UNESCO - Te Wahipounamu - Mount Cook, New Zealand

This absolutely gorgeous view of Mount Cook reminds me why i always dreamed of visiting New Zealand :) Perfect nature, perfect photo...perfect sheep? ;)

It was my idea that, if i ever end up in cul-de-sac of life i would just move to New Zealand with one bag of basics and start all over again as a sheep-shearer. Then i learnt in the (highly recommended by my modest-self) book by Polly Evans 'Kiwis might Fly' that it is actually not that easy; one rather needs to be very VERY fit. And there goes my plan....but the plan of visiting still stands!

I was lucky enough to tag Sylvia/dutchkiwi in one of the offer tags for this card :)))

Upon revision I have realised that the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is one of the four national parks encompassed in Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand Unesco WHS site.

Barbados Beach

 

My 1st written&stamped postcard from Barbados :) One of the many gorgeous beaches that is sooooooooo inviting, the endless sand, lush green background...you just want to dip in!
It is so apt that there should be sailing boats on the stamps ;)  I want to thank my friend for getting as many different stamps as he could, he is really spoiling me! (but please, don't stop ;))

Sint Maarten Beach

(NOT A POSTCARD, JUST A MAP! ;-D)

To be honest, up to a few months ago i hadn't really heard of Sint Maarten *blushing*. then my friend told me that he decided to go there to look for sailing jobs. i immediately looked it up and when i saw this map i thought 'wow, this just looks so unique!' and being situated in the Caribbean, it just cant be but beautiful in nature..!

The island is actually divided into two parts: northern French part Saint-Martin and southern dutch part Sint Maarten - this division dates back to the year 1648. Its situated some 300 km east of Puerto Rico, being a part of Leeward Islands/Lesser Antilles.

Well planes are normally not my passion (unless they are taking me someplace new ;)) but it is pretty cool how they fly over beaches here...

They ran out of stamps in the PO so they used this sticker stamp, which still sez 'Nederlandse Antillen' - but in fact Sint Marten was part of it until 10/10/2010, when it became a separate constituent country (as did Curacao), and the rest of the islands joined the Netherlands as 'special municipalities'. not at all complicated! heh.

Thank you kiwi friend for finding time to post this card for me!

More Awesome Australian Animals

I've been home for a week - which is almost a luxury at this point as the tourist season is definately picking up. It was great to see my family as they all gathered from different directions (Zadar, Gars near Munich(Germany)) and to finally go to a music festival - prefectly lead by Jamiroquai and Arcade Fire :))) and not least important, i got some reeeally nice postcards. so here they are!

From a private swap with Heather, again great Australian cards - and this time with two very special creatures :) I have always been amazed by platypus, ever since i was a kid. When i was in Australia, i was very excited and impatient on the day we went to the Healesville Sanctuary, cos i knew i will see a platypus for the very first time! But i could only watch them swimming in their tanks...as opposed to my experience with the tasmanian devil :) We were in Tasmania on a 4-day car trip, and one of the awesome places we visited on the way was an animal shelter, where i had my closest encounter with australian cuties - i got to pet a koala and a tasmanian devil (who was very timid while in caretaker's hands!) and held a veeery cuddly wombat :)))

Ahh i could go on and on about these things..........heh
Sadly the number of tasmanian devils dicreases, among other reasons because of cancer :(

Map Of Bosnia And Herzegovina

An excellent map card of Bosnia and Herzegovina that came as a surprise from my dear postcrossing friend Jasmin :)

The map shows folklore and traditional manifestations of the country and places them in their region. It makes me wish to be able to travel in my own car (if i had one!) through this wonderful and unique country! I have visited Sarajevo once, and liked it soooooooo much xD I definately want to re-visit, and expand my experience <3>

Yuri Gagarin

Thanks to RRs on the forum i've come into possession of these wonderful cards showing the best-known Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin :) I love the fact that i have a card showing him 'at work' and another in a much more leisurely manner. A big thanks goes to Olga (snisa) and Sveta (orange_froggy)!

Yuri Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space in his vostok spacecraft, and complete an orbit of the earth, on april 12, 1961. he was only 27 years old! He must be one of the most popular people from Russia - a household name :) My parents have memories of his endevour, and to them it just sounded unbelievable at the time that the man was actually travelling thru space!

Unfortunately his life story didnt end happily...in 1968, while on a routine training, his MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of Kirzhach. his body was cremated and the ashes buried in the walls of the kremlin on Red Square in Moscow. Behind he left his wife Valentina and two daughters Elena and Galina. And a legacy never to be forgotten.

Siberian Flying Squirrel, Russia

Time for another new animal in my collection! Result of a multiple swap with elena (4ajka) :)
Beautiful flower stamps, thank you!

