Saint Kitts And Nevis

This is one place where I made special effort, as it was the only country the ship went to that I still haven't had a postcard from...and am posting it despite the sub-quality of my photo...a new country after, wait for it...2 years and 7 months, at least! Wow I didn't even realise until this moment in time that it has been that long...

In any case, it was a very pleasant experience visiting St Kitts and Nevis (we were berthing in the capital Basseterre), as I didn't have gangway in the morning, and thankfully no crew drills, AND I got the shore excursion that I applied for, yay! After the excursion I even had a little free time to go to town and look for a post office. As I recall it was more of a challenge to find an operable atm...Two ladies at the post office were really friendly, and even though there wasn't an impressive display of postcards or stamps on offer I still managed to come out of there happy and with a distinct sense of accomplishment :) 

In the end, what more can I say but...this photo feels very apt for my current situation. Where do we go from here?

UNESCO - Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida), Morocco

The Portuguese fortification of Mazagan, now part of the city of El Jadida, 90-km southwest of Casablanca, was built as a fortified colony on the Atlantic coast in the early 16th century. It was taken over by the Moroccans in 1769. The fortification with its bastions and ramparts is an early example of Renaissance military design. The surviving Portuguese buildings include the cistern and the Church of the Assumption, built in the Manueline style of late Gothic architecture. The Portuguese City of Mazagan - one of the early settlements of the Portuguese explorers in West Africa on the route to India - is an outstanding example of the interchange of influences between European and Moroccan cultures, well reflected in architecture, technology, and town planning.

The postcard shows the cistern, the most prominent feature of this site. The underground chamber, measuring 34 meters by 34 meters, was constructed with five rows of five stone pillars. The cistern is famous especially for the thin layer of water that covers the floor, and which creates fine and exciting reflections from the little light there is and the spartan shapes of the columns and the roof.

Danke Brigitte, you are one of my main collection contributors :)

As we haven't been in touch for a long while, I hope you are doing well..!

 

Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur is an ancient Newar city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, about 8 miles (13 km) from the capital city, Kathmandu. It is one of the three cities with Durbar (Palace) square comprising the UNESCO site (other two being Kathmandu and Patan).

Bhaktapur was the largest of the three Newar kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley and was the capital of Nepal during the great 'Malla Kingdom' until the second half of the 15th century. It has the best-preserved palace courtyards and old city center in Nepal and is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its rich culture, temples, and wood, metal and stone artworks. This is supported by the restoration and preservation efforts of German-funded Bhaktapur Development Project (BDP).

As I have already written about the Kathmandu Valley here I haven't titled the post as UNESCO, but it is still such a great addition to my collection! The card was signed by Daisy, who also used a stamp depicting the third important Durbar square in Patan. So brilliant, thank you :)

UNESCO - Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza, Mexico

This sacred site was one of the greatest Mayan centres of the Yucatán peninsula. Throughout its nearly 1,000-year history, different peoples have left their mark on the city. The Maya and Toltec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their stone monuments and artistic works. The fusion of Mayan construction techniques with new elements from central Mexico make Chichen-Itza one of the most important examples of the Mayan-Toltec civilization in Yucatán. Several buildings have survived, such as the Warriors’ Temple, El Castillo and the circular observatory known as El Caracol.

Sent more than three years ago, gracias to Melissa :)

The ship I was on went to Mexico a year ago, in one port in Yucatan called Progreso. Two of my colleagues got the tours to Chichen Itza/Uxmal, I went to a small site called...uhm...can't remember :D After that I only had time to hang out in the port area, which was a line of souvenir shops, some of which had nice postcards but stamps were nowhere in sight.

A Few Semi-Trivial Thoughts

It has taken me almost a whole day to only sort of sort out my missing UNESCO list :/ And now the overall numbers just don't match...depending whether you count the sites per se or by country, or e.g. a group of monuments separately or as really just a group...this stuff is not simple! There are similar dilemmas and trilemmas re: missing countries and territories, and I could extend this plight even to the countries I've visited - I am never sure how many. Esp now after working on a ship - some people count stepping with one foot onto the soil (read: port area)  as actually being in a country. And all I can say is: seriously! ( I have noticed lately this has become my main reaction to most situations. I am not sure if this fact says more about me or the situations. )

While sorting out the UNESCO list I (sadly) had to remove about half a dozen 'coming' signs (and a few in the missing countries), which means these cards were due to arrive at some point but never did. That reminds me of the reason, well its a part of it, why I slowly drifted into disinterest in any exchange - people were just becoming more and more unreliable. Perhaps its a faulty wording - there were more and more unreliable people joining the game. The list of things that could, and were indeed going wrong in swaps, was becoming ridiculously long. The stamps-stealing postal worker was just a cherry on top. Too nice a comparison.

