Post Office Bay, Floreana Island
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| My scrappy little 'paper' post card |
The Madre, The Dahls & I went on an awesome trip to the Galapagos Islands in August. We visited Floreana Island where there is a long tradition of tourists leaving self addressed post cards with no stamp in a mail box at 'Post Office Bay'. Visitors are encouraged to rummage through the mailbox for a post card they can hand deliver close to where they live. This is all based on the postal 'service' used by whalers visiting that part of the world in the 18th century (see below for brief history). I didn't believe this postal system would work so I didn't bring a post card. At the last minute I thought "holy shit, this is so ridiculous it could work". I dug a scrap of paper out of my bag, made a post card & dropped it in the mailbox.
Today just 6 months later there was a knock on my door. Two women from Key West, Jill & Kathy were "in the neighborhood" and hand delivered it to me !!
I was all "Ed McMahon Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes" excited
It worked, it worked it worked....Awesome !!
Yayyyyy Whalers !!
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| The Dahls at Post Office Bay, Floreana Island. August 2013 |
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| Jill & Kathy from Key West delivering my post card. January 2014 |
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| Jill & Kathy with The Dahls !! |
British Captain James Colnett in 1793 who placed a wooden post barrel and then spreads the word and talks about a mailing system where packages and letters can be left there and get picked up by a passing ship in route to such destination.
At the time whaling was a big industry, ships were typically gone for 2 years at a time.
The Galapagos Islands were a frequent stop for these ships. Outbound ships would drop off letters after rounding the cape and the ships returning home would mail them.
Soon Post Office Bay became a mandatory stop to all sailors passing through the Galapagos Islands. Floreana Island is best known for its colorful history of buccaneers, whalers, convicts, and colonists.
In this vast and remote Pacific Ocean, it was the only official way to communicate with relatives, friends and governments.
The system worked under a very simple concept: anyone could leave mail at the barrel, and a passing ship will collect it and deliver it later. Post Office Bay is probably one of the most famous sites in Galapagos.
At the time, the Islands were well visited by ships navigating the world's oceans, and chances of getting your mail around continents was actually quite likely to occur.
The tradition continues today as visitors leave addressed postcards without a stamp in the barrel and sort through left mail to deliver at home.
