Pirates have visited the Galapagos Islands for hundreds of years. When they first arrived there were thousands of giant tortoises that could provide sailors food for months while traveling at sea. They captured and killed these creatures by the thousands and almost drove them to extinction but today there are enormous efforts to preserve and reproduce them.
Travel is now very controlled and there are strict rules for setting your feet on these islands. We were not allowed to carry ANY food along on our excursions because of the danger of altering the natural lifestyles of the animals. We traveled among the islands on small boats and landed on many of the beaches by jumping overboard and wading to shore from small Zodiaks. We only took a few liters of water and hiked on designated paths. Wandering off on your own can be fatal here and many people have died from dehydration and heat stroke.
The Galapagos Islands are one of the most interesting places on earth.
It’s all about animals….
Charles Darwin noticed that animals adapted to their individual environments to survive the harsh life here. I also saw these changes in birds and giant tortoises. The tortoises were especially adaptive to the vegetation growing in their habitat. Some would have longer necks and some would have different shaped shells. And of course, their size was limited to the amount of food on the island.
You will also find two types of Iguanas on these islands. One feeds off marine life and the other feeds off land vegetation. 
The animals on the Galapagos Islands have no fear of mankind and you can get very close to them. I once swam to a rock formation and found a large school of fish. As I dove under and thru them (there were thousands) the sea lions were agitated into a “feeding frenzy” but I never felt threatened by them. As I swam back to shore, one of the sea lions curiously followed me all the way back to the beach. 
Near the last of the journey, we put into a small pirate cove that has been famous for many years. Pirates have always used this BARREL as a post office near the beach landing. 
It's sort of a letter drop…..
It was so well known that sailors would leave messages and letters there in the hopes that the next ship might be going in the direction of the addressee, and would take them along in hopes of getting information their friends and relatives.
I left a post card addressed to my father back home with hopes that someone traveling to West Virginia would mail it when they returned to the United States. To my surprise, he received it in two weeks, along with a note saying that the person was born and raised near Good Hope, WV.
My Dad, as well as I, was very amused. 
1 comment:
Yes...and I thought of it while we were there. But there are only a few of the islands that are hospitable....It's VERY hot and humid here.
You don't want to wander off by yourself. It would be the end of you.
It's a goat rope in its own style...
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