Saturday, April 4, 2026

Blogging from A to Z 2026 - D is for Devil's Island

 

As I travel the world I take many photos that pique my interest. During the year April 2025 to March 2026 our travels included visits to many islands large and small. My theme for 2026 Island Hopping will give precedence to Islands visited in the past year but for those difficult letters like X and Z I will dig into my photo archives for content.

I had to go to my photo archives for the letter D as  Devil's Island is the only D island I can recall getting close to. 

"The penal colony of Cayenne (French: Bagne de Cayenne), commonly known as Devil's Island (Île du Diable), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Island

I actually blogged about our visit to the Iles Du Salut here in 2017 but that post concentrated on windows.

Years ago I read Henri Charriere's book Papillon, the story of his incarceration and escape from Devil's Island. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the opportunity to visit this isolated place. After a cruise down the Amazon River in 2014 our ship called in at The Iles de Salut in French Guiana and, although we couldn't land on Devil's Island we were able to visit the adjoining island, Ile Royale, where most of the French prisoners had been held in the penal colony's gaol. It was only the incorrigibles like Charriere and political prisoners who were sent across to Devil's Island.

Today I'll share a few images of  the ultimate place of punishment, Devil's Island. 


First sighting of Devil's Island

The stone hut on Devil's Island provided shelter


It's not possible to visit the Island

Devil's Island from Ile Royale

Political prisoners were housed on Devil's Island. In the 19th century, the most famous was Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
Dreyfus information in the small museum on Ile Royale

Other D islands we have visited include Deception Island
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11 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 5, 2026 at 6:18 AM

    I thought Devil's Island was a figment of the imagination, a literary tool. Pleased to learn this wasn't the case. Thank you for sharing:) Brizzy May

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    Replies
    1. GeniAusApril 6, 2026 at 10:58 AM

      It's definitely real. It was reminiscent of visiting Port Arthur and Norfolk Island.

      Delete
  2. Cassmob (Pauleen)April 5, 2026 at 8:27 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. GeniAusApril 6, 2026 at 10:57 AM

      I remember reading the book, I enjoyed it years ago. No memoreis of the movie for me.

      Delete
  3. Cassmob (Pauleen)April 5, 2026 at 8:28 AM

    Papillon…the only movie we’ve walked out of.

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  4. KristinApril 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM

    Would not want to visit a prison island

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    Replies
    1. GeniAusApril 6, 2026 at 10:56 AM

      They are fascinating Kristin. One of our favourites in Australia is Norfolk Island.

      Delete
  5. Jennifer JonesApril 6, 2026 at 5:38 PM

    Such a great opportunity to go to Devil Island. I remember how brutal the prison was in the book. Your AtoZs are a great history lesson Jill

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    Replies
    1. GeniAusApril 6, 2026 at 7:34 PM

      That was an amazing journey as we travelled down the Amazon after Devils Island

      Delete
  6. AnonymousApril 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM

    I didn't realise Papillon was set close to the Amazon. It was a long time since I saw it. I vaguely remember someone jumping off cliffs to escape. Also eating cockroaches to sustain life!

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  7. LindaApril 19, 2026 at 5:13 PM

    The previous post is mine. I forgot to put in my URL which I have to do every time I make a comment. Is there any way I can be remembered?

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear what you have to say so I encourage you to say G'day in comments on my posts.

Sorry I have turned word verification on but I am just getting too much spam to allow comments without this feature.

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