Back From Vacation

Hello again, it's been a while. I returned from Cuba late Thursday evening. Wasn't up to an update yesterday. Had a good , relaxing time with lots of sun, sand and drink. I found a small, old one room post office in Varadero . It was about 8 by 10. I found a lot of Cuban stamps dating back the last 20 years or so , for sale . I also sent off a few postcards and a few covers to some of the bloggers that I have had contact with since starting this blog. I sure hope they arrive . On my return I found 13 postcards and 2 covers in my mailbox. I won't be showing them all , just some of the more interesting ones , and it may take this update and another one tomorrow to get through them. First up today is a small card from Ushuaia, Argentine. Ushuaia is of course the southernmost city in the world. The card shows some musicians playing, overlooking Ushuaia. The card is from the International Festival of Ushuaia. The 5th Ushuaia International Festival will be taking place from April 25th to may 9th, 2009. The world famous Moscow Symphony Orchestra will headline the event. The festival takes place in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, Argentina.
Unfortunately, a stamp was not used, but a postage label was and that was good enough to get it to me.

Next is a card from a very tiny place, Sark, Channel Islands. Sark is a small island in the southwestern English Channel. It is one of the Channel Islands, is a part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and as such is a British crown dependency. Population runs about 600. This card is from Elizabeth P, the proprietor of La Sablonnerie Hotel on Sark. The card shows a few scenes of the hotel and the quiet life on the island. Elizabeth used 3 nice stamps from a set of 10 issued in 2007, by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Now for a card from Cancun Mexico. It shows Tucancun Beach, in front of The Barcelo Hotel. Cancun is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state and is located on the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico from Cuba. Cancun has grown from nothing in 1970 to a city of 600,000 with 4 million visitors arriving each year on an average of 190 flights daily. The card was sent by Shelley and Kevin, who were certainly enjoying themselves . Lots of sun, sand and drinks. A wonderful large format stamp from 2007 with a great postmark was used.

Finally a card from Malaysia. Sent by Shi Wen, a Postcrosser, it shows the Orang Utan. Sometimes referred to as , Man of the Forest, Orang Utans are found only in the island of Borneo and are an endangered species fully protected in Malaysia.

Thanks to Shi Wen, Shelley & Kevin, Elizabeth P and the Ushuaia Festival for these great postcards.

More tomorrow. Am off to watch The Calgary Flames play The Toronto Maple Leafs , but unfortunately just on tv.