Barbados

In honour of this blog's sixth birthday, a blast from the past! This card from the archives was sent to me by my Mum when my postcard collection was really in its infancy, just a handful of cards tacked up to my bedroom wall. My Mum, well-travelled lady that she is, has contributed considerably to my collection, and I can never thank her enough for taking time out of her holidays to track down stamps, cards and errant post offices to indulge my postcard folly. Merci bien, maman!

Card shows Harrismith Beach on the southeast coast of Barbados.

Stamp on the left commemorates the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Barbados Museum in 1933. Stamp on the right from the 1989 definitive set of 16 features Centrosema virginianum, or wild pea, a common vine throughout most of the Americas.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Postcard of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the British Indian Ocean Territory. While the island had previously been the home of a small number of copra plantation workers and their families, they were all forcibly removed between 1968 and 1973 and deported to Mauritius and the Seychelles so that the British government could build a joint military base with the United Stated. 

In 2019, this action and continued British administration of the archipelago were deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a ruling the United Nations General Assembly supported. The British government, however, dismissed the ruling as not legally binding. 

Stamp from the 2004 definitive series shows a bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), a large migratory wadering bird that lives in the Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over 29,000 km.

Malta

Multiview postcard of Malta, showing the country's namesake Maltese Cross, the harbour of capital city Valetta, with fortifications forming part of the City of Valletta World Heritage site, and some traditional wooden fishing boats. Thank you and grazzi ħafna to friend Sam who went to Malta to visit relatives.

Stamps are from a 2002 set of four on endangered species, showing seahorses of the Mediterranean. Shown are the long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, and the short-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, both of which live in the waters around Malta.

Trinidad and Tobago

Postcard showing Carnival in Trinidad, the island's most important celebration and one of the largest Carnivals in the Caribbean. Many thanks to my Uncle Pierre and Aunt Ginette for sending it to me. – Despite the fact that the Caribbean is a popular place for holidaying Canadians, it's certainly one of the biggest black holes in my collection. Any Caribbean friends and readers, feel free to help me out. ;-)

Stamps from the 1990 definitive set featuring local birds. Pictured here is the bananaquit, Coereba flaveola, a common bird found in tropical South America and the Caribbean.

Northern Mariana Islands

Postcard map of Saipan, largest island in the United States territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. I generally prefer straight-up standard picture postcards, but Northern Mariana Islands doesn't tend to figure on many people's travel itineraries, so I'll take what I can get. :-)

Northern Mariana Islands, like all United States territories, uses standard American stamps. Seen here is a stamp of Nine-Mile Prairie, a tract of conserved, virgin tallgrass prairie in Nebraska that has never been ploughed, making it an important site for the study of prairie ecology. The stamp, issued in 2001, is a part of a multiyear series on American landscapes. 

Mauritius

Postcard from the archives of the "Seven Coloured Earths" in southwestern Mauritius, an unusual geological formation where layers of differently coloured sand dunes create the technicolor landscape seen here. Part of the Black River Gorges National Park site on Mauritius' Tentative List for World Heritage (I think; the UNESCO site listing is not entirely clear in this regard). 

Many thanks to my cousin Frank and wife Lily who sent this to me during their honeymoon.

Stamp from a 1997 set of four commemorating the 150th anniversary of the issue of the famous Mauritius "Post Office" stamps, considered among the rarest and most valuable stamps in the world. A cover of these two stamps sold for nearly four million dollars in 1993!

Venezuela

Rather older postcard from my archives sent from a time when Venezuela actively promoted itself as a beach holiday destination. With the ongoing difficult political situation in the country, tourism has dropped off precipitously. There used to be direct flights from all over Canada to Margarita Island, pictured here, which have now long since stopped. Too bad, I'm told the country is a great travel destination.

Muchas gracias to my Mum for sending this to me on her holiday many moons ago.

Stamp from a 1996 set of two commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Venezuelan writer Mario Briceño-Iragorry. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.

Slovenia

Postcard from the alpine resort of Bled, in northern Slovenia. In the centre of Lake Bled is a small island, home to the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church. Human traces from prehistory have been found on the island and before the church was built there was a temple consecrated to Živa, the Slavic goddess of love and fertility.

Thank you and hvala to my Mum for sending this first Slovenia card in my collection when she was on holiday there.

Stamp is from a 2007 set of 17 on flowers of Slovenia. Pictured here is Cerastium dinaricum, a rare species of chickweed found only in one 50km² site in the Slovenian mountains.

Iceland

Postcard of Reykjavík's famous Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Hallgrímur). It is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth-tallest building in the country. The church was commissioned in 1937 and took 38 years to build, with construction beginning in 1945 and ending in 1986. Its design is meant to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. Takk fyrir to my Mum who was on holiday in Iceland.

