RUINES DU BAGNE DE L'ÎLET LA MÈRE

From 1643, as France organized expeditions to colonize French Guiana, the Jesuits settled on the îlet la Mère. Then, in 1776, the islet was used to house Cayenne's lepers, before becoming a farm and later a penitentiary, one of the first penal colonies in French Guiana: some fifteen buildings could accommodate up to 600 inmates. 20 years after its opening, however, an epidemic of yellow fever ravaged the island, which was abandoned. Much later, in 1981, the Institut Pasteur built an annex on the islet, at the same time as setting up a saimiri farm: these squirrel monkeys are used to collect serum for anti-malarial treatment. In 2001, the Institut Pasteur withdrew, and the islets were assigned to the Conservatoire du Littoral, which installed information and discovery panels to help visitors better understand the history of îlet la Mère.

Today, although the islet has returned to its wild state, it has preserved a number of building remains, most of which date back to the penal colony era. Along a 3.5 km (1h30) circuit, you'll see the remains of a hospital and a church, as well as the ruins of buildings where convicts were locked up. There's also a climb up to a former semaphore, at the foot of which a covered carbet has been set up for picnics in the shade (but not for overnight stays).