#flatstanley #flathal #devilsisland #frenchguiana
Îles du Salut is a collection of three islands — Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph, and the most infamous, Île du Diable (Devil’s Island) — off the coast of French Guiana. Today Flat Hal and Flat Stanley visited Île Royale, the easiest one of the three islands to visit.
Île Royale doesn’t have a single year round resident who calls it home! (At least no human ones.). Not these days. From the 1850s to 1953 the three islands were a prison. Prisoners were sent over from France, and shark infested waters were a strong deterrent against escape attempts.
The flat fellas asked why these islands are called “Salvation Islands” and discovered that before they were a prison they were a safe haven. In simple terms, there were diseases on the mainland, 8 miles across the water, carried by bugs, that people seemed less likely to get sick with on these islands. Their fresh breeze and fewer bugs led to healthier living, offering residents “salvation”.
In more recent years, since the 1960s, the French Space Agency has set up an outpost here. They have a tracking station, and can monitor their rocket launches from this outpost. The once dreaded prison is now part of dreams of going into space… a reminder that places, like people, can change.
