Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Santa María (Floreana) Island
South of Santa Cruz lies Isla de Floreana, site of the historical
Post
Office Bay
and
Devil's Crown
. It is also the island with the most
fascinating recorded human history outside of Darwin's voyage. Be-
ginning in 1929, a few small groups of settlers decided to call
Floreana home, including aGerman doctor and his partner, as well as
the Wittmers (another German family), and an Austrian baroness
with a couple of her lovers/servants. Trouble in paradise quickly
arose as power struggles occurred and resulted in strange disappear-
ances, hunting episodes with human prizes, andmultiple suspected -
but never proven - murders.
Margaret Wittmer
Margaret Wittmer, the first to successfully emigrate from
Europe to the island and remain her entire life, wrote a
book about those early days entitled
Floreana
, published by
Moyer Bell Ltd. Publications (1990, first published in
1961). More like literary fiction than real life, it describes
the harsh struggles to survive, visits from the rich and fa-
mous abroad, volcanic eruptions with US aircraft disap-
pearing into a blazing inferno, a world war and an island
war, to name but a few trials and triumphs. I highly recom-
mend her story. Margaret Wittmer lived on Floreana until
2000, when she died at the age of 95. Her son Rolf, who was
the first European Ecuadorian born on the islands, offers
tours around the Galápagos, through his company, Rolf
Wittmer Turismo (see Tour Operators & Travel Agents,
page 400).
Post Office Bay
, on the north shore of the island, is themain point of
access. On the trail just off the beach is a junk pile of bones, debris,
signs, and the historical post-office barrel. The barrel dates back to
the late 1700s. Whalers would drop mail in the barrel and there it
would sit until a passing sailor heading in the right direction would
pick it up and deliver it. The tradition also played a major role in
Margret Wittmer's account of
Floreana
and it continues today. Visi-
tors are encouraged to drop a postcard into the barrel and look
through the pile for anything that could be delivered close to home.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search