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Suddenly the Grim History of This James

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Suddenly the Grim History of This James ISLANDS.french guiana CARINYA SHARPLES JOURNEYS TO FRENCH GUIANA’S SALVATION ISLANDS TO EXPLORE THE EMPTY CELLS OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST NOTORIOUS EX-PRISONS… he most eerie part on the mainland, the islands later mentioned Île du Diable. How could of Île Royale was the became a notoriously brutal penal I resist a place called Devil’s Island? children’s cemetery. colony and the setting for one As it turned out, exceptionally sharp It was deathly silent of the darkest ever periods in rocks prevent boats from docking apart from the rustle of monkeys French history. on Île du Diable itself, so I settled for in the trees and the loud chirping Today, the little-known islands a two-day trip to nearby Île Royale of crickets. The epitaphs on the are overgrown with lush, green instead. One-day trips are available crumbling gravestones were vegetation and dotted with tall but it’s worth staying overnight if pitifully simple: ‘Jean Girault. palm trees. On Île Royale, guinea you can. Décédé à l’âge de 9 mois. Le 18 pig-like agoutis scurry between the Janviers 1915. Regrets’. Suddenly crumbling ruins, carrying chunks of LAUNCH PAD the grim history of this strange, coconut shells in their teeth, while Île Royale is a short 50-minute boat James Bond-esque island – Île du Diable has its own population ride from Kourou, a coastal town with its shark-filled waters, of iguanas and even a few wild Cayenne picturesque ruins and wild nature goats. Instead of prisoners, there SURINAME – became uncomfortably real. are small groups of FRENCH Together, Île Royale, Île du Diable travellers, peering GUIANA and Île Saint-Joseph form the Îles into abandoned du Salut (Salvation Islands), cells and dodging also known as the Devil’s Islands the warning signs because of their treacherous of ‘INTERDIT!’ surrounding rocks. This triangular placed liberally BRAZIL archipelago lies 15km off the coast along the rocky of French Guiana, or La Guyane coastal path. to locals – a French overseas I’d vowed to visit département perched on the top the Îles du Salut some of South America. Once a refuge months earlier when a for 18th-century French colonists friend – hearing I was escaping malaria and mosquitoes off to French Guiana – WRITER PROFILE. NAME CARINYA SHARPLES AGE 26 “SUDDENLY THE GRIM HISTORY OF INFO Carinya is a freelance journalist living in THIS JAMES BOND-ESQUE ISLAND London. She has reported on demonstrations in Ghana, eaten her way through Hong Kong WITH ITS SHARK-FILLED WATERS and last year backpacked from her paternal BECAME UNCOMFORTABLY REAL” homeland of Guyana to northeast Brazil. » 35 french guiana.ISLANDS » best known for its Centre Spatial the night on edge. Every crash summer rolls and local honey the end of which is the Ponton des Guyanais. This state-of-the-art of the waves, swish of leaves to fresh fruit and accras de morue Pêcheurs or fisherman’s dock – my international space centre attracts and clank of the metal sheets (a fried snack I remember from point of departure. Public transport many French professionals to had me imagining someone was Accra in Ghana – hence the name, in French Guiana is practically the country, who live, somewhat approaching. In the morning – presumably). Another day, I non-existent, other than expensive uneasily, alongside the rest of after little, if any, sleep – I woke to wandered through Saramaca cabs and the odd minibus or taxi the population – a fascinating mix find someone had been there after Village – a newly urbanised area collectif, so I was glad for the ride. of Maroon (the descendants of all and was still perched nearby, populated by Saramaca (a group of Later in my trip – when travelling escaped slaves), Creole, East Indian, staring at me intently… Then it Maroon people) with a strange mix through the wild nature reserves Chinese, Amerindian and Laotian, squawked, and I realised my of cabin-style terraced houses and of Kaw and Tresor, the capital city to name but a few. intruder was a parrot. roads with names like ‘Rue Rosa of Cayenne, and Cacao, home to I stopped off in Kourou for a few The next few days were spent Parks’ – only to be warned later not a farming community of Hmong days towards the end of January, visiting the space centre on a to go there alone. refugees from Laos – I was to when the weather alternates fascinating tour, walking along the discover another money-saving between beautiful sunshine and beach and visiting a local market THE HARD CELL custom of the country: hitchhiking. heavy downpours. A savvy French on Avenue de France, which sizzled On the day of my trip to Île Royale, I’d already booked my €39 return traveller had recommended staying with the delicious smell of rotisserie I left the Amerindian Village at the ticket at the Guyanespace Voyage in the Amerindian Village at Chez chicken and offered up a tantalising same