G Adventures’ Jen Watson has spoken of her surprise after a visitor turned up at her house in Scotland to deliver a postcard she wrote in the Galápagos Islands.
Watson, a global purpose specialist with the operator, dropped off the postcard at the famous mailbox on Floreana Island during a holiday in February.
But she was stunned last week when traveller Jonny Beardmore arrived at her house in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, to hand-deliver the note.
“I was very surprised when he arrived,” said Watson, adding: “Everyone who knows me was surprised I was actually home.”
During a typical week, Watson spends three or four days away from home as she visits agencies.
She was returning home from St Andrews on Friday, August 9, when her partner Michael Higgins received a call from a taxi driver friend letting them know the driver was at their house with a delivery.
Instead of going to the shops as planned, the couple went straight to their house and discovered the true nature of the delivery.
“Jonny came out of the taxi and we invited him inside and gave him a whisky within two minutes,” said Watson.
The trio then had dinner at The Park Hotel at Kilmarnock FC’s ground, before Beardmore got the last train to Glasgow en route to Dublin.
The New Zealander is on a year-long mission to deliver 50 of the Galápagos postcards to their intended recipients around the world.
His trip to Ayrshire resulted in the delivery of the 25th postcard, with the project designed to drum up funds for motor neurone disease (MND) charities.
Beardmore lived in London before setting out on his globe-trotting mission, which was inspired by his father’s death from MND.
Watson encouraged Travel Weekly readers to visit Beardmore’s Instagram account, @bigoadventures, as the self-described ‘Galápagos Postman’ reports on his journey.
Reflecting on her Galápagos trip, Watson said: “It was a long way to go, but it was absolutely worth it.”
She added: “It was amazing. I’ve done various trips around the world, but Galápagos was something truly special. The wildlife was everywhere and the place was a hidden gem.”
The postcard bore a note stating how much she had enjoyed the trip along with a reminder to return.
Before joining G Adventures in May 2022, Watson was employed by Hays Travel and Travel 2. She has worked in the industry for 19 years.
Picture: Jen Watson receives her postcard from ‘Galápagos Postman’ Jonny Beardmore in Kilmarnock