Nicaragua and USA

Central America-Nicaragua-Masaya    Was just passing through here on the way to Granada and  had a break. Found this nice postcard , but did not actually see any Horse and carts . 

Got a mixture here of Definitive stamps and Special stamps. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Granada   Certainly one of my highlights in Nicaragua. This town is a real time gem. I was just waiting for the Spanish to turn up ! The buildings here are all in the colonial tradition.

These stamps happen to show a festival that was happening  in Granada in 2006. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Leon   This city has two World Heritage sites. Leon Cathedral and also the old Ruins of Leon. To be honest they are not so impressive but the Cathedral is. Another great city to visit. Well end of my trip to Nicaragua and what a great trip and surprise it was. Highly recommended. 

Finishing of this with a Butterfly stamp and a crisp Leon Postmark. 

North America-United States of America-Illinois-Rockford   Visiting Rockford to go to a concert. The big tourist attraction here is a Dinosaur that even had a name.  

Not sure who the baseball guy is, must be famous. ! 

North America-United States of America-Illinois-Chicago   Went to the Field museum. Very impressive for sure. This is Sue . 

Here you can read a little about Sue and also the end of the Art Stamps. I think they look a little like rugs. 

Central America

Central America-El Salvador-San Salvador  My first visit to an Central American country. Before arriving here I was warned how dangerous this was. So I was careful and did notice the number of armed guards outside high profile shops. I walked around the city centre and visited the Cathedral. 

Was able to get a good selection of stamps from the helpful philatelic section of the post office. Even though there is only one currency now in place the US Dollar the stamps also have a value in the old currency. 

Central America-El Salvador-Santa Ana  This old town is very nice. This is the old Theatre which is  fantastic inside and in good condition. 

This stamps shows TACA a excellent airline that I used on this trip. Brand new planes and excellent service. So was very impressed. Nice stamp too. 

Central America-El Salvador-Ataco   Went up to this area to visit a coffee plantation. You can see the coffee beans on the postcard . My first and only visit to a coffee plantation.  

On the right is the Christmas stamp for 2006. A lot of the South American and Central American postmarks are large rectangular marks as seen here. 

Central America-Nicaragua-Managua   Here we see part of the old and the new. The very old town was badly damaged by the earthquake in 1972. I had not expected much from this country , but found it a gem of a place to visit. Sometimes that happens when you don't have much of a expectation. Very friendly and lots of tour options. 

A very colourful stamp and a basic postmark all you can see is the date. The main Post office had a excellent selection of stamps to choose from