In Galápagos, travellers leave post in an old barrel in the hope it will be picked up – I decided to help out
I
have always loved travelling, and have spent most of my adult life either on the move or planning my next adventure. In 2014, I was living in London when my dad, Eric, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). I immediately moved back to my home town of New Plymouth in New Zealand, to help and spend time with him.
When he passed away in October 2022, I wanted to find a way to process my grief, and I was desperate to get back out into the world.
In early 2023, I took off to the Galápagos Islands for a much-needed break. While there, I visited Post Office Bay, on Floreana Island. There’s an old whisky barrel there that is used as a postbox. It was first used by sailors in 1793 to send mail back home: they would leave a letter and take any that were addressed to their next port of call to deliver them by hand. It’s still used by tourists. People will leave a letter and take one that they are able to hand-deliver to their next destination.
