Papillon Book Cover

Papillon’s Island

Always been a dream to get to this island to see just what the environment was for the prisoners sent here by the French. Made famous by the book by Henri Charriere but more significantly the location where Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned after being falsely accused of espionage for the Germans – he later was released and served in high office in the French military again. But the Steve McQueen (Papillon), Dustin Hoffman (Daega) movie and the images of Devil’s Island, throwing the coconuts off the cliffs to see how frequent waves that took them away from the shoreline were so Papillon could time his escape – those are the movie images that make this a fun visit to make.

The Iles du Salut (Salvation Islands) are actually 3 islands, all within a stones throw of each other and all of which were the location for the prison camp – the administration & hospital on Isle Royale, the solitary confinement on St Joseph, and the ‘escape proof’  Devil’s Island.

Sadly today the ruins are being let go amidst the onset of jungle and in fat visitors are barred from all the historical areas, being confined to the beachline only. So we had to jump the fences and disappear for a few hours in order to get the best of these shots. Enjoy.

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