The Galapagos: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The Galapagos Islands archipelago is a wonderful place. It has some of the most unique animals in the world, features pristine, untouched landscapes and islands, offers some of the world’s best diving, and has spectacular hospitality. It also is home to the world’s most unique post office: Post Office Bay.
Post Office Bay is on Floreana Island which can be reached by boat for a day trip. For those of you unfamiliar with Post Office Bay, it is a stamp-less post office in a barrel where tourists can either drop off a letter/postcard, or pick one up, to hand deliver to the recipient when they get home. Generally, tourists will choose a letter addressed to someone who lives close to their home for the ease of dropping off this letter.
I visited Post Office Bay while I was traveling with Pure! Travel Group in April 2021 and picked a letter to be dropped off to a couple living in Santa Barbara, California about 2.5 hours from where I live in Orange County. This past month, I finally got to deliver that letter to its rightful owners.
On my way to their house, I was so nervous. I was nervous they wouldn’t be home. I was nervous about what to say. While I was so nervous, I was so extremely excited. The travel industry (and usually people who just like to travel) are people who connect. We get to have these once in a lifetime experiences, meet people and build lifelong friendships, or meet people where they are in your life for a fleeting, but incredibly impactful moment. I was excited that my trip in April was still playing out in my life today…
And when I arrived at that house, I was the happiest person in the world when I saw that their garage door was open and I knew my duty to deliver that letter would be completed. The couple I met was so nice. They loved the idea of Post Office Bay and I think this even inspired them to visit Galapagos in the future. After the delivery was made, they gave me several suggestions on restaurants and wine bars in Santa Barbara making my day trip even more special. I found out that the writer of the letter has been traveling around the world with her family of 5 for over two years and the Galapagos was one stop on her new adventure.