Stamp from a 2014 set of two featuring Icelandic landscapes. Pictured here is the Kvíárjökull glacier in eastern Iceland.

Cayman Islands

Postcard from Hell. This town in the Cayman Islands is thought to be named after the barren limestone rock formations that elicited the reaction, "This is what Hell must look like", when the area was first settled. The area is now a popular tourist spot with Hell-themed souvenirs.

Although the Caribbean is a fairly common winter holiday destination for Canadians, I've actually had quite a difficult time getting Caribbean countries crossed off my list. My many thanks, in this case, to friend Neil for sending this card while in the Cayman Islands for a work project.

Stamp from a 2001 set of three featuring Cayman Brac, the second-largest of the Cayman Islands three main islands. While the other two islands are mostly flat, Cayman Brac features a large limestone escarpment that runs the length of the island that has a number of caves, including Peter's Cave, pictured in this stamp. Also featuring a postmark from Hell.

French Polynesia

Postcard from the idyllic island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. I've been mesmerised by the allure of French Polynesia for a long time, since elementary school, in fact, when we were given a project about French-speaking countries and I was assigned this faraway paradise of turquoise lagoons and swaying palm trees. I've been hooked ever since! A the card from French Polynesia, however, eluded me for a very long time. It's a very long way from anything, and not many people make it there. I was over the moon when Couchsurfing friends Sacha and Denis requested to stay with me. It was great to talk to them about my ongoing fascination with their homeland, and to politely beg them to send a card for my collection on their return. They very kindly obliged, and a big merci and māuruuru roa to them for this new country to my collection.

Stamp from a yearly series for Chinese New Year, featured here 2013 Year of the Water Snake. Snake is most closely associated with education and research, making 2013 a very special year for scientists and scholars.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Postcard of a beach on Providenciales, the most populated island in the British territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands, though not the capital, which is diminutive Cockburn Town with just 8,000 residents. The beaches in the Turks and Caicos are regularly voted among the best in the world, and are a popular winter holiday destination for North Americans. Turks and Caicos are also notable in that there has been, over the years, discussions of the territory becoming a part of Canada. When Britain began decolonising the Caribbean, the locals were not in favour of joining an independent Bahamas, which had been Britain's original intention. The islands not feeling they could become independent themselves, idea was therefore floated of giving them to Canada. The Canadian government was not interested in becoming a new colonial power, but the idea still pops up in the media from time to time. – No doubt the notion of owning a slice of palm tree paradise appeals to many in the Great White North!

The island group is on Britain's Tentative List for World Heritage. Many thanks to friend Scott who fled the Canadian cold for the turquoise shores of T&C!

Stamp shows Astraea brevispina, a species of sea snail found in the Caribbean, from a 2007 set of 15 featuring shells and sea snails. 

Belize

Postcard from the Belizean island of Ambergris Caye, located in the northeast of the country. The island is largely undeveloped, the main attraction being the Belize Barrier Reef and its beaches. The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Many thanks to friend Rob who was visiting friends in Belize.

Both stamps are from the 2005 definitive series of twelve stamps featuring ecological and heritage sites around the country. Stamp on the left shows the House of Culture Museum, housed in the former British governor-general's residence built in 1812. On the right is Nohoch Che'en Archaeological Reserve, a Mayan site in a system of underground rivers and caves.

New Caledonia

Postcard of Nouméa, the capital of the New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific located between Australia and Fiji. Nouméa is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the South Pacific with large populations of Europeans, Asians, Polynesians, and local islanders. The islanders have for a long time sought to take back control of the island, and its considerable mineral wealth, from France. Following a period of unrest in the 1970s and 1980s, an agreement was reached to have an independence referendum, which is to be held between 2014 and 2018.

Many thanks to my former student Patrick, who was in New Caledonia for work. 

Stamp issued in 2008 in preparation for the Fourteenth Pacific Games, which were hosted in Nouméa in 2011. The Pacific Games are a sport event much like the Olympics, held once every four years with participation by the countries of the region.

Wallis and Futuna

The last of David's cards from his South Pacific travels, with my sincere thanks to him for crossing so many hard-to-get countries off my list. You can check out his blog here. This card is from the small French territory of Wallis and Futuna and shows a traditional kava ceremony. Kava, a small shrubby plant, is used for medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social purposes throughout the Pacific. Most commonly, the roots are pounded into a beverage that is said to produce relaxation, mental clarity, and mild euphoria.

