Our final stop in French Guiana was St Laurent du Maroni, a town dominated by penal buildings and the ghosts of its prisoners. Situated along the banks of the Fleuve Maroni and bordering Suriname, it was the place where prisoners arrived for processing at the now eerily quiet Camp de la Transportation. Convicts came by boatloads of 500-600 men, who had taken 20 days to cross the Atlantic.

Saint Laurent du Maroni bears a distinctive architectural style, a unique mix of colonial and penitentiary architecture . Bricks made from the local red clay were used by the convicts, who provided a free and never-ending workforce to build a whole official and administrative district, starting with the main jailhouse itself. On an overcast drizzling day which matched the atmosphere, we wandered around the site and passed by one cell which had Papillon's name engraved over the bed. Whether this was really his cell is up for debate.

On our final day we treated ourselves to some French cuisine - a nice change from the budget street-food option.

Onward journey to Paramaribo, Suriname, including a 10 minute dugout canoe ride to cross the Fleuve Maroni followed by a shared taxi, 2 hours.