Floreana Island
Although the Galápagos Islands were discovered in 1535, this isolated environment didn’t appeal to its discoverers; there were no resources to use, and no fresh water. For almost 300 years, the Galápagos were considered no-man’s land.
At the end of the 1700’s and during the 1800’s a resource was found: whales. Whaling activity increased, and as the whales decreased in the Atlantic Ocean, the English started exploring the Pacific in the hunt for their expensive oil. The Galápagos Islands started appearing on the maps. Whales came to breed close to our shores, and the whalers found another animal to use: the Galápagos tortoises.
Floreana Island became a strategic point during this time. The possibility of establishing a whaler’s harbor in the Galápagos was studied by James Colnett in 1792, and one year later a barrel started appearing in the maps, the Post Office Barrel. This communication strategy was very creative: whalers could leave their letters and information for other ships, so the correspondence could be hand delivered by the first ones going back home.
Today we spent the day on this historical island, Floreana. Unfortunately, the effects of humans have touched the area: there are no tortoises left on the island, and there are some introduced species. Still, we had some great sightings: the sea turtles mating on the beach of Punta Cormorant early in the morning, and the endangered Floreana mockingbird that we spotted from our Zodiacs. Sea lions were the center of our attention during our snorkeling outing, but the parrot fish, rays and sharks were outstanding too. We explored the shores with our kayaks, enjoying an outstanding landscape of prickly pear cactus.
And to end a wonderful day, we became part of history, not just visiting the Post office Barrel, but sharing the old tradition of commitment. We found some postcards that were addressed to places close to our homes, so just like whalers did hundreds of years ago, we took them with the promise to hand deliver them. We will become ambassadors of the Galápagos, bringing news to faraway places.
We travelled in time and became part of this paradise tradition. That’s Floreana Island: the perfect mixture of history and nature.