The stamp on the left was issued in 2012 and is entitled Poetry of the Ocean. The stamp on the right was issued this year and celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the first court session held in Wallis and Futuna.

Kiribati

Postcard of Christmas Island (one of many with that name), also known as Kiritimati in local Gilbertese language. Measuring 388 square kilometres, Christmas Island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world and makes up over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati. The island was uninhabited at the time of European discovery, although it may have served as a waystation during long sea voyages by Oceanic people in the past. 

Interestingly, when Spain sold its North Pacific possessions to Germany in 1899 following its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Christmas Island was not included in the description of the transferred territory. As a result, Spain in theory retained its sovereignty over the island. When the oversight was discovered in the 1940s, the Spanish Government declared that it reserved special rights to the island, although it has never made any attempt to exercise their rights to this odd fluke of history.

Thank you, or ko rab'a as they say in Kiribati, to David of "Postcards A world Travelogue" for all these fantastic cards.

Two stamps from the 2008 definitive series of twelve featuring birds. On the left, the band-rumped storm petrel, Oceanodroma castro, a common sea bird found across the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the right, the Eurasian teal, Anas crecca, a common waterbird found across Europe, North Africa, and Asia, although not in Kiribati! Loving the cancellation stamp.

Tonga

Postcard showing the Royal Palace in Tonga's capital, Nukuʻalofa. The wooden building was built in 1867 in ornate Victorian style. Although Tonga was a British protectorate until 1970, it maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation never to have given up its monarchical government, as was the case elsewhere such as in Tahiti and Hawaiʻi. The Tongan monarchy follows an uninterrupted succession of hereditary rulers from a single family stretching back hundreds of years. While the current king, Tupou VI, has been reigning for just over a year, his great-grandmother, Sālote Tupou III, reigned for nearly fifty years, assuming the throne when she was only 18, in 1918, until her death in 1965.

Thank you, or mālō ‘aupito as they say in Tonga, again to David of "Postcards A world Travelogue" for all these amazing cards from his travels.

Tonga is famous (in the philatelic world at least) for its uniquely-shaped stamps. Seen here are three stamps from a set of five about fruit issued in 2001.

Samoa

Another new country added with my many kind thanks from David's South Pacific sojourn, which you can all follow at  "Postcards A world Travelogue". 

Card shows a sunset view of Beach Road, the main thoroughfare in the Samoan capital, Apia, with Matafele Methodist Church in centre frame. Apia began as a chief's village, but rose to prominence during the European colonial period due to its fine harbour. It was designated the capital of German Samoa in 1900, as Samoa was indeed one of the rare places in the world to be colonised by the German Empire. The German colony lasted until the outbreak of the First World War when the colony was occupied by an expeditionary force from New Zealand in 1914. There were no shots fired during the takeover as there was no German military presence on the island, only a small local police force. New Zealand continued to oversee Samoa in a United Nations trusteeship until independence in 1962.

Stamp depicts a tooth-billed pigeon, Didunculus strigirostris, the national bird of Samoa. The large bird is endemic to the islands and is endangered and poorly understood. It faces threats from habitat loss in its limited range and competition from introduced invasive species.

Vanuatu

Super woohooo! Welcoming new country Vanuatu into the collection, stamp-issuing entity No. 159! Card shows sites on the island of Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu. The islands was named by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived in 1605, claiming the archipelago for Spain and naming it Espiritu Santo, Spanish for "Holy Spirit". The Spanish never maid much of their claim to the region and by the 1880s France and the United Kingdom both claimed parts of the country. In 1906 they agreed on a unique form of government for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British–French condominium, until independence was achieved in 1980.

Deep, heartfelt thanks and merci to friend of friend Juliette for helping me strike one more country off my list! :-D

Stamp from a 2011 set of four featuring beaches in Vanuatu, seen here the beach on Eratrap Island, a small island off the coast of Vanuatu's main island, Efate. To really get you in the mood, the stamp actually features a special coating mimicking the feel of real sand on the beach!

Fiji II

Bula, the Fijian word for "hello". A multiview card from that country, landing in my mailbox just a few days after my first card from Fiji. Almost like when I added Uzbekistan to my collection with three cards from three different people that all arrived on the same day; the more the merrier, I say! My many thanks and vinaka to David from "Postcards: A World Travelogue" for taking some time out of the palm trees to send this to me.

Stamp on the left is from 2003 (I think) and features tagimoucia, Medinilla waterhousei, a flowering vine endemic to Fiji and the country's national flower. Stamp on the right from a 2012 set of four on renewable energy in Fiji, commemorating the United Nations 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. It features biomass, plant material which generates energy directly by being burnt or once it is transformed into biofuel.