Cards From Sri Lanka, Mayotte, Puerto Rica and St. Maarten

Here I am again with a small update. Just 4 cards. No new countries here but I'll have something to say about that towards the end. Today's cards are compliments of Ravindra, Jean Pierre and Erin times 2 . First , let's have a look at Ravindra's card from Sri Lanka. On this card we see a part of Polonnaruwa, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982. There are 2 great stamps used on this card. On the left is a 2011 Rabindranath Tagore stamp and on the right is a 2011 stamp showing a steel arch bridge in Ruwanwella.

Card # 2 is from Mayotte and comes from Jean Pierre. It is a nice picture of coral and tropical fish. On this card are 2 more great 2011 stamps. On the left is a stamp showing Mtsapere Mosque , while on the right is a bird stamp .

The last 2 cards are from Erin, sent when she was on a cruise sometime ago. The first one comes from San Juan , Puerto Rico. It gives us a look at Old San Juan. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the Unites States, located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens but may not vote in US presidential elections. My only experience with Puerto Rico is having changed planes at Luis Munoz Martin International Airport a few years ago. Even though it is not considered part of the United States, Puerto Rico does use US stamps. On this card is the 1996 J. Cochran , pioneer pilot stamp and the 2004 American Toleware stamp.

Erin's second card is from St. Maarten, when it was a part of the Netherlands Antilles. I won't take this as the new country of Sint Maarten as it was sent before the independence of last October. The postmark reads Sint Maarten, and the card has a 1988 Netherlands Antilles stamp, one of a three stamp set. The card has a view of a beach market in Philipsburg.
I mentioned earlier that I would have something to say about new countries, so here it is. Up till yesterday I needed cards from just 25 more countries. Now that number is bumped back to 26, with the new country of South Sudan , gaining their independence yesterday. As always here is my plea, if you are going to Juba or any part of South Sudan, don't forget to send me a postcard.

That's about it for this time. Hope a bunch of cards arrives in tomorrow's mail. Till then, take care.