Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail…

What does the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia have in common with The Galapagos islands?  A postcard!  To be exact, a postcard from Post Office Bay on the island of Floreana, Galapagos.  We participated in the great postal tradition from this island and hand delivered a postcard addressed to a fun couple in Ljubljana, the capital of the beautiful country of Slovenia.
A barrel on Floreana Island has been the mail box for buccaneers, whalers, convicts and colonists for the last three centuries.  No stamps were required as the mail was hand delivered by travelers destined for the address on the mail.  Today, tourists carry on the tradition and we have new friends because of it!  The idea is the same as it was although most people write a postcard to themselves, drop it in the box and then see how long it takes to be hand delivered.  And if you’re bound for an address on a postcard, you take it.  
In July we picked up a postcard that was bound for Ljubljana, Slovenia; in September we carried out the Galapagos tradition. 
Through rain, wind and hail (literally) we set out to deliver this special mail.  The parking lot of the apartment complex was practically empty and we almost just put the postcard in the mail slot, when, at the very last minute, we decided to ring the intercom bell. 
 
Low and behold, a voice said hello.  After we explained our reason for ringing, without hesitation, we were invited in.  We were lucky, Petra just happened to be home from work to eat lunch.  Her husband, Magedie, wrote the postcard so she called him and over the wire we were introduced.  We briefly shared Galapagos memories and made plans to get together for dinner.
An intelligent, well traveled couple; he’s from South Africa and she’s from the countryside of Slovenia.  Over Mexican food and margaritas we discussed the black market for diapers (nappies) in the late 80s, American politics (term limits), the breakup of Yugoslavia, life when Tito was in power and that salsa dance is the  reason they’re together.

There’s one more thing that Slovenia and the Galapagos Islands have in common - Petra and Magedie’s yet to be born baby.  A Slovenian baby made in the Galapagos!  Awww…
The time we spent with our new salsa dancing friends was the cherry on top of a few wonderful days in the fantastic city of Ljubjlana.