London man travels 37,000 miles to deliver 50 postcards

Londoner Jonny Beardmore has spent the last five months visiting countries across the globe after taking it upon himself to become "the Galapagos postman." 

He collected 50 letters from an ancient post box on Isla Floreana in the Galapagos and is now delivering them by hand over the next 12 months.

Since setting off in March, the one-man delivery service has been knocking unannounced on the intended recipient's doors from the USA to Iceland to Brazil.

The 51-year-old will continue his journey for 365 days across seven continents until he drops off his final letter on March 1, 2025.

Jonny is travelling 37,000 miles. (Image: SWNS)

Man travelling the world to hand-deliver postcards

Jonny visited the island off the coast of Ecuador shortly after losing his dad Eric to motor neurone disease in 2022 and discovered the postbox tradition. 

The custom at Post Office Bay was started by sailors in 1793 who would deposit letters for loved ones in the hope they might get picked up by a passing ship. 

These days, tourists and travellers drop postcards in the whisky-cask-turned-postbox in the hopes someone will one day collect them and deliver them.

Jonny is now carrying on the tradition, delivering 50 postcards to unsuspecting recipients across the globe in a bid to "connect the world - one letter at a time."

So far he has visited 12 countries - England, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, USA, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador.

The tradition was started by sailors in 1793. (Image: SWNS)

Recipients include a doctor in Sao Paulo, a love letter to San Pedro, Belize, and a honeymooning couple in Washago, Canada.   

Jonny, whose luggage is a single carry-on bag, turns up at the address on the postcard left in the Galapagos postbox and waits a day until it can be handed over. 

If he can’t find the recipient to hand it over face-to-face, the postcard goes in the mailbox as "the Galapagos postman always delivers".

Originally from New Zealand Jonny, who has just finished his UK leg, said: “The inspiration behind this is that my father passed away from MND 18 months ago. 

"He was 81. He had MND for eight years, which is a long time to survive. 

"Through this project, I aim to reconnect people through the written word, emphasising the personal touch that letters provide.

Jonny's luggage is just a single carry-on bag. (Image: SWNS)

"I look for adventures and journeys with a purpose to them and after Covid, I wanted to get back out there and see the world on a personal basis. And this is a pretty unique way to see the world.

"When my dad passed I knew I wanted to do something in his memory and I travelled to the Galapagos islands last January. 

"We went to the postbox, but I'd never heard of it. I took some postcards back to London to deliver and the experience was amazing. 

"That’s where I got the idea of it. I just go where the cards take me."

Jonny arrived at the islands in March and picked out a handful of letters, ensuring they were from all over the world. 

He is doing the task in memory of his dad. (Image: SWNS)

After rounding to an even 50, he set out for South America, hitting Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico.

One letter was to Steve in Belize from Denise, professing her love but by the time Jonny arrived, the couple had broken up.

He then caught flights to seven US cities before heading north and ticking off the Canadian leg, delivering postcards to locals. 

His UK stretch started earlier this month with Jonny pulling in the help of some locals who recognised him.

Jonny, a consultant from Central London, said: “Last week I was in Surrey delivering letter 24 but nobody was home. 

Jonny is a consultant from Central London (Image: SWNS)

"I had to come back in the evening. I make no effort to contact them in advance, you just rock up and knock on the door. 

"It’s only after I've knocked and they aren't in do I leave a note or look on social media. 

"This mother and daughter, who knew me from an adventure festival called Yestival where I spoke online about the challenge in June when I was in Winnipeg, Canada. 

"I showed them their letter and amazingly they knew the people. Turns out that they are neighbours with the letter recipients and know them. 

"They messaged them and arranged for me to meet them to deliver the letter. The odds of this happening are ridiculous. 

Jonny has a map that lets you follow his travels. (Image: SWNS)

“Each of these delivery days is amazingly special days as you never know what’s going to happen. 

“In Mexico, there was a mum and daughter but they wouldn’t come down. We got a Spanish-speaking friend and a neighbour to help. 

"We then showed her the card and they let us in. It was wonderful, probably my favourite. 

“I don’t really get too worried about safety, I've done a lot of travelling around the world, I know my way around.  I’ve been to 114 countries in total so far. 

"I was worried if the concept would be embraced. I really hoped that people would love that I was coming. 

“I was worried that people wouldn’t be that interested but once I met Central America, the people have been amazing. 

He will finish his journey in 2025. (Image: SWNS)

“One was a graduation day for some triplets who were 13 years old. I came back and had dinner with them on their special day."

So far he’s raised nearly £20,000 for MND charities, using his own money to fly around the world and hand-deliver the letters.

Jonny has budgeted £50,000 for the whole experience and says he saves chunks of cash by using up his air miles benefits and flying with just a carry-on bag.

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"It's also about highlighting the loss of mobility and freedom of movement that my father and other MND sufferers experience—a reminder that we should never take these abilities for granted" said Jonny.

Jonny has an interactive tracking map where you can keep tabs on his adventures here: https://z6z.co/galapagos-postman/

To donate visit: https://mnd-new-zealand-fundraise.raisely.com/thegalapagospostmanchallenge2024/