Thursday, June 10, 2010

A Postcard From 3,440 Metres Up Mt Everest



Hello again. Here I am back with what I said would be a short and sweet update. I have just 2 postcards for today. But both are pretty special. The first one for today is from Nepal. Actually it's from Namche Bazaar, Nepal, located at 3,440 metres up Mt Everest. Namche is a village in Solukhumbu District in north-eastern Nepal. It is the main trading center for the Khumbu region with a 1991 population of 1,647. Namche is the gateway to the high Himalaya. The village boasts a German bakery, internet cafes, a post office and a police station.
How did I come by a card from Namche, you may ask ? Back in March I read about an Edmonton , Alberta nurse who was going to attempt Mt. Everest . Her name is Lucille de Beaudrap. I contacted Lucille and she agreed to send me a card if indeed it was possible, even though sending me a postcard must have been at the bottom of her priorities. To make a long story short, Lucille was very successful in her Everest attempt and summitted on May 7th, 2010. Here is the picture to prove it. Congratulations Lucille, you have joined a very select group of adventurers. Thank you for the postcard and thank you for permission to use the photo of you and Domhnall O'Douchartaigh high atop Everest. ( I hope I got his name right )
The postcard shows Namche Bazaar with Kongde at 6186m in the background. Namche may not be the highest post office in the world , but it is a really great card, and not one that one sees or receives very often. So I am quite pleased to have it and to have received it from a Canadian who reached the top of the world. Thanks again Lucille, you made us all proud. We don't just excel in hockey. Just a FYI- I believe there is a post office at 15,500 feet in Hikkim, India and one at 16,847 feet on Mount Qomolangma on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas. Don't worry, I'm working on those. Lucille used a 2008 stamp celebrating the Golden Jubilee of diplomatic relations with Germany. The postmark indeed shows where it was posted.

Even if I didn't go on to my second card, I would have had a great update today anyway.
But, let's do it because we love postcards. It is a card from the Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic lands ( TAAF ) . The card displays Grande Glorieuse, one of the Glorioso Islands. You can see the 1300 metre airstrip which is located there. FAAT has been an overseas territory of France since 1955. The territory has no permanent population, but has military personnel, officials , researchers and support staff numbering between 140-150 usually. It was great to receive this card from Jean Pierre . It is country or stamp issuing entity number 237 and thanks to Jean Pierre I can cross one more off the list on the left. The 3 stamps to the left are from a 2008 set of 5 bearing the FAAT flag. The larger stamp on the right is from 2010 and shows Patureau House.
Today's update is now complete. Your comments are always welcome.
Take care.

5 comments:

Ted said...

Actually, the correct spelling is Domhnall O'Dochartaigh. He is also an ICU Nurse from Edmonton and Lucille and him work together, and climb together.

Sreisaat said...

What an amazing feat from an amazing woman -- go, girl power! You have a fantastic collection I so envy. I am a friend of Ana's (My World of Postcards) and came over following a link she posted in one of her blog posts.


Postcards Crossing

Leslie said...

WOW, that is an amazing story about an amazing card!!

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