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Expectations are high for package delivery these days: same-day, two-day – having to wait three is really pushing it. In some places Amazon is delivering to car trunks within hours of clicking “add to cart” for heaven’s sake. While most of us are accustomed to the rush of products moving via plane, truck and now drone, it’s worth taking a moment to visit places where life – and packages out for delivery – move a little slower.
Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands’ most popular man-made tourist destination is a wooden barrel. Found at Post Office Bay on Floreana Island, the barrel serves as a post office of sorts. Beginning in the 1800s whalers penned letters home during long voyages and left them in the barrel hoping someone visiting from their home country saw their letter and delivered it to its address. The tradition continues as tourists now sift through letters and packages, returning those they can to their home country.
Everest Base Camp
The highest post office in the world is located at a dizzying 5,300 metres on Mount Everest. China established the post office at the Everest Base Camp in 2008 to meet a growing demand from tourists to send a postcard or letter from the spot where many legendary climbers have commenced their trek. It’s no surprise higher rates and longer deliver times apply.
Parcel Post in Space
Another China post office is located 343 kilometres above earth. China’s postal authority opened its first Space Post Office with one site in Beijing and another in the country’s manned spacecraft in 2011. The one in space has its own zip code: 901001. Why a post office in space in an age of skype and e-mail? It appears to be a hit with people who want a postcard postmarked from “space” and sometimes astronauts just something real from home, e.g. wedding photos. The space post office also sells postal souvenirs that depict China’s major astronautic events.
Antarctica
The Penguin Post Office on Goudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula operates four to five summer months a year in Port Lockroy, Antarctica. The United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust operates the office which processes nearly 70,000 letters and cards a year from cruise ship passengers. The number of visitors has boomed since the BBC featured the post office in a documentary in 2014. A job description for employees says candidates must be passionate about the Antarctic and physically fit enough to dodge the local gentoo penguin population.