Another thing (or two) that occurred to me while sorting was, I have been to or near quite a few UNESCO sites without sending a postcard. On the other side of the spectrum I was convinced for a few places that they are UNESCO and have sent postcards 'for my collection' lol. 

Overall working on a ship is not the best way to travel. I am grateful for the 1st contract as it enabled me to do cool stuff, that is to visit the Amazon (though the absence of critters was very odd! Better to say I am odd for wishing I have seen some for a more authentic feel? :D), see the northern lights, and sail around the Caribbean. Once we got stuck in the Mediterranean things started to get a bit tedious...but not just because of the route, more so because my immediate management changed and nothing felt right anymore. I struggled with my equipment for the whole of the 2nd contract, I struggled with appreciating a manager so incompetent I could have done a better job than him (now thats bad!) and the realisation that I can only move forward if I suck up to people...I think not, thank you very much. And suddenly there was less free time, shore excursions became a chore...I rarely got the ones that I wanted. It is enough to say we were docked near Vesuvius/Pompei three times and I didn't get to see either. On the other hand I was sent to some tours twice, which made a lot of 'sense'. Once I made a remark about this (because the time off you have is precious) I was regarded as ungrateful and trouble.

Oh well. Let me enjoy the fact that right now, even though unemployed and in debt, I am sitting here in the living room of my parents' house and NOT taking photos of some passengers having dinner, salute!

Lila i Lala

The caption is exactly what is written at the back of the card, I will assume those are the names of these cuties :) Sent from (what now seems to be ancient) my trip to Mallorca.

Finnish Lynx

As extreme cold rules the north of America, extreme heat sweeps over Australia...around here its warmish and cloudy, we don't even have to turn on the heat during the day. I have an uneasy feeling when the winter is not really winter...this fella in the snow is just the sight I need. Lovely stamps too, (somewhat belated) kiitos Marko :)

One Year And Five Months

Is this how much time has passed since I've written a post here? Amazing! Do I even have to say how time flies...Since my last post I have done preparations for a cruise ship job, one (pretty darn awesome) trip to Caucasus, and then I got on mv Oriana as a photographer and had...lets say enlightening experience of working on a ship for two contracts. As I have slowed down with postcrossing even prior to that, I haven't really sent many postcards last year, and sad to say I am still not being bitten by any bug that would re-kindle my passion for postcrossing...as harsh as it may sound. That said, I do cherish all the postcards that I have received so far, and still have many to share, so this blog is not perishing just yet!

I wish I could have surprised some of my pc buddies with posties from some of the quite exotic places in the Caribbean...I will try to excuse myself with the fact that I really haven't earned that much money, in fact now that I've come back I'm in the worse financial situation than before. I have sent postcards to my family so that they can see where I've been (I will post them here at some point for sure) but still I have skipped quite a few countries and ports, as sometimes you don't get to go out, sometimes you have very little time and you just rush around like a headless pigeon, sometimes you have time but its sunday and everything is closed, or maybe you do find postcards but then finding stamps turns out to be a feat of its own. I have sent occassional postcards to my friends back home, but not as many as I wish...Sometimes you had to make a decision, to send a bunch of postcards or to have a bite to eat so you can sample local cuisine, or buy a souvenir if you really liked the place. There were times when I surely would have opted for postcards only! But knowing that I'd probably never get to those places again...lets just say I mixed and matched and made my decisions on the go, sadly I wasn't able to do it all.

And now that I'm back home, and looking for another job, I will have some time to revive my blog, as I have many great postcards still waiting in line to be shown :)

Oh and here is perhaps a curious fact: when I was on the ship, I had to make a presentation in front of a trainer and a group of crew members, and I have chosen postcrossing as a topic. As I have fear of public appearances of any sort, I almost s*** my pants lol, but here was a subject that I knew a fair deal about, and that I still love and appreciate, so yeah, it turned out alrite..! Some peeps even said to send me a postcard next time they get the chance :))

After this elaborate explanation, I do wish everyone a supa dupa New Year!
May the 2018 be better and happier, and maybe that bug will bite in the end, who knows ;)