Devil's Island, French Guiana

These days, France is trying to play down the notoriety that surrounds the island, but I don't think that it will ever get away from it's prison past. This unbelievably small place is off limits to tourists and is now home to a few goats.

We got dropped off at Royal island, one of two small islands that a stone throw away from Devil's island. All three islands were used as penal colonies by France up until 1953. Most of the inmates were troublemakers, anarchists and political prisoners that were basically sent here to die. And die they did. The sadistic guards, the sharks in the water, disease and the oppressive heat kept the mortality rate at a high 70%.

The inmates weren't the only ones who succumbed to the harsh conditions on the islands. Among the ruins, there is a children's cemetery which served as the final resting place for the kids of the administrators, guards and wardens who worked on the island.

These islands are so small, that it takes less than an hour to walk around each island. From these pictures, the place looks like a tropical paradise with palm trees swaying gracefully in the breeze. But back in 1852, when the penal colony first opened up, there weren't any trees. The authorities had them all cut down so that prisoners couldn't build rafts or boats.

Back then, this place wasn't a paradise. It was a hell on earth for the inmates; several of whom turned out to be totally innocent. Two of it's most famous residents were Captain Alfred Dreyfuss (a Jewish army officer who was falsely accused of treason) and Henri Charriere (a man falsely accused of murder). These two men were lucky because unlike most inmates, they managed to live to tell the tale. Dreyfuss was finally given a pardon when the real spy confessed to treason. Charriere was one of the very few people who managed to escape from the place. He wrote about his escape and the horrible conditions in a book entitled Papillon. This was later made into a popular movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Since France is not interested in preserving the place, most of the jail cells are in a state of ruin and decay. What's left of these rundown buildings are found on a hill in the center of the island.

Only a few buildings, like the warden's home and the church, are kept in good condition.

These days, the only 'inmates' on Royal island are some parrots, a few kleptomaniac monkeys and lots and lots of agoutis (basically guinea pigs on stilts).