Bahamas Postal System, Mozambique, A Mystery Lady and the Big Giveaway

    Blog # 1698

Day 1683 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Three Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE

Well hello once again, I know, I know , it has been quite awhile. No reasons really other than life sometimes gets in the way. August and September were really trying times . 

My first card today is from Nassau, Bahamas. This is a card that My Lovely Teena sent back when we were last there, as she always does. Her card shows a lovely relaxing Take it Easy sunset in the Caribbean. 

    Teena used a 1968 stamp highlighting International Human Rights. 

Now speaking of the Bahamas Postal Service, you are so right, no one was. Well I am about to. But first let me show a couple of postcards showcasing the Bahamas Postal Service.

Okay, so here is the story. If you look at the stamp on the card that Teena sent, you will notice that it reads August 28, 2026. She and I were nowhere near Nassau on August 28th. The last time we were there was back in March of this year when these cards were posted along with a bunch for my postcard friends around the world. These arrived in Alberta the last week of September  and according to a few emails from friends, they arrived in Europe around the same time. This is more than amazing : cards posted in March, postmarked in August and arrived late September. Congratulations Bahamas Postal service. I had long ago given up on your service. But hey, you came through in the end. As we say in Calgary , YAHOO .  I am sure we all wonder where cards get to, why they sometimes never reach their destination, not to mention how they get postmarked 5 months after posting. Mysteries never cease, do they.  

My next card will be a little quiz , just because I have not had one in a long while.  I want to know who is the subject of the card. The card arrived from the U.S. so that is no help. It shows a lovely young lady in a expensive looking dress, with a couple of rings. The only clue you get today is this  - she is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort. The first correct answer earns that person a lovely postcard with 3 lovely stamps. So put your thinking caps on and you might just get lucky. Leave a comment with your answer. 

Without further ado, here she is .

No help here , but here are the stamps on the card.

Here is card 3 for today. No quiz on this one. 

It arrived from Maputu , Mozambique. It shows a map of the country and a birds eye view of the capital city.  

  David used 3 stamps on his card. The left stamp was issued in 2019 featuring Pope Francis. The middle stamp dates from 2010 and showcases 20 years of AICEP, the Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency. The right stamp , from last year, was issued for World Vision. 

 Interesting thing here - card was posted on January 21, 2026 and I received it September 11th. I guess the Bahamas Post Office is not the worst after all. 

Well I guess that is the update for this time. I have to ease back into it after all. Thanks for todays cards go to My Lovely Teena, Brian and David. Take care all. 

Remember now to enter my big Postcard Giveaway. First correct answer wins all. 

Cheers. 

Nosy Be, a Bali Babe, Cristiano Ronaldo Airport and a Royal Castle

   Blog # 1697

Day 1657 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Seven Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE

Hi there, sorry about the big orange thing on my last update. This is the second time that has happened. I hope it is the last. Even though yesterday was Labor Day I hope everyone enjoyed a great day . All the workers and retired workers out there deserve that. 

My first card for today arrival from Funchal, Portugal. I guess the card shows the view a bird might have if flying over Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport . The Madeira Airport was renamed after Ronaldo on March 29th, 2017. 

Jean Pierre used a Cristiano Ronaldo stamp from 2017.

1. My next card is from Germany and is a great look at Schloss Herrenchiemsee , a Royal Palace. It was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.  

  Dominique used a 2026 stamp featuring Queen Elizabeth II. It celebrated the occasion of Her birth 100 years ago in 1926.

Now here is a card from Nosy Be, Madagascar. Nosy Be is an island off Madagascar’s northwestern coast. In the southeast, the forests of Lokobe Reserve shelter chameleons, geckos and frogs. The capital, known as Hell-Ville, has French colonial buildings and a covered market. Lemuria Land is home to a variety of lemurs, plus reptiles. Also in the park is a 19th-century distillery still used to extract essential oils from the native ylang-ylang tree.

David used a 2014 stamp showcasing a Lemur.

Time now for a card from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Hans sent this card showing a February 1936 Vanity Fair cover showing a Bali beauty. 

The stamp on this card is a Postcrossing stamp issued for 20 Years of Postcrossing. 

So ends another update. Thanks for these cards go out to Dominique, David Hans and Jean Pierre. 

See you all next time. 

Minneriya National Park

   Blog # 1696

Day 1655 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Five Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Well hello once again. Everyone present and accounted for , so we can begin another update . 

