Mitrovica - Kosovo Serbian

Europe-Kosovo Serbian-Mitrovica  This is the New Bridge that crosses the Ibar river in Mitrovica which is in Northern Kosovo. The Bridge has become a iconic symbol of Kosovo division as it separates around 80,000 Kosovo Albanians on the South side with about the same  number of Serbs on the North side. I had a car and drove here from Pristina without any issues. To drive into North Mitrovica I went to the most North Bridge and crossed there. I noted that all the flags around had changed to Serbian and there was no Republic of Kosovo cars to be seen. I spend most of my day on this side , though I dd eat lunch just across the bridge on the South side. On the North side you will see lots of Serbs posters and Russian flags too. The currency used is the Serbian Dinar

I only found out last year that there were Serbian Post offices in the Serbian Enclaves in Kosovo. I did not know too much and I guess I never really thought about it. It reminded me of my time visiting the Post offices in Bosnia Herzegovina with two different postal administrations. Since Serbia does not recognise Kosovo , Serbia stamps are used and the Post offices in the Serb areas are run by Serbia Post. I brought these stamps with me as they show Churches in Kosovo. The Cancellations are not as clear as I would like but you can see Kosovo . I did arrive at the Post Office at 15.31, but they close at 15.30. Luckily some time later a cleaner came out and the door was unlocked so I was able to gain entry . No one understood english and I guess they were closed so not really helpful in asking questions. But at least I got the postcard through the mail. 

Pristina Kosovo

Europe-Kosovo-Pristina This city has sure changed since my last visit in 2004. A very vibrant city and very enjoyable to walk around the centre. The new attraction is the church dedicated to Mother Theresa which is just about to open. 

I am very pleased I have a card from Pristina . When I visited last the only card I could find was one from Prizren in Kosovo. Then it was under the United Nations administration. Now they have Kosovo stamps from their own nation. Not all countries recognise Kosovo , but Ireland does. 

Post Office Santiago Chile

Main Post Office Santiago  Beautiful building 

The main square 

The main Post Office inside. 

Display outside the Philatelic office which was closed as it was Saturday 

National Portrait Gallery London

Europe-United Kingdom-England-London I have always wanted to visit the National Portrait Gallery which is the largest in the world, but never got around to it. On this trip I made it and it is well worth while. In my opinion most of the best pictures are the Kings and Queens of England . Here is Queen Elizabeth the First. This is from around 1592. Fantastic painting. The Queen reigned from 1533-1603. One of the early works in the Gallery 

Another double cancellation, but better then the usual none. The stamp features a Eurasian Beaver which is an Endangered species. 

Iguacu Falls - Brazil

South America-Brazil-Iguacu Falls  This Postcard is from the Brazilian side of the Falls. It is most certainly worth seeing both sides. The One of the wonders of the world . Magical. 

The best Gift shop is on the Brazil side. They sold postcards and stamps. No choice on the stamps. There was a postbox outside the shop and that is were I mailed this card. I posted it on March 3 but it only got a postmark of 18 April. Says it all. Slow.. 

ABBA - London Exhibition

Europe-United Kingdom-England-London While in London I visited the wonderful ABBA exhibition . Telling the story and the song that really started it for them Waterloo in 1974 winning the Eurovision Song Contest. I remember that night . So since ABBA are in the news with two new songs to be released later this year, I think it is great to have a card showing some of the outfits they appeared in . 1970s. Great exhibition and love the music. 

The stamp is a recent issue showing endangered species. I got the Post office to cancel this by hand before I posted it as the UK has a very poor reputation for postmarking mail and often just uses a pen ! On this occasion it got the standard cancel as well .

Buenos Aires Philatelic Office

This was near the famous Graveyard in Buenos Aires. Not often you see a statue of a Postman with a Post box !

Here I am delighted to find the Philatelic Office. Smiles all around 

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This is the Philatelic office in Buenos Aires. There is also a Post office here. 

