Sunday, 6 May 2018

Post Office Bay, Galapagos Barrel Mail


Post Office Bay is a small bay on the northwest shore of Floreana. 

And it has a unique place in Postal History .  In the late 1700s, whaling was an important industry; ships were often away from their home ports for as long as 5 years.  Because of its accessibility, Post Office Bay was a common stopping spot for many of them.  In 1793, British navigators placed a large wooden barrel on shore at Post Office Bay as a place to leave messages and mail for homeward-bound sailors to pick up and deliver once they returned home. 

This aspect of the  mailing tradition have continued to the present day, now providing a unique way for tourists to send postcards home.  


The original barrel the whalers left has been replaced a few times, but the tradition still lives on. Tourists still use Post Office Bay to send letters home to themselves or loved ones via personal delivery to experience the power of travel.


In the Post office bay Barrel Post office, one needs to drop off a few postcards of his own to be delivered, adding to the chain of mail being sent around the world and also search through the postcards in the box and find an address near where he lives, so that one can hand deliver the postcard to him

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