Murals 19 in
Floreana, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
You
may not know the name of the island, but Floreana has a claim to fame
that most cruisers want to see. It's the Bahia Post
Office. Of course, it has to be a special one, and it most
certainly is. Whalers established the post office in the 18th
century by using a rum barrel. It has been in service ever since
and the price of postage has never gone up. It is
free!
The way it works hasn’t changed either. You drop off your mail in the barrel and take a letter with you going in your direction. I picked up two post cards (one to Ohio and one to France) and dropped off two post cards (which returned to me from New York and Scotland). It worked!
There was also a small inland salt water lagoon where the Galapagos flamingos lived. The flamingos were in a dancing mood during my visit. The flock ran in lines across the lagoon. Then, they stopped, honked, looked left and right, and continued to run across the lagoon. They just kept coming closer. It was beautiful! I was sorry to see them leave to go back to the far side of the lagoon.
That’s what you see if you are a tourist in Floreana. If you are a volunteer, you have an entirely different experience. The population living on the island is a whopping 120. And, if you want to see the post office, it's a five hour trek with a guide. I don't do five hour hiking treks.
My mural was going up on the wall of tiny outdoor theater, Edificio Multiuso, with a ceiling of solar panels. However, to determine what would be on the mural took a meeting with some of the locals. I just draw what they tell me, and since they did all their telling in Spanish, I just draw what is translated. They wanted something with a little history of the island. The mural had to have a couple of mountains and a road leading to the mountains were fresh water was located. I wasn't sure how I was going to add all that they wanted. However, once again, I rose to the occasion and created a masterpiece that even I'm pleased with.
Enthusiasm was high for the mural. There were around twenty volunteers, mostly kids in the community. The youngest painter was four, and just so cute! Of course, I was going to need a lot of help. This mural was eight yards long and I was under a time line of four days. Of course, it was done with time to spare.
The way it works hasn’t changed either. You drop off your mail in the barrel and take a letter with you going in your direction. I picked up two post cards (one to Ohio and one to France) and dropped off two post cards (which returned to me from New York and Scotland). It worked!
There was also a small inland salt water lagoon where the Galapagos flamingos lived. The flamingos were in a dancing mood during my visit. The flock ran in lines across the lagoon. Then, they stopped, honked, looked left and right, and continued to run across the lagoon. They just kept coming closer. It was beautiful! I was sorry to see them leave to go back to the far side of the lagoon.
That’s what you see if you are a tourist in Floreana. If you are a volunteer, you have an entirely different experience. The population living on the island is a whopping 120. And, if you want to see the post office, it's a five hour trek with a guide. I don't do five hour hiking treks.
My mural was going up on the wall of tiny outdoor theater, Edificio Multiuso, with a ceiling of solar panels. However, to determine what would be on the mural took a meeting with some of the locals. I just draw what they tell me, and since they did all their telling in Spanish, I just draw what is translated. They wanted something with a little history of the island. The mural had to have a couple of mountains and a road leading to the mountains were fresh water was located. I wasn't sure how I was going to add all that they wanted. However, once again, I rose to the occasion and created a masterpiece that even I'm pleased with.
Enthusiasm was high for the mural. There were around twenty volunteers, mostly kids in the community. The youngest painter was four, and just so cute! Of course, I was going to need a lot of help. This mural was eight yards long and I was under a time line of four days. Of course, it was done with time to spare.