Costa Rica

Central America-Costa Rica- San Jose  Well delighted to say I did in fact seen this Scarlet Macaw when I was in Costa Rica. I could not find a postcard showing San Jose when there. I guess it is all about the nature. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and I will need to revisit to see more. I cant say to much good about the traffic in San Jose however. But all ok once you get into the country. This is my last country to visit in the Americas so delighted to get the card . However I still have to visit Alaska which will be in 2019. 

I love these stamps as they sow the main Post Office in San Jose. It is one of the best in the world. So delighted to find stamps showing the centenary. The Post office outside is stunning as is the best building in my view to see in San Jose. However at the start I could not find any postcards , so I just bought the stamps at the Philatelic Office. It has a full selection and was very helpful. I mailed this card from the Post Box at San Jose airport. 

Chile Antarctica

The background to this trip was the first time I visited Antarctica I did visit a Chilean Scientific station. These stations often have a Post office included. However it that case it did not. So I could not mail a postcard out.. So here I am back..

Delighted to visit the Post office . Fellow members on the trip stand by. 

The Post office in Chile Antarctica is not open every day. In fact the day I was here it was closed. However I managed to hunt down the Postmaster and got it open .

Chilean Base Eduardo Frei Base on King George Island.

This is February 2018 - Summer time not much snow on the Island itself 

One of my photos of a penguin coming out of the water. 

Post office photo again Eduardo Frei . King George Island 

Enjoyed watching the penguins. This was a full day overnight trip. 

Antigua - Guatemala

Central America-Guatemala-Antigua I have heard about this city for some time so was very excited to be visiting here. Well it certainly lived up to it expectation. A lovely old town and full of life and buzz. Ok lots of Convents and Churches but all part of the charm.. Was so surprised to see so many tourists and also a lot of Americans here to learn Spanish. A world Heritage Site. 

As I mentioned earlier Guatemala has no functioning Postal system. Even the hotel did not know this and send me to the Post office in the town. There was a notice saying closed as no postal service. So all I could do was to get the hotel to stamp this with a rubber stamp. El Convento , A Beautiful boutique hotel. 

La Boca- Buenos Aires

South America-Argentina-Buenos Aires Another postcard from BA. This area of La Boca is just one of those very touristic places one has to go to .. Something different and lots of colourful buildings. 

I like these very large postmarks.. I have only seen ones like this in Central and South America. Though I am sure not many postcards are sent any more with the price of Stamps in Argentina. Bearing in mind I found the country great value otherwise. 

Panama Canal

Central America-Panama-Panama Canal  I guess could be considered one of the wonders of the world. I would certainly say it is the Worlds greatest shortcut. Spend the morning here on my first day watching a ship going through from the visitor centre. It was most interesting. Also the museum on the lower floor. Certainly worth visiting. 

This was posted in the most disorganised Post office I have ever been in. I got my hotel manager to check the address of the Post office in Panama city as most people did not know where it was ! Before getting into a taxi the hotel manager told me that the Post office said they had no stamps or did the Philatelic office. To be honest I did not believe this. So first off to the Post office which is in a small mall. It was chaotic with people everywhere and staff sitting behind small windows . I guess if I had lined up I would have been there for one hour or more. But I said I was just trying to mail some Postcards. When I showed the postcard they said they had no stamps only stickers . I bought the stickers and the price for postage was .40 . This is not the correct rate as it is way to low, but I did not complain. I asked to see the Post Office Manager and she told me they did not have stamps in the conventional sense but I could go to the Philatelic office to get stamps. Well when I got there they had no stamps of any kind. At least the card made its way home. .... 

Iguazu Falls - Argentina

South America-Argentina-Iguazu Falls Another picture postcard. I had to show this one as it shows some of the wonderful wildlife that one sees in this area.. So much more to see then just the magical waterfall 

Still cant get over the cost of a stamp to send a postcard. But I do love the large postmark with the state of Misiones region in Argentina. 

