Mount Athos, stamp issuing entity # 236

Well, it's been 5 weeks since my last update. I was away for 19 days , on vacation. I flew to San Diego and picked up a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal. We stopped at ports in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico , then Acapulco, Mexico, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, then the Panama Canal transit, unto Cartagena, Colombia, George Town, Cayman Islands, Tampa, Florida and finally Mobile, Alabama. Overnighted in Mobile, then another night in Houston and finally flying home to Calgary.
As you can see I had ample opportunity to send postcards. I would think the lucky recipients should start to receive them soon. And speaking of postcards, which is the main focus of this blog, my mailbox on my arrival back home, held exactly fifty postcards. With all these new cards , I have ample material for the blog for quite some time. It was also great, as a long time stamp collector, seeking out the post offices in Acapulco, Puntarenas, Cartagena and George Town. As you might expect I picked up a selection of current stamps from each. Now on to the postcards, I have three to have a look at today.
First is a very wonderful and exciting card to receive. It is from Mount Athos in Greece. This is the world's newest stamp issuing entity and that makes it country or entity # 236 in my collection. Mount Athos is a mountain in northern Greece. Politically it is known as the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1988 and is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox Monasteries. Mount Athos is only accessible by boat and while visitors are restricted , only males can enter. The card shows Simonos Petra Monastery . It is built on a huge single rock , hanging from a cliff 300 meters over the sea.
As I mentioned earlier, Mount Athos is the world's newest stamp issuing entity. In May of 2008 the Hellenic Postal Service started issuing stamps for use only at the two post offices of Mount Athos ( Karyai and Dafi ). One set of 5 stamps was issued at that time. A second set of 5 was issued in June 2008. In 2009 4 sets of 5 stamps were issued and now thanks to Bob Lamb, I am lucky enough to own a single Mount Athos stamp. The stamp on the right is a Mount Athos stamp from 2009 . The other stamp is a Greek stamp used just to make up the new postcard rate. It's funny but I had only learned of Mount Athos as a stamp issuing entity about 5 or 6 weeks ago and had contemplated how to go about getting a postcard from there. Unbeknown to me, a card was already on the way. Thanks again Bob.My second card is from Germany. It shows an Air Canada A320 decked out in Toronto Raptors colors. Sent by Igor of www.covercity.de It will make a great addition to my aircraft/airlines on postcards collection. Igor used 2 stamps from 2010. The top stamp is from a set of 2 issued for the winter Olympics and Paralympics. The bottom stamp is a greeting stamp issued in a set of 2. Thanks Igor.

The final card today is from Monaco. It shows the Monaco Royal family. The 2009 stamps were issued to celebrate the 80 years of the Grand Prix Autos. This card is from Jerry and Bev, good and longtime friends of mine , who cruised across the Atlantic and were touring parts of Europe. Thanks guys.

That's my report for this time. It is good to be back and I'll be here again soon.

Take care, and as always, your comments are welcome.