Dark sights in The Guianas

1. Camp de la Transportation

   • French Guiana, The Guianas
   • Sights › Dark

   Most of the creepy Camp de la Transportation, the processing area for arriving prisoners, can only be seen on a guided hour and half hour tour -pay at the tourist office. See the leg shackles, tiny cells, public execution areas and more - restored just enough to keep them dark and eerie.

   One cell has Papillion's name engraved near the bed but whether this was really his cell is up to debate. Convicts arrived by boatfuls of 500 to 600 men and it took 20 days to cross the Atlantic.

   reviewed

   • 0
   • 0

2. Îles du Salut

   • French Guiana, The Guianas
   • Sights › Dark

   The Îles du Salut (Salvation Islands) are best known for the notorious prison. Île Royale, once the administrative headquarters, now has the best restored prison buildings including the restaurant/auberge. Île St Joseph, with its creepy solitary-confinement cells, has been left to be eaten up by the jungle, which only makes its ghosts feel more alive.

   Île du Diable was home to political prisoners, including Alfred Dreyfus, but is now closed to the public because of hazardous currents.

   reviewed

   • 0
   • 0

3. Camp de la Transportation

   • St Laurent Du Maroni, The Guianas
   • Sights › Dark

   See the creepy Camp de la Transportation, which includes tiny cells, leg shackles and dorm-style toilets (known to prisoners as the 'love room'). You can visit public execution areas that have been restored just enough to keep them dark and eerie.

   One cell has Papillon's name engraved near the bed but whether this was really his cell is up for debate. Convicts arrived in boatloads of 500-600 men after a 20-day crossing of the Atlantic. Most of the camp can only be seen on a guided tour. Pay at the tourist office.

   reviewed

   • 0
   • 0