My first card today is a beautiful bird themed card from Sri Lanka. It`s a great look at an Asian Openbill in Minneriya National Park. Located in North Central Province , the park was designated a national park in August of 1997. It is comprised of 88.89 sq km.   From around July through October, when the surrounding forests dry out and water becomes scarce, hundreds of Asian elephants converge on the receding shoreline to graze on the fresh grass that emerges as water levels fall. At the peak of the season, it is not unusual to count three or four hundred elephants in a single field of view .This annual event is know as The Gathering. The bird on the card, the Asian Openbill is a large wading bird in the stork family. 

Ravindra use 2 stamps on this card. The small Butterfly stamp was issued in 2022. It shows a Pale Ceylon 6 Lineblue . The larger stamp, from 2025, shows the Asian Openbill. A really beautiful stamp.

Looks like I am having a little problem with font and colour. I will end here and try again. Thanks to Ravindra for his card. 

Menekrates's Monunent, Albania Scenes, Sant Miquel de Lillet, and a Concert House in Yogyakarta

  Blog # 1695

Day 1645 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Forty Five Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Hello once again. Hopefully there will be no orange today. Ok , today's cards will be random, no particular order, just picked from the pile on my desk.

The first card is from Tirana, Albania. Alena's card show a couple of scenes around the country and a number of locals in their finest outfits. Alena described Tirana with these words " busy streets, warm evenings and a Balkan atmosphere". 

Alena used a stamp issued in 2024. It is 1 of 4 in a set showing Cultural Heritage. 

Card # 2 is from Indonesia. It's a view of the Grha Budaya Embung Giwangan, a concert house in Yogyakarta. 

Uul , a Postcrosser from Indonesia used 11 stamps on this card. Ten of them are the same of course. The ten stamps all show a 2023 Mailbox definitive. The lager stamp on the right , I have not been able to locate anything about it.

Card # 3 -- This one is from Catalunya, Spain. It's a look at Sant Miquel de Lillet, very close to the monastery of Santa Maria de Lillet . It is a small building with a circular plan, 6.5 m in external diameter and 4.7 m in internal. The building is covered with a dome that, when restored, is hemispherical. It has no windows. The entrance door, facing southwest, has a semicircular arch and above it there is a stone cross in relief. 

The first note of its existence stems from 1166.

Josep and Assumpta used a stamp from 2023. It was issued to show early ways of Engraving.

Card # 4 -- Here's a card from Corfu, Greece. Ravindra's card shows a cenotaph in Corfu, built around 600 BC. It is the Monument of Menekrates and was discovered in 1843. Menekrates is not buried there though, as he was lost at sea.

Ravindra used a 2022 stamp here. It is from a booklet of 10 Travelling in Greece stamps. All very nice indeed. 

That's the blog for this time. Thanks for the cards go out to Josep and Assumpta, Alena, Ravindra and Uul. 

Thanks for reading  and take care.

The Orange Apology

 Hello there,

So this will not be a normal blog update with postcards and stamps. This is an apology for all the orange on my update yesterday. I have no idea where it came from, or how it got there. It is kind of strange though that it just appeared soon after I mentioned the orange haired one down south of Canada. Maybe he put some sort of hex or curse on me. 

Anyway I hope you were still able to make some sense of yesterdays blog and hopefully it ( the orange ) never shows up again. 

Take care all.  

Cabo Rojo, Pearns Bay, Jost Van Dyke , a Barn Owl and CANADA PROUD

 Blog # 1694

Day 1641 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Forty One Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Howdy folks - all you collectors, postcarders and stamp people. Bloggers , too. I have a few more cards to show off. 

I am starting with a few leftover cards , sent by My Lovely Teena, from a cruise or two ago. The first one shows Pearns Bay, Antigua. It is located past Jolly Harbour and Hermitage Bay on a rocky road dotted with giant potholes, or at least it was when we were there. There is a lovely white sand beach as the card shows. 

   Teena used a lovely 2004 stamp, 1 of 4 in a Year of the Monkey set.

Card # 2 from Teena -- This one is from British Virgin Islands.  Here we see Jost Van Dyke from Smugglers Cove , Tortola.  

Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four British Virgin Islands , spanning roughly 3 square miles (8 sq km) with a population of about 300 people. Known as the "Barefoot Island," it is famous for its relaxed vibe, stunning white-sand beaches, and legendary beach bars like the Soggy Dollar Bar British Virgin Islands.  

