Devils Island (sort of!) March 18

We arrived at Devil's Island at about 1:30 pm.  There are actually three small islands that were originally a French prison colony (Cayenne) from 1852 to 1953. There were a number of books written about the prison colony and a couple of movies, including the 1973 movie "Papillon" starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.  We had visited here in 2012 and had decided not to go ashore this time as we had walked the whole island and seen everything there was to see.  It ended up not making any difference as it was decided that because of the big swell that it was not safe for the passengers to board the tenders and go ashore.

This is the island that was the original administration and welcome center where all of the tourist area is located including a small hotel 

This island is where the isolation prisoners were held

Dock area















Prior to cancelling the tender service both the cruise director and the captain had made announcements about  being extra careful when going ashore as walking around the ruins of the old prison was a bit treacherous. They had even announced that anyone who had difficulty walking (those that used a cane)  would not be allowed to board the tenders. We were watching over the side of the ship and the loading platform was rising and falling about one meter and at times it was underwater.  Prior to cancelling the tender service they even tried putting down an additional anchor and they had also moved the platform from the starboard to the port side. We heard from another passenger that one of the crew members that was transferring from the ship to the tender almost went into the water.

Everyone was disappointed but realized that it was not safe. We stayed at anchor until our scheduled departure time at 6 pm.

These pictures are from the 2012 cruise

Entrance to the cells 

Inside one of the cells 

The cemetary