Greetings From The Pitcairn Island

Talking about the isolated places where you can (at least temporarily) hide from the troubles of the world...As I have posted about this territory before, I'll just mention that looking it up I've come across an article stating that despite an open offer of free land noone wants to move to the Pitcairn...perhaps because it is so isolated, or even more likely because to start with you need enough capital to build yourself a house there (though as the population is dwindling surely there'd be properties for sale?) and some sort of income coming your way already (pensioners or strictly online employees?) as jobs are as scarce as..well those pacific islands I guess.

The title of this post is literally all that was written at the back of this postcard, so I don't really know who to thank! After all its been years since this swap and oh well, I have just stepped into my 40s...A big thank you anyway, whoever your kind self is :)

Glacier Tramping In New Zealand

After watching a debate on TV about censoring the hate speech on social media, and then continuing to have this debate amongst ourselves, a relaxing view like this was very much needed. Sometimes I really wish to get away from it all, the human primitivity that still very much exists under a cloak of technological progress. New Zealand definitely springs to mind as the final destination..! Though I'd probably never climb a glacier. My adventures are limited to surviving in my own country.

Once again thanks goes to Tianyi Shi :)

UNESCO - Korean Dolmen Sites

The proper name of this whs is Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites, alas I am not sure which site this relates to, or if its one or two of the three sites. In any case, great addition to my collection, thank you Sehan :) 

The prehistoric cemeteries at Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa contain many hundreds of examples of dolmens - tombs from the 1st millennium BC constructed of large stone slabs. They form part of the Megalithic culture, found in many parts of the world, but nowhere in such a concentrated form.

Usually consisting of two or more undressed stone slabs supporting a huge capstone, it is generally accepted that they were simply burial chambers, erected over the bodies or bones of deceased worthies. They are usually found in cemeteries on elevated sites and are of great archaeological value for the information that they provide about the prehistoric people who built them and their social and political systems, beliefs and rituals, and arts and ceremonies.

 

UNESCO - Syracuse, Italy

The full name of this UNESCO site would be Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica which therefore consists of two separate elements, but I have only a postcard showing one of them.

Ancient Syracuse includes the nucleus of the city’s foundation as Ortygia by Greeks from Corinth in the 8th century BC. The site of the city, which Cicero described as ‘the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all’. Many remains bear witness to the troubled history of Sicily, from the Byzantines to the Bourbons, interspersed with the Arabo-Muslims, the Normans, Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1197–1250), the Aragons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Historic Syracuse offers a unique testimony to the development of Mediterranean civilization over three millennia.

Even though this postcard was swapped for, I have been lucky enough to visit Syracuse while we were in port in Catania (this was a turbulent cruise due to bad weather conditions, the route pretty much changed as we went - we had to skip Venice, Kotor and Ravenna (three UNESCO spots right there!) and got an overnight in Catania instead) as I had enough free time to catch a train and have a walk around town - though I could have easily spent many more hours roaming the streets of this lovely place. In the end I was still in a sort of a rush...here is the cathedral square, so spacious and neat :)

Piazza Dei Miracoli, Pisa, Italy

The name Piazza dei Miracoli was coined by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele d'Annunzio who, in his novel Forse che sì forse che no (1910), described the square as the "prato dei Miracoli," or "meadow of miracles".

 It is better known as Piazza Del Duomo, and I have already written about it here. As I have been here while working on the ship here is a little reminder - as a tour escort I had access to the cathedral but not the tower. There was a tiny bit of free time but not enough to explore the rest of Pisa - and there was a lot to see, judging from what could be glimpsed from onboard a tourist train.

Grazie Chiara :) 

Sagittarius In 2018

Seeing this postcard made me curious what the astrology online cafes say about the new year in a Sagittarius' life...Not that I believe in such a general aspect of a horoscope, but why not..!

The most sensible in a way is the one by a certain John Terry on www.horoscope2018.co.uk

(Call me bias but I was looking through the British rather than the American pages).

'With Pluto slowly wending its way through your sign, you're beginning to understand that you must create your own luck, and that it's your attitude that makes all the difference. As the new year dawns, the natives of your sign, more than any other, stand ready, willing, and able to make whatever evolutionary leaps are necessary in order to adapt, change, grow - and make the grade.'

More than ever I think this is real, and its gonna be a challenging year!
(Look at that, it even rhymes)
 

Wooden Angel

One of those unusual postcards worth having in one's collection, and I haven't even swapped for it - it was a surprise lottery card :D Danke Flo!

P.S. Of course I will keep the card intact as nice words are written on the back

Bulgarian Roses And Donkeys

'Bulgarian rose oil is very popular and widely used by perfume producers all over the world. It is taken from the Rosa Damascena, which is grown near the towns Karlovo and Kazanlak. At the end of may in this region there are celebrations honouring the rose.'

Even though I've swapped for this one cos of the donkeys, and didn't even see roses as a possible theme, I am thankful to Evgeniya for writing this information on the back :) благодаря!