump on our heads any minute, however the capuchins backed off the closer they got to us. What attracts the monkeys are the bags we are carrying. In our case, we had two umbrellas we were packing, but the monkeys see that as possible food. Time to move on…….
This road was the easiest to navigate compared to the first trails that are made with stones. You have to be most careful watching for the loose rocks and uneven pavement or you could do the "face plant". Along this road, we did spot some large agoutis which are related to guinea pigs. They blended in so well with their black fur and blazing red backside that we had to really go slow and listen for them foraging in the leaf litter. Hard to believe these on a restaurant menu as they are rodents. Also in this stretch was a large iguana moving slowly by the water's edge.
Back down to the tender area, we stopped for some drinks handed out by the crew. Normally there is water or lemonade. Today there was flavored water with lemons or oranges. Not quite as refreshing as sweet lemonade, we figured they were saving on the sugar, which has become more and more expensive these days.
This is a good spot to watch for sea turtles along the pier to the tenderboats. Although the water was murky, we did see some turtles popping up briefly to gulp air and submerge. Too fast for photos, we gave up and headed for the tenderboat. Sure was nice getting back to the air-conditioned ship after our three hour tour. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on photos, eating a nice lunch, and relaxing on the veranda. The ship left the islands around 5pm, heading down the coast of French Guiana and towards Brazil.
Dinnertime arrived quickly, and we went to the dining room, where we saw a couple in front of us arriving – one dressed appropriately, but the husband wearing shorts. The head waiter informed him quietly there is a dress code in this dining room, and he needed to change. The fellow handed it well, but his wife said loudly' "I told you so!" She promised to wait for him when he left to go back to his room. We are glad this is being enforced, as it is only the respectful thing to do for the rest of the diners.
The show this evening was a comedian by the name of Sid Davis. We are sure we have seen him often on other ships.
Bill & Mary Ann
