Post Office Bay

About the site

Post Office Bay

Post Office Bay, on the north coast of Floreana, keeps alive one of the oldest traditions in the Pacific. In 1793 British whalers placed a wooden barrel here as a mailbox: sailors heading out on long voyages left their letters, and ships sailing home collected and delivered them. Today's barrel, decorated with signs left by passing boats, still works the same way.

After a wet landing on a sandy beach, a short path leads to the barrel. Visitors drop postcards addressed to friends at home, without stamps, and look through the others for any addressed near their own town, to deliver by hand. Some of those postcards take years to arrive, and some arrive before the travelers who wrote them.

A short walk away are the remains of a fish canning plant built by Norwegian settlers in the 1920s and, on some visits, a lava tube that you enter down a ladder to walk in the dark with a flashlight. Back at the beach, sea lions rest on the sand, and the calm water is good for snorkeling or a swim with sea turtles and rays.

The visit is easy and full of stories, a favorite of families. Bring a postcard or two, already written, and sandals for the beach.

Highlights

• Barrel Post Office
• Lava Tunnel