Hear Galápagos and think amazing natural history, right? But in the 1830s, it was practically the equivalent of a local post office. As you explore San Cristobal Island, one of the oldest geographically of the Galápagos archipelago, it’s hard to imagine it as it once was: a mailroom and pit stop for whalers in the mid-19th century.
Known as the Offshore Grounds, whalers used it to leave messages for one another in between the open ocean and the Ecuadorian coast. They also used it as a place to tune up their boats and recharge the crew. Today, at this pre-highway rest area turned zoo without bars, you can catch glimpses of the blue footed boobies—native species you may have only seen in encyclopedias. Watch sea lions fight over space on the beach. (You know how frustrating beach parking can be.) And meet and greet with the largest tortoises on the planet where you can send snail mail, literally as slow, from the Primicias Ranch sanctuary.
That’s just the beginning of the unexpected histories, here. Visit the Darwin Research Center on a guided tour and learn about Darwin’s research on finches—the tiny, common birds that led him to develop his theory of evolution. (Watching finches back home in your grandmother’s bird bath may never be the same again.) Lesser known is Darwin’s research on volcanic rock. He offered the first correct explanation for how volcanic “tuff” is formed. Explore his findings up close on a lava tunnel walk on your Cape Rose Excursion. And if you’ve snored through a few geology lessons, prepare to be floored. These spooky lava caves vary in size from vaulted to very low ceilings, so you might have to crawl to pass this course. Then, experience the drama of Darwin’s discoveries first-hand as you hike the Sierra Negra Volcano (Spanish for Black Mountain), the most active of the Galapagos’s three volcanoes. You may even get a chance to see hot lava! Enjoy the view from the top, said to be the best in the Galapagos and remember to ask any locals you meet what they were doing on the October 22nd 2005, the date of Sierra Negra’s last major eruption.
The notoriously moody blue footed boobies aren’t the only eccentric personalities on the archipelago Galapagos. Meet local farmers at a barbeque dinner and ask about the groups of European, American and South American immigrants who have come to call the islands home. They might tell you that when the Galapagos was first claimed by Ecuador in February 1832, it was used in the same way Australia was by the British Royal Family—as a place to house convicts. A little more interesting than being locked up at Alcatraz, except the prisoners in the Galapagos were forced to build their own prison. (A twisted sentence if there ever was one.) The chilling Wall of Tears is what remains of that structure and serves as monument to the penal colony’s history. Soon after however, farmers and artists all began to flock to the Galapagos. Oddly, some of the first migrants to the islands were Norwegian, so look for a wide range of local influences as you explore Santa Cruz and Isabela Islands. And remember: you have absolutely no excuse not to send a postcard home. How could you forget? You’re touring the largest post office on the planet. Try responding with that when people ask you how your trip went!