Post office box (replica) on the docks of Floreana

Dispatch a postcard from the Galápagos Islands without using any stamps

The post barrel at ‎Puerto Velasco Ibarra on Floreana

I sent a postcard to E and J in New York this morning. J is too young to be able to read it now but hopefully her mom will pass on the message.

In the 18th century, letters and post cards were written, by homesick British whalers in who would spend years at a time in this part of the world, and deposited into a post barrel on the shores of Floreana. Ships that pass through would pick up the mail that were addressed to locations on their route and deliver the correspondence (by hand) to the recipients. The original location of the barrel was on the other side of the island, about two and a half hours away by foot from the port, however, these days the trail is not easily accessible and the area is not well maintained, in order to get there it will require knowledge of a local guide.

In recent iterations of the tradition, travelers that stop here may retrieve cards from the barrel on the pier and ensure that the notes find their way to their intended destinations (I picked up a few.) On the cards are uplifting, inspiring messages to oneself, the future, one’s family and friends. There were about fifty cards in the barrel today, oldest cards are from about six weeks ago. It’s interesting to see where the travelers are from and the thoughtful notes on some of the cards (most of them are in foreign languages). The visitors to the island come from countries such as Ukraine, Russia, China, Hong Kong, England, Wales, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, India, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Argentina, USA (Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Florida, Colorado), Canada (Vancouver, Ontario), among others.

We are very lucky to be able to visit to such a beautiful paradise and enjoy the wonders of the Galápagos. So blessed to have the freedom to able to travel. We are also believers of historical tales, in that we all wrote post cards and dropped them into a wooden container on a port of a remote island and the optimists in us hope that one day they will arrive in a country thousands of miles away.

It often takes only take a bit of faith to make the world go around…

Keeping the ritual alive, fingers crossed

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