I do have a 'list' of my favourite animals but i also want to 'meet' as many different species as possible - am even considering to collect every single mammal card ever issued! Wow it sounds scary even as i write it..xD

So here is the immensely cute siberian flying squirrel (pteromys volans), which can be found in the vast area from the Baltic sea in the west to the pacific coast in the east.  Its the only species of flying squirrel found in Europe! They are shy nocturnal animals, and therefore rarely seen. But i'll keep my eyes open if or when i go to the northern places :)

Mount Rushmore National Monument, USA

II have realised lately that, despite having many cards from the US, i miss many of the landmarks of this vast beautiful country. I was delighted to get Mt. Rushmore card as it is one of the places on my to-see list! And this is the greatest photo of it i've seen so far (except for the one where a person is descending Lincoln's nose!), because it encompasses the whole mountain, and the red hues are gorgeous. well my mum thought its a bit eerie heh. But i cannot imagine anyone would dispute the grandness of the monument..!

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is situated near Keystone, South Dakota. It was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, and later his son - the construction lasted from 1927-41. The carvings are 18m high and 1745m above sea level, representing the 'first 150 years of american history' or rather the most notable presidents of that period: George Washington (1st president), Thomas Jefferson (3rd), Theodore Roosevelt (26th) and Abraham Lincoln (16th president).

Thank you FloridaGirl for the swap :)

UNESCO - Canaima National Park, Venezuela

This is what i missed when i returned home (too early) from my trip to South America! My dear friend was so kind to send me my 1st written & stamped card from Venezuela :) i am just missing a cancellation! it travelled for three months, i was so happy when it arrived XD

La Gran Sabana (the great savanna) is situated in the south-east Venezuela, extending to the borders with Brazil and Guyana, and is part of the second largest National Park in Venezuela, the Canaima National Park. The park, with its size of ca. 30 000 square kilometers, is the 6th largest national park in the world.  It lies on a plateau and is dotted with huge table-top mountains called tepuis. Its main attraction is surely Salto Angel (angel falls), the world's highest waterfall; this postcard shows Salto Aponguao. (so little info online for such grand falls).

Golden Frog, Panama

Last week was good for introduction to the Central America - i have received my 1st (and for the next few years only, op. pis.) written & stamped card from Panama, thanks to Christina xD

As i love native animals, this card showing Panamian Golden Frog was a wonderful surprise. But i was sorry to read that this species is critically endangered, due to the chytrid fungus, habitat loss, pollution and collection for illegal pet trade (sometimes i feel like we humans really dont deserve to live on this magnificent planet). Christina also wrote about the myth that when this frog dies, it turns into gold and brings good luck to those who see it :)

Complete with a wonderful stamp showing Panama City.

UNESCO - Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site, El Salvador

El Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in central america, situated on the Gulf of Fonseca. It is also popularly known as 'la tierra de volcanes soberbios' (the land of proud and arrogant volcanoes).

On the card you can see its sole Unesco WHS sight - Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site. It is in fact a pre-columbian Maya farming village, preserved remarkably intact under 14(!) layers of volcanic ash. it is often referred to as the 'Pompeii of the Americas'. the important difference is, people managed to flee the disaster on time (no bodies were found) - but they left all their belongings behind, and even half-eaten food!

This is my 1st written & stamped card from El salvador, thanks to Guillermo of FB postcrossing team :)

As i am planing to visit Central America later this year (nothing is certain yet but i do lean towards it) i will include this site in my itinerary!

Sviatohirsk Lavra, Ukraine

This wonderful view of Sviatohirsk Lavra was sent to me by Olga (Olenenka) in our fav 'choose a country' RR :) as usual, she used an array of gorgeous stamps! forever thankful ;)

The Sviatohirsk Larva/cave monastery is situated on the right bank of the Severtsky Donets river, in Donetsk Oblast (eastern Ukraine). The first monks came and settled here in the 14-15th centuries. Unfortunatelly it was destroyed by the Soviets in the 1930's - but after Ukraine regained its independance in 1991 it was promptly restored, and its community now consists of more than 100 people (and growing).

It looks like such an awesome place to visit!

Holy Land Map

Days fly by...and i find myself overwhelmed with all the postcards that i want to show here. Last month was really ample for me postcrossing-wise :)

I was absolutelly thrilled when i was able to tag for this card xD i like participating in tags on the PC forum, but unfortunatelly some over-eager users (to use the mildest term) have made it less enjoyable...which makes this find that much more precious :)

chatte_noire sent me this gorgeous map of The Holy Land, complete with an awesome stamp. what more can an avid postcrosser ask for?! thank you thank you thank you!

My Workplace

As the summer season is heating up, i've decided to show you my workplace (as i work in tourism) which happens to be my living place too..! This is why I am not able to send postcards everyday. So what i do is i stock up on cards and stamps when i'm home, and send the cards via the company boat.

The ACI marina Piškera is situated in the National Park Kornati.

There are no private houses on this island; the power is produced by generators, the water brought over by a boat. As there is no power from 12:00h-18:00h i have to sign off now heh. (and i've just realised i had written about Piškera when i started the blog last summer - but here is a postcard to visualise everything i was going on about.)