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Nick Aster headshot

Galapagos: Post Office Bay

By Nick Aster
post-office-bay.jpg

Fun post for Friday: An interesting human behavior story from the Galapagos. Post Office Bay, on the Island of Floreana, has been serving as an improvised message board for travelers since the 19th century. Ships would periodically stop by and leave messages in the hopes that another ship might pick them up and take them to their intended destination in distant lands.

Today, it's tourists who stop by to collect postcards for delivery in their home towns across the globe.  You might say it's the world's only crowdsourced post office that specializes in hand delivery. It's also an amusing throwback to an era when technology was a far less dominant force in people's lives.

Ed Note: Accommodations, travel and guidance in the Galapagos were courtesy of EcoVentura, which runs 7-night cruising expeditions around the islands.  

Nick Aster headshot

Nick Aster is the founder of TriplePundit. Prior to launching 3p, Nick worked for Mother Jones magazine, successfully re-launching the magazine's online presence. He worked for TreeHugger.com, managing the technical side of the publication for 3 years, and has also been an active consultant for individuals and companies entering the world of micro-publishing. He also worked for Gawker Media and Moreover Technologies in the early days of blogging. Nick holds an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management and graduated with a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis.

Read more stories by Nick Aster