New Country #211 Guyana and #212 Guam

This will be the kind of update that I like to make. Lots of postcards and 2 new additions to my list of new countries in my collection. I received a total of seven postcards in yesterday's mail. I will mention just five of them . First is a card from Guam. Even though Guam is not a country , nor does it issue its own stamps , I have decided to include Guam as a stamp issuing entity and give it # 211 in my collection. My reason for this is that Guam is a very distinct place and therefore deserves to be included. Guam or The Territory of Guam is an island in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a U.S. Territory with it's capital at Hagatna. It is the largest and southernmost of The Mariana Islands. It was first populated about 4000 years ago by the Chamorros . This card , sent as a private swap with Liz shows Fintasa Falls, one of Guam's most breathtaking treasures. The stamps that Liz used include the 2007 issued Hagatna bay 90 cent airmail rate stamp and 4 of the 2008 Tiffany Lamp definitive.

Next is 1 of 3 postcards from Guyana , all 3 arrived the same day. Last week I had no cards from Guyana, and now I have three. Guyana is new country # 212 of the collection. Guyana, previously known as British Guiana is the only state of the British Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America. Guyana borders Suriname, Brazil, Venezuela and the North Atlantic Ocean. The card shown and 2 others were all sent by Alan . This card shows 3 buildings in the country all with some history. Or as Alan says, architectural souvenirs of our colonial masters. On the left is City Hall from the French era, top right is Stabroek Market from the Dutch era and bottom right , St George's Cathedral, from the British era. St George's is one of the tallest wooden structures in the world. One interesting thing is that the jungles of Guyana are home to the great Jaguar. Alan used a number of different stamps on his postcards. All but one are from the 2003 set of 9 value definitives featuring butterflies. They make a nice set and I now have 4 of the set of 9. The other stamp , a bird stamp showing a Goshawk, of which I couldn't find any information, is a great topical stamp .

The next card , from Singapore is quite interesting. The story behind it is this. Postcrossing asked its members to send a postcard of an ox ( for Year of the Ox) to The Singapore Philatelic Museum which will hold a display of the postcards sometime during The Year of The Ox. I happened to have such a card and sent it off to the museum. In return I received this thank you card from the museum. The card doesn't have a stamp , it is just printed " Overseas Postage Paid By Singapore Medicine" Why Singapore Medicine is footing the bill escapes me. A nice card with lovely ladies , uniquely Singapore.

A card now from Norway. The card shows Sognefjorden. Sognefjord is Norway's longest and deepest fjord. It extends more than 200 km inland . The Sognefjord is crossed by the second largest stretch of a power line in world. Its span is 4597 metres wide. The Sognefjord region, where the emerald green fjord meets the largest glacier and highest mountains in Norway, is considered one of the world's most beautiful travel destinations. Postcrosser Malin sent this card and used a great stamp of a moose. It is from a set of 3 , issued in 2008 featuring a moose, a bear and a wolf. Just a beautiful set. Just another set that I would love to have in my collection. Norway also issued another similar set this year, 2009, featuring a deer, a caribou and some type of bird. Another great set. Need I say more.

The last card for today is from The United States. It shows an old time photo of Congress Avenue in Austin Texas. Mickey sent this card and he has lived in Austin these past 20 years or so. He used a pair of definitives , including the 2003 American Clock and the 2008 Dragonfly stamps. The Dragonfly stamp is really great. I like commemorative stamps but I also like and collect the US definitives. There is just something about them that appeals to me, so I do appreciate them unlike many people that just see them as regular common postage.

That's all for today.Another great update sked for tomorrow. How do I know, well today's mail yielded 4 great postcards.

Comment anyone ?