Post Office Bay

The practice of leaving mail in a barrel began in 1793, when ships bound for the Pacific whaling grounds would leave letters here to be picked up by homeward-bound ships whose crews would deliver the mail by hand. Today the barrel has evolved into a wooden box on a pole surrounded by a fascinating assortment of junk: driftwood, bones, T-shirts, business cards, luggage tags, even email addresses scratched into the wood. Tradition dictates that if you find a letter addressed to someone near where you live, you’re supposed to take it home with you and deliver it in person. Feel free to leave a postcard or letter yourself (no postage is necessary).

  Just a few meters beyond the barrel are a lava tunnel and the rusted remains of a Norwegian fish operation dating to the 1920s.