Teena used a few nice stamps on this card. The two Bird stamps on top were issued in a set of 4 in 2005 for a Bird Festival. The bottom stamp is from 1980 , overprinted  for the Caribbean Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Meeting held in Tortola . The stamp was first issued in 1979, without the overprint. 

Card # 3 from Teena ---- A Cayman Islands card. This is a card issued by the Cayman Islands Philatelic Bureau, so it represents a Cayman Islands stamp from a Birds definitive series from 2006.  

The stamp is 1 of 5 in a 2005 set of Boats issued for the 120th Anniversary of the Cayman Registry. 

Card # 4 from My Lovely Teena is from San Juan , Puerto Rica. It shows Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, located on the southwest coast of the country. And no, that is not My Lovely Teena walking up to the lighthouse. 

I am not showing the stamp. Everybody has seen it numerous times and then some. It is the 2025 Round Global Forever stamp.  You all know what I am referring to. 

So that is it for this time. Thanks for these cards go out to My Lovely Teena. She is a great travel companion , she never complains about me and her making our way to the Post Office no matter where we are. Thanks Teena.

Now before I sign off   - one little bit of current news. 

I was always proud to be a Canadian -  that is not new, but today I am really proud to be a Canadian. Finally someone and some country has stood up to that orange haired narcissistic blowhard to the south of this fine country. It took a Canadian and Canada. It may hurt us in the end but at least we had the balls to do it. 

Canada - Strong, Free and Proud .

Ayia Napa, Encamp Tower, Year of the Dragon Art, Old Tbilisi and Puigcerda

                                                           Blog # 1693

Day 1636 ( That's One Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty Six Days ) Since the Start of the  Current ( Second )   Russian Invasion of UKRAINE .   

                                                            GLORY TO UKRAINE   

Here we go , I'm back again. My first card is my first card for a reason. It is an unexpected card on my part and was sent from Halifax , Canada. It pictures an inside view of a library in the Halifax Public Library system. 

Now the card is from a lady named Deshantha and she wrote that this card is the beginning of a postcard exchange. Well it's one that I don't remember taking part in. So Deshantha if you are reading this  please leave a comment and tell me the information about the exchange and about you. It's all a mystery to me. 

This next card is from Andorra and shows a view of Encamp , one of the seven parishes
that make up the Principality of Andorra, located at an altitude of 1,266 meters in the heart of the country. You can see the tower of the Church of Santa Eulalia . Built during the 11th and 12th centuries the church is a historic Romanesque church in the center of Encamp. The tower stands at 23 meters and is the tallest in Andorra. 

 

Josep and Assumpta used a 2025 stamp on this card. It showcases Merce Ubach Filba , the first woman to serve as a police officer in the country.

Here's another card from Josep and Assumpta. On this one we see the town of Pujgcerda and Cerdanya  -  the natural area it is located within. 

A nice train stamp on this one. It was issued in 2024 showing the Strawberry Railway. It was opened in 1851 , and was Madrid's first rail line. Of course they served strawberries on board. 

Next up is a card from Cyprus and gives us a partial view of Ayia Napa , a resort town at the far eastern end of the southern coast of the country.  The town is  known for its beaches. The town's main landmark is the storied, Venetian-era Ayia Napa Monastery, which stands in the central square of Plateia Seferi, surrounded by bars and clubs.

Meelis used 3 stamps on his card . On the left is a 2026 Refugee Stamp symbol. 
The Cyprus refugee stamp, known locally as Prosfigosimo, is an obligatory postal tax stamp introduced by the government in September 1974 following the Turkish invasion. It raises funds for displaced persons and remains widely used on mail today. 

They appear to be a rather insignificant little stamp and I would think , not collected by many. Of course I have to be different. I consider them to be quite collectable . I have 15 so far and just 37 left to collect for " completness ". The middle stamp is from 2024, 1 of 2 in a set . The right stamp is from 1 set of 4 issued in 2024 , showing Motorcycles. 

Now it's a card from Tbilisi, Georgia. Rather a cool looking card with a lot happening in Old Tbilisi. 

Alena used a stamp from 2024. It is 1 of 2 in a Europa set showing Flora and Fauna.

Now here's a cool card from the Netherlands. It's a Chinese New Year card celebrating the Year of the Dragon 2024. It's a self drawn card by the sender Barbara. Very nice design. 

Barbara used a 2023 Year of the Rabbit stamp on this one. 

So ends another update on The Blog. Thanks to Josep and Assumpta, Meelis, Alena and Barbara for their cards. . Take care all.