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Devils Island and the movie Papillon
Today we anchored for a short period at the infamous Devil’s Island off the coast of Guiana, off the north coast of Brazil.
As I sat down for a casual breakfast, I found myself accompanied by the Captain and Vice Captain of the ship. “Are you going ashore today” they asked…. “No, we have dance practice and we are only in port for a few hours” I said. My vacant comment was met with dumbfounded stares…. “What!!” they said “How many Australians do you know that have been to Devil’s Island?” they asked. My answer was simple “None” I said now regretting my choice. They continued “Very few cruise ships go to Devil’s Island” … “and when they do, the conditions are usually so rough, the currents so strong that only 50% of the time can we get into the Island”…“you MUST go ashore today, it will be the only time in your life you will see this island”. So, with that in mind… I scoffed my breakfast, did a quick mental calculation and re-jigged my day to spend less than 1 hour ashore.
As I made my way down to the gangway, people were returning, dripping wet, puffing and full of chatter. I found out why… the short boat ride to the island was an experience on its own. The strong currents meant our 50 seater boat pitched and rolled, kicking us off our seats, we yelled and hooted imagining we were on a bucking bronco.
Once we were ashore, we realized how significant this place was. It is a tiny island, with a few others nearby. It is surrounded by rough, rocky terrain and one of the strongest currents in the world. With such tumultuous activity in the water, many fish congregate to the area to feed and you know what that means…. Sharks… and lots of em!
The islands are almost exactly beneath the earths’ equator and as much as I love the heat, it was absolutely oppressive and it was a cool day! So the combination of the heat, rugged terrain, vicious currents and an abundance of sharks…we could feel why Devils island was used as one of the most torturous prisons of this century.
The island had a prison and a cemetery further enforcing its grim reality. We made our way up to see the “sights” and the most fabulous thing happened, we were greeted with the tiniest, cutest little wild monkeys!!! These gorgeous creatures swung from the trees above us and someone had the foresight to bring peanuts… well, what an experience. These monkeys fed directly from our hands, a big boy one rummaged around inside Paul’s hand while a mother with her baby on her back tentatively took peanuts from my hands. Ahhh….my day was complete.
The Prison
The conditions on the island and in its prison were so torturous that out of the 80,000 men transported there, over 50,000 died from abuse, neglect and unsuccessful escape attempts. The photos above show the solitary confinement cells and areas where the prisoners where shackled and tortured.
The prison was decommissioned in 1940’s and in 1969 an ex convict of the island published a bestselling book, which was made into a movie, about his escape, it is called Papillon. The author, Henri Charriere braced the Atlantic in a flimsy raft made of two flour sacks, sewn together and filled with coconuts!!
Funny little animals
We were told of two types of monkeys, ones that were quite friendly and those that hurl mangoes from trees at passing tourists! We didn’t meet the mango throwing monkeys but we did see these strange little rodent creatures scurrying about in the bushes. The island also has beautifully colored McCaws, Peacocks and other birds.
So after an adventurous hour ashore, we were happy having seen Devil’s Island, fed the monkeys and seen the other creatures. We are now on our way to the fabulous Amazon river where we will sail down to a place called Manaus before we make our way to Rio De Janeiro and then onto Argentina!!!
As I sat down for a casual breakfast, I found myself accompanied by the Captain and Vice Captain of the ship. “Are you going ashore today” they asked…. “No, we have dance practice and we are only in port for a few hours” I said. My vacant comment was met with dumbfounded stares…. “What!!” they said “How many Australians do you know that have been to Devil’s Island?” they asked. My answer was simple “None” I said now regretting my choice. They continued “Very few cruise ships go to Devil’s Island” … “and when they do, the conditions are usually so rough, the currents so strong that only 50% of the time can we get into the Island”…“you MUST go ashore today, it will be the only time in your life you will see this island”. So, with that in mind… I scoffed my breakfast, did a quick mental calculation and re-jigged my day to spend less than 1 hour ashore.
As I made my way down to the gangway, people were returning, dripping wet, puffing and full of chatter. I found out why… the short boat ride to the island was an experience on its own. The strong currents meant our 50 seater boat pitched and rolled, kicking us off our seats, we yelled and hooted imagining we were on a bucking bronco.
Once we were ashore, we realized how significant this place was. It is a tiny island, with a few others nearby. It is surrounded by rough, rocky terrain and one of the strongest currents in the world. With such tumultuous activity in the water, many fish congregate to the area to feed and you know what that means…. Sharks… and lots of em!
The islands are almost exactly beneath the earths’ equator and as much as I love the heat, it was absolutely oppressive and it was a cool day! So the combination of the heat, rugged terrain, vicious currents and an abundance of sharks…we could feel why Devils island was used as one of the most torturous prisons of this century.
The island had a prison and a cemetery further enforcing its grim reality. We made our way up to see the “sights” and the most fabulous thing happened, we were greeted with the tiniest, cutest little wild monkeys!!! These gorgeous creatures swung from the trees above us and someone had the foresight to bring peanuts… well, what an experience. These monkeys fed directly from our hands, a big boy one rummaged around inside Paul’s hand while a mother with her baby on her back tentatively took peanuts from my hands. Ahhh….my day was complete.
The Prison
The conditions on the island and in its prison were so torturous that out of the 80,000 men transported there, over 50,000 died from abuse, neglect and unsuccessful escape attempts. The photos above show the solitary confinement cells and areas where the prisoners where shackled and tortured.
The prison was decommissioned in 1940’s and in 1969 an ex convict of the island published a bestselling book, which was made into a movie, about his escape, it is called Papillon. The author, Henri Charriere braced the Atlantic in a flimsy raft made of two flour sacks, sewn together and filled with coconuts!!
Funny little animals
We were told of two types of monkeys, ones that were quite friendly and those that hurl mangoes from trees at passing tourists! We didn’t meet the mango throwing monkeys but we did see these strange little rodent creatures scurrying about in the bushes. The island also has beautifully colored McCaws, Peacocks and other birds.
So after an adventurous hour ashore, we were happy having seen Devil’s Island, fed the monkeys and seen the other creatures. We are now on our way to the fabulous Amazon river where we will sail down to a place called Manaus before we make our way to Rio De Janeiro and then onto Argentina!!!
