Hiking to Post Office Bay

Post Office Bay

Your day starts early, at 07:00 AM, with a car and guide arriving at your hotel to transport you to Cerro Alieri, where the 3-hour downhill hike begins and descends through the different microclimates of the island, to Post Office Bay. The trail leads you through Incense trees, Parkinsonias, Lantana, other dry shrubs, Galapagos columnar cacti and Tree opuntias, all characteristic of the landscape, you will likely also see two endemic species of composite flowers, Scalesia villosa and the yellow-blossoming Lecocarpus pinnatifidus. As you reach the coast, the vegetation consists of Beach bindweed and Sundews alongside various succulents such as Scaevola plumierl, Sesuvias and the endemic Nolana galapagensis.

You will encounter various subspecies of Darwin's finch, as well as Frigate birds and Blue-footed boobies. Sea lions and Marine iguanas live on the coast and flamingos sometimes frequent the bay, depending on the weather and season. The beaches of Floreana are among the most important nesting sites for the protected Green sea turtle, and you need to be particularly careful not to disturb them between November and January. Your guide will explain details of the flora and fauna you experience and describe the settlement history of Floreana and of the islands in general. Floreana, with its freshwater springs played an important part in this process, but the island also fulfilled a second important role Post Office Bay owes its name to a wooden barrel that has a long tradition for, by 1793, a ‘post office’ had been set up by English whalers and was appearing on sailors' charts. Every ship arriving in the Galapagos with mail for the islanders would deposit their messages in the barrel, while those departing the Galapagos would take messages from the barrel if the addressee was on their upcoming destination list. This tradition continues to this day, and you are invited to leave a postcard there!

Another attraction at Post Office Bay is a series of underground lava tunnels that lead down to the sea level. After you’ve navigated your way through these, and perhaps taken a swim, the trail continues for about another 30 minutes to the ‘Baroness's house’. This site is associated with a drama that took place between German settlers on Floreana in 1932 and that attracted international media attention at the time. The self-proclaimed "Baroness" playing a key role in these mysterious events. A final short section of the trail leads to Bahia de la Olla, where a boat with lunch will be awaiting your arrival. After your picnic, you will visit the ‘Baroness's lookout,’ to enjoy the beautiful panoramic view. After that, as the boat returns you to the main pier in Puerto Velasco Ibarra, there is an opportunity to snorkel in the bay at, ‘Luz del Dia’, where Galapagos penguins are sometimes seen. You should anticipate spending about 30 minutes in the water, but the duration of this activity is somewhat flexible in light of the time spend undertaking earlier activities. The tour ends at around 3:00 PM.