Bequia - Grenadines of St.Vincent

 Caribbean-Bequia Por Nice to be back here. This time staying a few nights. The beach was beautiful . So very relaxing indeed. 

The postmark is not very clear. When I got to the Post Office it was closed for the day for an unknown reason. But put the postcard in the post box and the postcard  came back ! 

Mayreau . St. Vincent

 Caribbean-St.Vincent-Mayreau This is the only island in the Grenadines grop I have not visited. So spend two days here . A small no tourist sort of island . So  was very interesting to visit. I guess it is one of the least visited ones. 

The reason I was here is pur philatelic. I had been to a post office in each of the group before. Even though I had Mayreau stamps before I was led to believe that there was no Post Office in Mayreau . So I never visited. But quite a number of years back I discovered that there was indeed a Post office, So off I went. I bought the stamps at the Philatelic bureau in Kingstown . In face when I got to the island of Mayreau the Post office was closed early . But lucky for me I got the nearby health office to call the Postmaster . He obliged and came back so I could meet him and post my card. In fact he told me he had sold stamps in over 5 years. !!. So a rare postcard. 

Oudsthoorn- South Africa

 Africa-South Africa-Oudsthoorn Visited this town and stayed here. It was on the Road through the mountains from Capetown. Famous for Ostrrich farms and enjoyed a tour and lunch on a farm . 

A nice  clear  large postmark on this card. Took over 5 months to get to me. Better late then never.  The stamp is one of the new ones introduced and in fact it is enough to pay for a registered letter locally . 

Capetown South Africa

 Africa-South Africa-Capetown On my bucket list for some time to visit and drive Route 62 , also known as the garden route. 

Visited the only Post Office in Capetown which sold special stamps. I think the rest just have stickets now. These stamps are newly issued. This card took 4 months to get here ! 

This was the old Post Office when I was here 20 years ago. No longer in use,  but a fine building . 

Sremski Karlovci - Serbia

 Europe-Sebria-Sremski Karlovci A famous city not far from Novi Sad. Beautiful buildings and impoorant for the historical Serbian events that took place in this city .

I mailed this in  the small Post Office in the town. I forget the stamps I had purchased in  Belgrade, but nice to see the Post Office here had some special stamps. 

Belgrade Serbia

 Europe-Serbia-Belgrade Back in Belgrade . Spend a very nice few days exploring the city . Also went to Novi Sad on a day trip. 

The Post office is very large . It is not often that the old buildings are still in use. The Philatelic shop was just up the road and the people there were very helpful. Lots of options on stamps . East European countries tend to have the best for Philatelic  departments in Europe. Sadly the Nordic Countries ( Not Finland ) tend to be more difficult finding Post offices and Philatelic supplies. 

Bridgetown -Barbados

 Caribbean-Barbados-Bridgetown Back here again. This time I did take some time out and relaxed on the beach. Very nice. Was able to take the direct flight from Dublin which was only operating for a few weeks.  

I purchased the stamps at the airport Post Office . Was happy to buy this Peace stamp . A number of countries have issued the same stamp. It is embossed. 

Kingstown- St. Vincent

 Caribbean-St.Vincent and the Grenadines -Kingstown It is nice to be back in St.Vincent. The last time was a brief visit . I had always wanted to see the famous St.Vincent Parrot. So this time I made it to the Botanical Gardens to  see the birds . 

I had visited the Post Office in Kingstown and purchased a lot of stamps. These ones show the parrots . 

The Post office also sold stamps for some of the islands. Years ago it was handled by a separate company but now back with the Post Office. 

Minsk - Belarus

 Europe-Belarus-Minsk . One of my previous early travels to this country was in 2004. So pleased after 22 years to get back and see more. Spend 6 days here and really enjoyed my visit . These two buildings are known as the Gates to  Minsk . Very impressive they are too. A very clean city with a  big interest in  World War II History in their museums. 

Featuring a Europa stamp from 2018. The Post Office had a full selection of stamps  and was a bit different in  memory since last time. But very helpful and a nice pictorial postmark to go to . 

Baikonur - Russian Post Office

 Asia-Russia-Baikonur  This is unusual in that this area and city is leased to Russia . It is on the territory of Kazakhstan .  So when you enter you need a permit if you are a visitor . All needs to be arranged 60 days in advance. You will find both Russian and Kazakhstan police cars . So much to see as this area and the museum is where the history of space travel started.  

The Post office in the city of Baikonur is the Russian Post office . They had special space stamps available for sale . They also had special cachets that you could get stamped on the postcard. It was a dream come true to visit this area and Post office for a long time . It well exceeded my expectations.