WaruTravel: Nature Walks and Others

My final entry on the Galapagos will focus on some of its non-animal aspects. I'm sure all cruises go to these places.

1. Post Office Bay on Floreana Island. It may be the most touristy thing in the area! Basically, there's this old wooden barrel (2nd from the right) into which sailors

dropped in letters for their beloved or hated or indifferent ones. At the same time, he would have to pick up and deliver those letters addressed towards his next destination. Hence the name "post office". Handy.

To keep up the tradition, tourists now do the same thing - send & pick up postcards. Nowadays, though, no hand deliveries; that would be too dangerous. We just pick up those addressed to our home country (or whichever country we intend to visit next) and mail if from there. Surprisingly efficient system, considering the large number of tourists that visit here. As a result, the majority of the postcards remaining in there for my group's picking was dated from within the week. The older ones were from developing countries without the income means to travel to the Galapagos.

I am ashamed to that I only contributed to half of this effort - adding postcards. I couldn't do the deliveries since I had no clue where I'd be headed (and NOT because I didn't want to pay for the local postage. I ain't that cheap!!!)

2. Lava rocks at Punta Moreno on Isabela Island. Did a bit of walking around on the island, where the ground is mostly made up of black lava. It was a bit of a unique/different walking experience: Sharpness at the edges, marking my rubber soles. Oddly uneven surface. Hot heat rising up from the heat-retaining black rocks. Lack of firmness and solidity due to the many hollow spaces in the lava.

No cute animals, but I genuinely enjoyed walking around this strange, mysterious environment. It wasn't the easiest of strolls for me though, as I needed to keep a constant eye on what/where I was stepping. For an older woman (the one who thought that dolphins laid eggs!), it was all too much; she opted to return to the shore and stay put.

Some funky cacti to add color and variety to the scenery:

3. Mini-hiking to the Pinnacle Rock viewpoint on Bartolome Island. Via a short, uphill, dusty path. It was sooooo hot and sunny, I had to do a lot of complaining (what else is new, right?!), but from up top, the view was fantastic : )

(FYI - Pinnacle Rock is the pointy thing on the right)

Based on the hike description on my itinerary, I'd gathered that the Pinnacle Rock was the highlight. It's that pointy, large rock jutting up. I have to say that the panoramic view, the horizon, the ocean, the absolute nature of it all was more amazing than that rock.

I liked this crater on the other side, too: