Aitutaki # 251 and Eritrea # 252 - 21 More To Go

Well it's been quite a while, just about a week since the last update. Cards continue to arrive , so I really have no excuse. But, I''m coming back on a up note. Two new countries or at least stamp issuing entities. Aitutaki # 251 and Eritrea #252. With these two in the bag, I now need just 21 more and I will have done it - receive at least one stamped postcard from every country or stamp issuing entity in the world. Twenty one may not seem that many , but obviously they are the more difficult ones.
So let's have a look at #251 , Aitutaki. One of the cook Islands, Aitutaki, is located north of Rarotonga. It has a population of around 2000 and is the second most visited of the Cook Islands. Aitutaki had its first known European contact on April 11, 1789, when Captain Bligh and the crew of HMS Bounty first discovered the island. My card shows the typical view of a South Pacific island. Kaleena , who works at one of the local hotels sent this card along. She used 2 of 15 Tourism stamps in a 2010 m/s , all of which show scenes of the island.

Now for # 252, Eritrea. Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south and Djibouti in the southeast. Its capital is Asmara. Not only is this a card from a new country, but a card showing an Eritean Airlines B767 aircraft. Another for my airlines on postcards collection. The much traveled David sent this card along from the capital of Asmara. He used 3 new 2011 stamps , all of which were issued to mark the 20th Anniversary of Eritrean Independence on May 24th.

Card # 3 is another card from David, this time from Sudan. When I took it out of the mailbox, all I could see was the front, and it read "Welcome to Sudan ". Let me tell you , I was hoping for the new South Sudan, but no, it was from Khartoum in the old Sudan. But still a great card. David's card shows a number of buildings including El Nilein Mosque, Friendship Palace Hotel, Presidential Palace and the White Nile Bridge. David's stamp is 1 of a set of 3 issued in 2011.

My next card is from Ethiopia. Compliments of a Postcrosser ( one of only a few in the country ) .
There are only 3 or 4 active members and they have combined for a total of 451 cards sent. Mine is #446 of that 451. The front of this card shows the Timket Celebration in Fasiledas Swimming Pool in Gondar. There are 2 great topical stamps on this card. First, on the left is a 1997 bird stamp featuring a woodpecker. On the right is a 2000 stamp showing a bushbuck. Two really nice stamps.

Now the last card, but as they say, last, but not least. It is from Toronto, Canada. It is a card showing Toronto's first post office, located at 260 Adelaide Street East. It was built in 1833 and has been restored and reopened by The Town of York Historical Society. This card stems from a private swap with Deanna. She actually works in this post office. She wrote that visitors can write letters with quills and seal their letters the old fashioned way. She didn't say what that was, but I can imagine people sealing letters with hot wax. The card has a special red hand stam, reading City of Toronto, U. C. ( Upper Canada), Mr 6 1834. Deanna used a 2011 Robbie Robertson permanent stamp from a set of 4 of Canadian recording artists. The stamp is cancelled with a special commemorative post mark. This card will now be part of my new collection of cards of post offices. I think I am at 6 so far.

This ends this update. I can now stroke out 2 more countries from the want list on the left top. Thanks to David, Kaleena, Deanna and Chitra in Ethiopia. Take care and see you again soon.