time as Taliko and his wife, so travel agents in Kourou, opting to Taliko, a residential house with array of food, representative of they offered to drop me on Avenue travel by Royal Ti’Punch’s sleek a carbet out back. A carbet is the diverse populace. There was Général de Gaulle, a popular street catamaran. As the departure time essentially a shack where you can everything from fresh Vietnamese lined with restaurants and bars, at inched closer, its smooth, white sling your hammock (and mosquito net) – a common concept in French The prison quarters Guiana and a popular option for room on Île Royale adventurous travellers, plus those, like me, scandalised by the ridiculous Paris-style hotel prices. The carbet at Chez Taliko cost just €8 a night and was a simple structure of wood with flimsy metal sheets as low walls. It was also right on the beach. I arrived in Kourou just as dusk was settling, with no booking – in fact, no idea where Chez Taliko was. Luckily the minibus driver knew, and when Taliko himself appeared at the door he was unfazed by my unexpected appearance, although a bit surprised I was travelling alone. Caymans live in the Not being able to properly suss out reservoir on Île Royale my surroundings in the dark, I spent 36 ISLANDS.french guiana Military hospital on Île Royale seats were filled by a lively mix of Île Royale: the well-restored prison crew had promised to show me build a bridge from South America soldiers on leave, young couples administration building that now around but then disappeared to France so he could walk home. and older travellers. Everyone was serves as a hotel, where prices start as soon as we docked (for lunch, The more I read about the prisoners’ French – bar the friendly crew who at €166 (including two lunches, I later found out), so I set off alone. inhumane existence on the islands, were Guianese. British visitors, I dinner and breakfast); the more Luckily when I’d booked my tickets, the more I understood the wild soon discovered, were something basic former guards’ block (from I’d picked up a leaflet with a map desperation the man must have felt. of a rarity in French Guiana. The ride €60); and the carbets, costing just of the island, which proved The first prison ship docked on was choppy and the military troupe, €10. I’d opted for the final option, indispensable and helped me 10 May 1852 and by the end of that whose members had immediately not realising that I’d be staying identify all the different buildings. year there were some 1,000 inmates stripped down to their bikinis and in one of the original prisoners’ After happening on the disturbing on the islands. Between 1852 and trunks to lie on the trampoline-like quarters. When I peered through children’s cemetery, I retraced my 1862, an incredible 12,780 convicts net, squealed in delight as the the heavy door, I found row upon steps past my ‘bedroom’ and (including 329 political prisoners) waves splashed over them. row of army-style hammocks From the Île Royale jetty, it was identical to my own – except these a steep, sweaty climb to the hotel were actual military hammocks, “I TIED MY HAMMOCK TO THE METAL with my backpack. It wasn’t until owned by the 30 or so French HOOKS EMBEDDED IN THE WALL – TRYING the next day, when I was leaving, soldiers stationed on the island at that I discovered the pick-up the time. Bunking down in a room TO FORGET THAT THEY HAD ONCE HELD truck that carries guests’ luggage. full of French squaddies? Not PRISONERS’ CHAINS” There are three different types of tonight, Napoleon! accommodation to choose from on I marched back to the reception headed towards the picturesquely were sent from France. Soon other desk, explained the situation and ruined former military hospital and penitentiary units took precedence, was relieved to be given a key to the new-looking red brick chapel – including ones in New Caledonia, my own ‘cell’. After the near al-fresco part of the restoration project of the Saint-Jean du Maroni and Saint- carbet in Kourou, this long building French government’s space agency, Laurent du Maroni, a small town with faded pink paint and a Centre National d’Études Spatiales on the Maroni River at the French fully tiled bathroom felt like (CNES), which took over ownership Guiana/Suriname border. the presidential suite. I tied my of the islands in 1965. Then in 1887, the passage from hammock to the metal hooks Just reading the names of the France to the Îles du Salut was embedded in the wall – trying to buildings as I passed them was revived and new waves of prisoners, forget that they had once held chilling – ‘le pénitencier’ (the condemned for crimes ranging prisoners’ chains – and enjoyed a condemned prisoners’ quarters), from espionage and treason to long shower, sidestepping the seed ‘la maison des fous’ (the mad house) desertion and forging currency, husks or insect wings (I couldn’t and the ‘asile d’alienes’ (lunatic flooded in – troublemakers and figure out which) that littered the asylum).
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