Iguazu Falls - Argentina

South America-Argentina-Iguazu Falls  This World Heritage site has been on my bucket list for some time. I had heard so much about it from friends. Well it certainly lived up to expectations and is the best waterfall I have ever seen . Not to be missed. 

There was no Post office in the immediate area, but there was a post box at the Airport. Glad I had my own stamps as the newsagent was out of stamps when I was there. 

Buenos Aires

South America-Argentina-Buenos Aires I had forgotten how big a city Buenos Aires is. Really enjoyed my few days here. Lots to see and full of life. My favourite city in South America. 

It took me some time to find the Philatelic office in Buenos Aires. The main Post office had closed since the last time I was here. I got two different address for the Philatelic office , but found it in the end going from one Post office to the next. A full office next to a Post office. So it was great to have so much choice. Some very beautiful stamps. The shock was the price of sending a postcard. Around €4 . Is it the most expensive in the world ?? 

Guatemala

Central America-Guatemala-Guatemala City Guatemala certainly surprised me. It was quite packed with tourists from Antigua to Tikal. Guatemala City itself was only interesting with the mail square and the former Presidential Palace. Was able to do a tour inside An impressive building inside and out. 

For the last 3 years there has been no working Postal service in Guatemala. That is about to change later this year as it is now getting sorted out. My philatelic friend David from Guatemala City brought me around . We did manage to visit the Post office  which at this time is just accepting parcels. However they agreed to let me postmark this card. So a very rare postmark at this time. As such this card did not go through the mail. 

Panama City

Central America-Panama-Panama City It was great visiting the old part of Panama City. A surprise gem. Very walkable area and nice just to people watch. What surprised  me the most was the lack of English spoken bearing in mind the Panama Canal which was an area run and owned by the USA for a time. 

Unusual for me , I did not post this card at the Post Office in Panama City. To tell you it was a disaster at one of the worst operated Post Offices in the World I have ever been to . But more on that later. I posted this card in Penonome in the Cocole area of Panama which is on the Pacific side. This Post Office was efficient and they had stamps. No choice but stamps yes.  

Robinson Crusoe Island

Pacific Ocean-Juan Fernandez Islands-Robinson Crusoe Island-San Juan Bautisa  What a fantastic island to visit. It had taken me a few years to plan this.. A few years ago I found it difficult to book the flight from Santiago and did not bother. Now you can book online and everything has got much easier to organise. Well it was sure worth the wait. On arrival the sun was up and the sky was blue a perfect day. More beautiful then I had ever imagined. Really loved my stay here.. 

The Post Office was in a shipping container !! First time ever to see that.. The Post Office Manager was so very helpful and look at the magic cancellation I got.. 

La Chascona - Museum house of Pablo Neruda

South America-Chile-Santiago de Chile Visited here one early morning to the former home of Pablo Neruda the famous Chilean poet. I had seen the movie last year about his life. Wonderful house full or art and style. 

The house is now a museum and they have a shop were I bought this card. Two stamps featuring tourism. Postmark of the main Post Office in Santiago at Plaza de Armas . 

Santiago de Chile

South America-Chile-Santiago de Chile This card is showing the Plaza de Armas the main square in Santiago . You cant see it here but the Post Office is on the right and blocked by the statue. Took a hop on hop off bus and enjoyed the city. 

The Post office was open on the Saturday when I visited . But the Philatelic office was closed as only open 5 days a week. Still the counter staff were helpful in letting me select stamps from the stock book. The Post office itself is beautiful from the outside and is also nice to visit inside. On display in the main area was a selection of stamps relating to the current Pope. 

Punta Arenas - Chile

South America-Chile-Punta Arenas The gateway city in southern Chile to Patagonia . I was here 25 years ago on a cruise and did not remember much. Stayed right in the centre. Very busy with tourists . 

Visited the main Post Office in the city. They kindly brought me behind the counter and showed me what stamps they had in the book. Quite a good selection which included miniature sheets.