Floreana    Click on the images below to see an enlargement

At Post Office Bay on Floreana Island is one of the oldest post offices in the world. In 1792 a barrel was erected by whalers to serve as a primitive post office for whaling ships (and doubtless some pirates), which often spent up to 5 years away from home. Ships passing by on their way home would take any letters/messages intended for recipients near their own homes and deliver them. It was used by sailors over the centuries and is still used occasionally by visiting yachts. 

It has become a historical and fun curiosity, with visitors leaving postcards to be forwarded to the recipients by subsequent visitors from the same country or area. I picked up 3 postcards to forward to New Zealand addresses. I left a card myself and it turned up via Germany, having been picked up by a German visitor who had fond memories of a stay in New Zealand.

From the greenish sand of the landing beach a trail leads past a large lagoon where Flamingos nest, to a white sand beach, called Flour Sand Beach due to the very fine sand. Turtles nest here and stingrays can be seen in the shallows. The weather was grey, with even a touch of rain, and we saw no turtles, but we did see some stingrays in the breakers.

Post Office Bay	Gino "sorting mail"	Lagoon	Landing at Cormoran Point	Palo Santo trees on one of the two tuff cones